The elephant in the room now is what I will do with my Garmin Fenix 5X. (Believe it or not, that watch still retails for about $350.) The answer is that I’ll keep it around and use it as a regular sports watch / desk clock (i.e. a Casio G-Shock sitting on a stand). Apple Watches have an estimated battery life of 18 hours, so there will be plenty of instances when I will have to go without it. Plus, it’s always nice to have choices.
I started off by turning off all iPhone notifications sent to the Fenix. Next, I turned off Bluetooth on the watch (but left it on my phone). Last but not least, I looked into syncing directly with my computer. To do so, I installed Garmin Express on my Windows desktop. To my dismay, the program was slow and laggy. Running it slowed down my entire system (mind you, I have a pretty fast custom built PC).
Eventually, I did get Garmin Express to connect to my Fenix and update its GPS maps. Later USB syncs were better, but the initial experience left me wary. It would be ideal if I could completely sever the connection between my iPhone and the Fenix, but I might just leave it running. Syncing the watch via the phone is a lot more convenient. And unlike Mi Fit (aka Xiaomi’s app for the Mi Band), Garmin Connect does not seem to use up too much battery.
On a smartwatch related note, my dad’s order of Mi Band 5 came Friday morning. When I presented the package to him, he was giddy with excitement. I was surprised to see the order, considering that he had placed one for Mi Band 6 not too long ago. (That order was highly delayed due to special shipping restrictions from China.) My dad defended his purchase, by citing the price ($8.53, including tax + shipping) and the ability to charge easier (on his current Mi Band 4, he has to remove the band every time, which is a big hassle).
