This probably fits with the iPod narrative but for me the current Apple Watches just aren't good enough for sports use.
What do I mean? Well specifically they lack ANT+ support so they won't work sensors I already own. E.g. Cycling power meters, heart rate monitors, electronic groupsets, etc.
Some of those I could replace cheaply with Bluetooth alternatives but not all of them.
In the future I'd like to look at things like blood oxygen monitors, not having Ant+ really cramps your choices.
I don't find Garmin products all that reliable but if it was purely for sports I'd currently buy one of their watches over an Apple Watch.
(I own and really like my Mac and iPhone so I think in other areas I must fit the Apple customer profile).
The lack of ANT+ is bad, but it's not the end of the world. Of the sensors I have currently (HRM, power meter, Stryd, speed sensor), the only one that doesn't have Bluetooth LE is the speed sensor. I note the electronic groupsets as an issue though.
The next WatchOS update will also add the ability to connect to 2 Bluetooth LE devices directly, rather than requiring the phone to do so. (Not sure if this is on top of the existing support for an external HRM or not.)
IMHO what's lacking is purely apps. For someone used to a Garmin or similar, the built-in workout tracking is a joke, and you don't get any useful exports or imports.
If there was a decent app that could give me data screens and a GPX file when done (and auto-upload to Strava probably), I'd use it for 4/5 of my runs/rides and just bring out the Garmin (920XT here) for the longer workouts where battery life is an issue.
I've been using the latest Garmin Forerunner 935 for a couple months and so far it's been reliable. We'll see how long it lasts. But realistically I think we're going to have to consider wearable devices as disposable after a few years.
Like with other tech, they tend to keep on working just fine, but you want to replace them because the new model has better features.
I upgraded from the 910 to the 920 to get the Bluetooth upload. That said, I'm not particularly tempted by the 935 over the 920, and I know people still using the 310XT which was released in 2009...
What do I mean? Well specifically they lack ANT+ support so they won't work sensors I already own. E.g. Cycling power meters, heart rate monitors, electronic groupsets, etc.
Some of those I could replace cheaply with Bluetooth alternatives but not all of them.
In the future I'd like to look at things like blood oxygen monitors, not having Ant+ really cramps your choices.
I don't find Garmin products all that reliable but if it was purely for sports I'd currently buy one of their watches over an Apple Watch.
(I own and really like my Mac and iPhone so I think in other areas I must fit the Apple customer profile).