This is great. Really difficult to find in depth comparisons like this. My Mini2 has been a workhorse, but have always been curious how it stacks up. Well done!
Thank you! And yea, I hadn't tested the newer multi-band devices on the GC walls in a while so was curious. Big surprise that the Mini 2 hung so well, very cool.
A few things I love about my Garmin that an Apple Watch cannot compete with are the battery life, route tracking, and temps. Oh! Best of all, I could go 5 years without having to think of an upgrade.
just got my Fenix 7 Pro and I know I won't bother with a new watch for many years, especially the updates down the line, where you get all the new features for years to come are amazing.
I’ve compared my 66i to my 3rd gen iPhone SE running CalTopo in heavy tree coverage. The phone track is way more zigzagging with the Garmin following the old skid road a lot closer. I’m recalling a .5 mile longer track over 3 miles on the phone. I run the Garmin with gps only no ruski satellites. I attribute the Garmin accuracy to a purpose built device with an external antenna.
One small thing to consider with regard to the watches they are on your wrist and have much smaller antennas. The others generally in this type of situation would be in a pocket or somewhere in a back pack, where they would not be moving quite so erratically. I have the Epix pro 51mm fabulous watch and I find way more accurate than my iPhone 14 Pro Max when you get to small intricacies of a trail, although in open sky situations they can even determine which side of a path you’ve travelled on. As a general route recording tool most of the gps enabled devices these days are accurate enough. Interesting test though
I would have like to known the battery life and impact on each device as well. It is only as good as it has run time . My experience is it varies and it would be great additional information. Good job!!
Are you sure none of these devices are snapping the trackline to a known hiking trail? Great walkthrough of the trackline comparison. So beautiful out west, wow!
great videos. I always want reviews of every feature like this. Absolute GPS accuracy is not necessary. but I want to see who has make it better, like Ulefone they have dual-band and they say it gives better accuracy but actually it is not quite accurate in this test. interesting If you can, please do this GPS test for other brands or phone models. Carrying 10 phones while hiking seems to be funny haha
This is a very good comparison, AllTrails would have been interesting vs mostly GAIA and a Sunto watch in the mix would have made this incredible. The 67i and a RINO would be the go to with a multi ban watch. Thank you for the effort.
Yea I was surprised. I had done hikes with the Fenix 3,5,eTrex, etc over the years and they all did much better. No crazy points located a mile off the course.
@Hikingguy for all intents and purposes, for the average hiker, any of these devices will work just fine. It would come down to preferences. For longer hikes a hand held may be better only for the battery life aspect
I know you are being vigilant and careful while investigating different units. But what we are looking at here are logs. The reason I point this out is for the possibility of different refresh/save intervals and averaging. What is the experience while on trail, are the units suggesting you are in meaningfully different locations, would you get lost/fall off a cliff if you had whiteout conditions?
Well done! Best comparison I've seen. During my own extreme experience fenix 5, bending my wrist at 90 ish degrees with gloves and jacket accidentally pressed the pause button. Happened twice. Might have pushed myself over a log. Not sure.
@@LK77315 that doesn't work by default on fenix 7. It has to be set in settings. I added lock device to quick functions or whatever they are called. Should suffice.
Big thanks from germany for this comparison 🇩🇪 What about the battery drain? How many weeks / days / hours where left on the AW Ultra 2 and Epix Pro after this day? How useful is the flashlight on the Epix Pro?
Great comparison video! How were the conditions on South Kaibab? Are microspikes needed? And did you go up North Kaibab? I'm planning to do R2R2R on April 6.
@@alexanderkennedy1801 It went well! It snowed the night before on the south rim so there was about 1-2 inches of fresh snow on South Kaibab for the first 2-3 miles before it cleared out. It was not icy so no microspikes needed (although I did carry them just to be safe). On North Kaibab there was quite a bit of snow the last few miles to the rim. It was mostly tracked down, although there was some fresh snow. Again, it was not icy so I never used my microspikes. I was wearing a new pair of trail runners with pretty good traction. There was a lot of mud and puddles a few miles below the rim which was fun once you accepted the fact you couldn't avoid it.
I enjoyed your comparison with the different gps units. I was wandering on the Apple 15 watch so you use a particular app for measurement? The same question with the Apple Ultra 2?
0:48 GPS receivers don't transmit so they can't cause interference to each other. It's better to keep them as close as possible to minimise the difference in signal strength (e.g. due to multipath propagation). Interesting data nevertheless, thank you for the video!
