iPhone 14 Has SOS! Should You Ditch The Garmin?

Apple has entered the outdoors space! Should Garmin be worried? I saw some hikers on social media saying that they no longer needed their Garmin In-Reach now with the iPhone 14. But I'm not so sure about that. These are my two cents.

[SarahDoesSass]

If the only thing a person would need is SOS on occasion, Apple is fine. But, Garmin still kicks Apple's ass up one side and down the other in the outdoor space. From battery life, bread crumb tracking, using the Iridium satellite network, manual buttons that can be activated with gloves... Apple will be fine for the casual user to have the device that is already in their pocket going for a day hike, but for serious enthusiasts or pros, these devices just don't cut it

Perfectly summed up: Feature, not function. 👏👏👏

[chrish]

Good summary! I guess some of it will depend on how Garmin respond - hopefully with lower prices to complete with the fringe use cases which may otherwise stay iPhone-only for SOS satellite comms. I guess many serious Garmin users will remain with the all-round superior but pricier system they offer.

[mylancannon]

Cool video! I’m with you on sticking with devices that are fully designed for the gps comms functionality. But very exciting new Apple feature for sure!

[jazzfan]

Agree with your well-expressed points. I don't have a Garmin device but seems to me Garmin has a few advantages. In particular, you can send texts to anyone, not just SOS services. As well, the physical antenna on Garmin devices might make a difference. We shall see. On the other hand, look at what Apple is doing in photography (Apple -- and cell phones in general, of course -- has pretty much destroyed the market for small digital cameras). Apple has a massive advantage in any market it enters because it simply has so much money to throw at research. I think we can expect in the next 2 years Apple will improve the satellite service a lot. Wouldn't be surprised if 2 years from now there is unlimited satellite texting (with an additional monthly fee for the carriers, I'm sure).

[wildandliving]

Works on phone network. With dead spots it won't work

[boyhowdy]

Great concise video on this topic. Agree, for now I'd stick with the known quantity, Garmin, but yes, hopefully it will light a fire under them to make the InReach more user friendly. I've been using Garmin watches for 10+ years, but finally got an InReach last year, and...it's not the same as the watches 😅 can't speak to Apple, so I appreciate your perspective as an Apple user.

[ogimilosevic]

What about the battery life? Phones are dismal in that area. It's a no-brainer.