I tested the Garmin Vivoactive 6 and Apple Watch SE, and I still prefer Garmin as a gym mate

The Apple Watch SE is the blueprint for what most people expect from a smartwatch: a clean design, deep smartphone integration, and enough wellness tracking features to stay reasonably healthy. At a reduced price compared to the brand’s flagship lineup, the SE is also accessible. However, with the launch of the Vivoactive 6, Garmin seems to be stepping up to the plate with a potential competitor.

After testing both watches side by side, it’s clear Garmin isn’t trying to beat Apple at its own game. It’s playing a different one. And for anyone serious about fitness, it might be a tempting prospect.

At a glance, these watches tell different stories. The Apple Watch SE wears like a piece of jewelry. It’s minimalist, rounded, and familiar. Despite its robust tracking suite, I tend to set it with watch faces that emphasize aesthetics more than stats, so the daily impression is less sporty and more covert-tech (or as covert as a smartwatch can be). It’s also so ubiquitous that it doesn’t say much about my fitness regimen; you’re as likely to see an Apple Watch on an exec as you are on a power-walking mom.

In other words, I’m just as comfortable wearing the SE to a dinner party as I am on a treadmill. The Vivoactive 6, by contrast, feels unapologetically purposeful. Its rounded, sport-first build and physical buttons are made for the gym (or the trail), and while I think it’s a good-looking watch, it’s not quite as upscale as Apple’s offerings. It’s a fitness tracker first and foremost.

Yet, despite the fact that the SE fits more scenarios, the Garmin stays on my wrist longer thanks to its fantastic battery life. As is often the case with Garmin watches, longevity is a strong point of the Vivoactive 6. The Apple Watch SE requires a daily top-up, lasting just over 24 hours between charges. The Vivoactive 6 easily lasted me five days per charge. That kind of endurance means I don’t have to think about charging it before a hike or a morning workout, and I can take it on overnight adventures without packing a cable.

Workouts and weekend adventures are, of course, where Garmin shines. The Vivoactive 6 tracks everything from steps and calories to training load, recovery time, heart rate variability (HRV), stress, and sleep, plus Garmin-specific tools like Body Battery and Health Snapshot. It’s an incredibly dense platform that turns stats into actionable insights.

Apple has made huge strides in sports tracking, but Garmin contextualizes data in a way that feels more athlete-focused. When I train too hard, Garmin responds with recovery advice. When I underperform, it guides me just the same. I love Apple’s Rings for basic motivation as much as the next person, but Garmin’s tools are built for more dedicated athletes and data junkies.

Even on GPS accuracy, Garmin still holds the edge. I ran identical routes with both watches and compared the maps. Garmin’s tracks were tighter and more consistent, especially in tree cover and dense areas. You can see on the map above the SE’s route dips into the road rather than sticking to the path I actually ran. Around the bend, it even has me on the complete opposite side of the street. To be fair, overall, the SE is very good, but if true precision matters, Garmin is still the benchmark.

Without a doubt, the Apple Watch SE is the better smartwatch. It handles calls, texts, voice commands, app support, and music control with the kind of seamlessness only Apple can pull off. The haptics are crisp, the interface is smooth, and the third-party app support is unmatched. And yet, during workouts, I found myself constantly distracted by it. Deep iPhone integration means a flood of buzzes, banners, group chats, and news alerts breaking my focus. The Vivoactive 6, by contrast, stayed quiet. It delivered only the essentials: a notification here, a calendar alert there. And when I needed to check something, the interface was simple and distraction-free. I wasn’t tempted to scroll through the family chat while pausing a workout or changing my music. Sometimes, less really is more, especially when you’re mid-run and looking for any excuse to quit early.

So yes, the Apple Watch SE remains a crowd-pleaser. It’s the ultimate entry point into the Apple Watch world and impressively capable for the price. It’s long been my preferred option for everyday wear because I love the seamless integration with my iPhone and the robust app support (outside of the gym setting). But Garmin isn’t chasing Apple’s formula. The Vivoactive 6 doubles down on data-rich fitness, weeklong battery life, and tools that help you train smarter. When I’m in the thick of a training cycle and care more about split times than text replies, that focus makes it a far more useful device.