1 - sorry not implying that they transmit anything for GPS functionality 2 - I've spoken with Garmin and ZOLEO engineers in the past and they've indicated that the units should be kept apart because of potential general electromagnetic interference, and specifically from Iridium transmit interference, especially with the receivers that include on GLONASS 3 - assuming all of us moving at a hiking pace within a few feet of each other would yield similar results (from a multipath perspective)
In theory, every receiver emits a low level of unintentional radiation. Even if devices comply with FCC (or similar regulatory body) standards, they can still potentially interfere with each other, particularly when in close proximity.
It was intentionally not set to that in this test because: 1 - I wanted it to match the "smart" recording on the other devices (which I could not set to a custom interval) 2 - You have to manually pause the GPS in that mode when you stop or you will get inflated distances from nesting Overall if you want the most accurate track on a Garmin, set the record interval to the lowest you can, turn off smart recording, and make sure you pause it whenever you stop. That's generally how I record when creating a trail guide.
GPS tracking is meaningless if you cannot follow a route. That’s why most users that do serious MTB riding or Trail running buy Garmin. If Apple could read GPX or KML files for route tracking it would be a winner….. sadly that’s it’s downfall
There are apps you can use to navigate with a GPX file on a phone or Apple Watch, it's just not baked into the operating system like on Garmin. And lots of folks who just hike occasionally and want to know if their iPhone or Apple Watch will be able to record the their workout accurately.
@@Hikingguy true. I really like the footpath app I found from your channel. Granted I have a garmin inreach which I also have my route on as a backup and for SOS but I mostly will use the footpath app and my iPhone for day hikes or FarOut app if I want other waypoints on a map already in place. I don’t do many multi-day hikes since having small children so it works for me.
Thinking of getting an iPhone 14 or 15 and was wondering if it could replace my Garmin Inreach. Your study seems to say it can. What are your thoughts?
The best option is the inReach, but if you are in an area covered by iPhone and want to cut costs, the iPhone is a great option. Personally I keep the inReach - it's more expensive but it's my life / safety so its worth it for me.
I find the Android phone struggles interesting. I've used Android navigation, not for hiking so maybe not a great comparison, but it's always spot on in my experience. Makes me wonder if a different Android phone would have worked better?
@@Hikingguy thank you for your reply, almost a rhetorical statement but it's a pleasure to hear your thoughts. Yes it would be interesting to see what the pure Google Experience is such as the Pixel. Really enjoy your channel a lot, thanks.
The GPS tracking is a hardware thing, not software -- there's no reason to think that all Android phones will have the same GPS behavior. TBH, I've never heard of a Ulefone before -- it would probably make more sense to test mainstream phones like Samsung and Google Pixel. We just spent a month hiking in the southwest using Alltrails and a Samsung S22 with no issues (although none of our hikes were on such a well defined trails as in the Grand Canyon where it's almost impossible to wander off the preferred route, so it's harder to tell if it was the GPS that deviated a little or us). That said, we were always able to use the GPS and map to easily rejoin the trail if we'd taken a little detour.
iPhone and Apple Watch are the best. Why? Because they are multi use devices and have bought them already. Every other device costs a lot of money only for navigation.
It’s an android thing. Something by the lines of mass produced clothes vs tailored suits. Baggy clothes look good too but they have no place at a tailored suit occasion.
Tailored suit being IOS tailored for Apple hardware for every new gen device and mass produced clothes being one size fits all, android used on every form shape and size of hardwares.
You guys rely on GPS too much, what if you run out of battery or an attack happen and your GPS is useless… GPS is nice to have but i always cross reference my location with a compass and three or more known points.
i'm realy surprised how well the Mini did its job. great comparison
Immediate good energy
Love this vibe
ok
This is great. Really difficult to find in depth comparisons like this. My Mini2 has been a workhorse, but have always been curious how it stacks up. Well done!
Thank you! And yea, I hadn't tested the newer multi-band devices on the GC walls in a while so was curious. Big surprise that the Mini 2 hung so well, very cool.
Thank you!
A few things I love about my Garmin that an Apple Watch cannot compete with are the battery life, route tracking, and temps. Oh! Best of all, I could go 5 years without having to think of an upgrade.
just got my Fenix 7 Pro and I know I won't bother with a new watch for many years, especially the updates down the line, where you get all the new features for years to come are amazing.
