Thanks, but after reading umpteen negative critiques of pulse-taking gizmos, I think I'll give it a miss for now.

ANglEAUT:

 

geekIT: ... Does the watch need to be constantly near the phone\tablet for the app to work? Or can it connect and summarize the next time it's within range?...

That's how most of these devices work. The phone / tablet does not have to be in close proximity for the wristband to function, e.g. when you are doing a swim or run or .... They will try and sync the data when you open the app on the phone/tablet, but they can function 'for days' without connectivity to the app. I sync once a day in the evenings to make sure I capture the days data. I charge my device twice a week. As stated above, the app is only required for initial setup & historical data.

 

Hello,

Wife was thinking about getting the Garmin watch but was unclear on whether she had to have her phone on her as well as the watch all day. But reading above am i correct in saying after initial setup you only need to have both together (or in vicinity) when you want to sync the data from watch to phone/app?

Thanks

DamageInc:

 

Hello,

 

Wife was thinking about getting the Garmin watch but was unclear on whether she had to have her phone on her as well as the watch all day. But reading above am i correct in saying after initial setup you only need to have both together (or in vicinity) when you want to sync the data from watch to phone/app?

 

Thanks

 

Correct. Have found the heart rate and stress measurements on mine (based on pulse and HRV) pretty good, and anecdotally have heard similar from others. But the Garmins are not cheap...  Not sure about your wife's requirements\use cases, but personally I  probably would have gone with the Instinct if they had been more readily available when I bought it. 

EDIT: FYI, did a bit of reading when I first got my Garmin (Fenix 5 but I think most are similar) and came to the conclusion that you can go about 2-4 weeks between syncing heartrate\step data and it will store about 7-10 activities before needing a sync - if it runs out of space for activities it discards the oldest. If heartrate is your most important metric you can always view current heartrate, a graph of the last 4 hours or a graph of your average RHR over the last 7 days on the device without needing a sync. 

sidefx:

 

DamageInc:

 

Hello,

 

Wife was thinking about getting the Garmin watch but was unclear on whether she had to have her phone on her as well as the watch all day. But reading above am i correct in saying after initial setup you only need to have both together (or in vicinity) when you want to sync the data from watch to phone/app?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

Correct. Have found the heart rate and stress measurements on mine (based on pulse and HRV) pretty good, and anecdotally have heard similar from others. But the Garmins are not cheap...  Not sure about your wife's requirements\use cases, but personally I probably would have gone with the Instinct if they had been more readily available when I bought it. 

 

 

 

EDIT: FYI, did a bit of reading when I first got my Garmin (Fenix 5 but I think most are similar) and came to the conclusion that you can go about 2-4 weeks between syncing heartrate\step data and it will store about 7-10 activities before needing a sync - if it runs out of space for activities it discards the oldest. If heartrate is your most important metric you can always view current heartrate, a graph of the last 4 hours or a graph of your average RHR over the last 7 days on the device without needing a sync. 

 

Thank you