regarding the passive tracking I dont have a clue
To avoid waiting up to several minutes to get the GPS data when I start my workout, I'll switch to an exercise mode to start acquiring the GPS data while I change into my workout gear and leave the watch near a window.
By the time I've finished changing, the GPS data is available and the watch will behave almost like I had downloaded the EPO/CPE files from Garmin Connect.
The battery life is also nowhere near the advertised length (13 days). Most disappointing is that their support people say to expect about 60% of that, which is what I’m getting.
That said, this will likely be the replacement for my Pebble. Battery life over 6 days, buttons to control music playback, and an English-first UI (amazfit falls down here).
The "up to 13 days" number is based on a specific set of behaviors/usage, [1] and the Garmin support people have not been able to explain why I'm not getting it. They have looked at logs for my device and have been content to say that 60% of the "up to" number is normal for their devices.
I was hoping for much better, especially considering the Verge's reviewer [2] said she was getting 6.5 days with AOD turned on, and was on track for 15 with it turned off. I wonder if she was given a bespoke unit by Garmin, which is better than the ones that we get in retail stores.
1: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=daNp4hnaAZ9Fg1XdFcZez5
2: https://www.theverge.com/23632332/garmin-forerunner-265s-rev...
Can the device receive notifications from my iPhone without an account? That's one of the main reasons I use the device.
I think to get notifications it has to use the app.
My 945 is pretty close to advertised when I’m not too active.