Sticking with my Apple phone and Ultra watch......no need for separate costly items with these gems.
Apple would add subscription fee and that would cost more than actually buying a Garmin which will be reliable in emergency situations
@@shahadsorwar3843 Um, they already offer the service without additional fees. What are you actually talking about?
Great video. Jeez, you have a lot of $$ tied up in tech. You're the Consumer Reports of hiking gear.
Ha yea, I usually buy it and then sell on eBay when a new model comes out. I don't have DC Rainmaker money unfortunately...
This is why i love this channel
I’ve compared my 66i to my 3rd gen iPhone SE running CalTopo in heavy tree coverage. The phone track is way more zigzagging with the Garmin following the old skid road a lot closer. I’m recalling a .5 mile longer track over 3 miles on the phone.
I run the Garmin with gps only no ruski satellites.
I attribute the Garmin accuracy to a purpose built device with an external antenna.
Gives me faith in my Garmin 67i. Thanks.
We never miss an episode. Thank you for your thoroughness.
Thank you!
Great video! Saved me 400 bucks on the Garmin, stick with phone and watch
Have the Epix Gen 2 and for me its Garmin all the way!
Please try to compare several models of Android phones on a future hike.
One small thing to consider with regard to the watches they are on your wrist and have much smaller antennas.
The others generally in this type of situation would be in a pocket or somewhere in a back pack, where they would not be moving quite so erratically.
I have the Epix pro 51mm fabulous watch and I find way more accurate than my iPhone 14 Pro Max when you get to small intricacies of a trail, although in open sky situations they can even determine which side of a path you’ve travelled on.
As a general route recording tool most of the gps enabled devices these days are accurate enough.
Interesting test though
I would have like to known the battery life and impact on each device as well. It is only as good as it has run time . My experience is it varies and it would be great additional information. Good job!!
Neat I always really liked gpsmap 65s for use out here.
Another great video, thank you for this test. 🙂
Are you sure none of these devices are snapping the trackline to a known hiking trail? Great walkthrough of the trackline comparison. So beautiful out west, wow!
No cell services (airplane mode) and there were no offline maps saved via the OS so don't think Apple was doing the auto snap to road
Great video and comparison!
Great video, thanks for sharing.
I am currently saving up for the Garmin 67i gps.
JT
Thank you so much for your time and expertise!!
great videos. I always want reviews of every feature like this. Absolute GPS accuracy is not necessary. but I want to see who has make it better, like Ulefone they have dual-band and they say it gives better accuracy but actually it is not quite accurate in this test. interesting
If you can, please do this GPS test for other brands or phone models. Carrying 10 phones while hiking seems to be funny haha
Great test. I wonder how it would be in the forest.
This is a very good comparison, AllTrails would have been interesting vs mostly GAIA and a Sunto watch in the mix would have made this incredible. The 67i and a RINO would be the go to with a multi ban watch. Thank you for the effort.
Another useful video! The Apple Watch Ultra was not too bad.
Another awesome and useful video. Thanks!
Perhaps how they are being worn or stored makes a difference?
With the one exception they all did rather well considering the terrain.
Yea I was surprised. I had done hikes with the Fenix 3,5,eTrex, etc over the years and they all did much better. No crazy points located a mile off the course.
@Hikingguy for all intents and purposes, for the average hiker, any of these devices will work just fine. It would come down to preferences. For longer hikes a hand held may be better only for the battery life aspect
@@rcuadro agreed
Awesome & Thanks :)
I know you are being vigilant and careful while investigating different units. But what we are looking at here are logs. The reason I point this out is for the possibility of different refresh/save intervals and averaging.
What is the experience while on trail, are the units suggesting you are in meaningfully different locations, would you get lost/fall off a cliff if you had whiteout conditions?
Well done! Best comparison I've seen. During my own extreme experience fenix 5, bending my wrist at 90 ish degrees with gloves and jacket accidentally pressed the pause button. Happened twice. Might have pushed myself over a log. Not sure.
Happens to me on fenix 7 all the time. Not pause tho, but changing data fields if you can imagine. :D
You can lock the device by pressing the menu and back buttons at the same time.
@@LK77315 that doesn't work by default on fenix 7. It has to be set in settings. I added lock device to quick functions or whatever they are called. Should suffice.
Thanks for doing this.
