I wear an Apple Watch every day — but here’s the simple reason why I swapped to Garmin for my half-marathon last weekend

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Here’s where the Garmin comes out on top

a photo of the Garmin Forerunner 570 in the rain
(Image credit: Future)

I’m a fitness editor who reviews some of the best smartwatches on the market for a living. Despite all my testing, for the past decade, I’ve mostly worn an Apple Watch on my wrist every single day — not only because those pesky rings have me hooked, but because the watch is an extension of my iPhone on my wrist, allowing me to check my diary, reply to texts, and listen to music on the move.

Yet when it came to choosing a running watch for my half-marathon yesterday, I reached for the Garmin Forerunner 570 over my Apple Watch Ultra 3 and for one simple reason — it has physical buttons, and the forecast for the run looked horrendous (welcome to February in the U.K.)

I review smartwatches for a living: Here’s why I opted for the Garmin Forerunner 570 over the Apple Watch Ultra 3

I’m currently training for my sixth marathon, and while I’ve worn the Ultra 3 for most of my training runs, it falls short of Garmin in rainy conditions. The weather for my half-marathon looked awful: nonstop rain and feels-like temperatures of 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Standing on the start line, I was already soaked and freezing, with 13.1 miles ahead of me.

Any runner will know, rain and touchscreens do not mesh. During a race, I like to lap my watch every mile marker, as you’ll often run further than the specified race distance once you’ve accounted for weaving other runners and, in my case, muddy puddles.

On my Apple Watch Ultra 3, I lap the watch by double-tapping the screen, but I’ve found that in the rain, this gets more complicated. Sure, you can configure the Action Button to lap, but I prefer to keep mine as a shortcut to pause my running workouts when I have to stop at traffic lights.

Garmin Forerunner 570

(Image credit: Future)

Instead, I opted for the Garmin Forerunner 570, which has physical buttons and a beautiful AMOLED touchscreen that is automatically disabled during workout modes. Despite the freezing cold rain and winds, my fingers worked for long enough into the run to lap my watch each mile, helping me stay on pace.

Of course, from a smartwatch perspective, the Garmin Forerunner 570 still falls short compared to the Apple Watch 11 or Apple Watch Ultra 3. You can download Garmin Pay and listen to music on the watch itself, but not much more. That said, when it comes down to it, despite being a dedicated Apple Watch wearer, I still find myself trusting Garmin on race day.

Read what happened when my colleague, and 2:25 marathon runner, Nick Harris-Fry, ran a marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro.

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Jane McGuire
Jane McGuire
Fitness editor

Jane McGuire is Tom's Guide's Fitness editor, which means she looks after everything fitness related - from running gear to yoga mats. An avid runner, Jane has tested and reviewed fitness products for the past five years, so knows what to look for when finding a good running watch or a pair of shorts with pockets big enough for your smartphone. When she's not pounding the pavements, you'll find Jane striding round the Surrey Hills, taking far too many photos of her puppy. 

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