I teach a class to game wardens and park rangers titled, GPS for Evidentriary Use. I'm going to mention this video in my PowerPoint. Thanks.
Thank you!
Epic video! Gpsmap is the winner!
Super video and very interesting
Great video!
That movable 3D topo view is outstanding! Is that an option in Caltopo?
Not that I can see but hopefully they'll introduce it at some point.
Good vid. Interesting.
Where is Galaxy Ultra 24? It's literally one of the best phones out there for GPS as well.
Probably in a video called Apple vs Android, not Apple vs Garmin
lol
@426moparman426 iPhone is joke.. lol
Does the Mini2 do comparatively well because it's shoulder-mounted? Tiny difference but maybe adds up over the length of the trail?
Could be, hard to say. The 68i and Ulefone were also shoulder mounted on my buddies fyi.
Yes, it appears that in some places all of them are not on the path.
Thank your for detailed comparison.
Are you able to connect Garmin Mini 2 with Garmin Connect App ?
Unfortunately not, just Explore
Big thanks from germany for this comparison 🇩🇪
What about the battery drain?
How many weeks / days / hours where left on the AW Ultra 2 and Epix Pro after this day? How useful is the flashlight on the Epix Pro?
Check out my videos on the Epix and AW - this is just a GPS test
@@Hikingguy Thanks, will do.
Great comparison video! How were the conditions on South Kaibab? Are microspikes needed? And did you go up North Kaibab? I'm planning to do R2R2R on April 6.
SK was muddy with some slush at top. Didn't do NK this time. Still construction on BA pipleline - lots of crews, helicopters, etc.
How did it go?
@@alexanderkennedy1801 It went well! It snowed the night before on the south rim so there was about 1-2 inches of fresh snow on South Kaibab for the first 2-3 miles before it cleared out. It was not icy so no microspikes needed (although I did carry them just to be safe). On North Kaibab there was quite a bit of snow the last few miles to the rim. It was mostly tracked down, although there was some fresh snow. Again, it was not icy so I never used my microspikes. I was wearing a new pair of trail runners with pretty good traction. There was a lot of mud and puddles a few miles below the rim which was fun once you accepted the fact you couldn't avoid it.
@@schoukri great to hear
I enjoyed your comparison with the different gps units. I was wandering on the Apple 15 watch so you use a particular app for measurement? The same question with the Apple Ultra 2?
There're mentioned in the vid - Gaia GPS and Workoutdoors
Tnx 👍
How did they compare w/r to elevation gain?
Good question - aside from the Ulefone, they were all within 4 feet of each other, which is amazing
well done!
Of all the top rated android phones why pick this one?
It has satellite communications and I'm testing it for that first
0:48 GPS receivers don't transmit so they can't cause interference to each other. It's better to keep them as close as possible to minimise the difference in signal strength (e.g. due to multipath propagation).
Interesting data nevertheless, thank you for the video!
1 - sorry not implying that they transmit anything for GPS functionality
2 - I've spoken with Garmin and ZOLEO engineers in the past and they've indicated that the units should be kept apart because of potential general electromagnetic interference, and specifically from Iridium transmit interference, especially with the receivers that include on GLONASS
3 - assuming all of us moving at a hiking pace within a few feet of each other would yield similar results (from a multipath perspective)
@@Hikingguy You're right, the GLONASS L1 and Iridium are indeed pretty close together (1604 vs 1610 mhz). TIL.
In theory, every receiver emits a low level of unintentional radiation. Even if devices comply with FCC (or similar regulatory body) standards, they can still potentially interfere with each other, particularly when in close proximity.
I wish you had a galaxy or a pixel.
Thanks for the video! Why pixel 7 or 8 is missing?
Garmin vs Apple video
i wonder with these tests if everyone remembers/knows to change the GPS sampling on the Garmins to 1 second intervals as its set to smart by default.
It was intentionally not set to that in this test because:
1 - I wanted it to match the "smart" recording on the other devices (which I could not set to a custom interval)
2 - You have to manually pause the GPS in that mode when you stop or you will get inflated distances from nesting
Overall if you want the most accurate track on a Garmin, set the record interval to the lowest you can, turn off smart recording, and make sure you pause it whenever you stop. That's generally how I record when creating a trail guide.
Please suggest the best hiking app for Apple watch Ultra.
ruclips.net/video/PMap5_X4NHk/видео.html
GPS tracking is meaningless if you cannot follow a route. That’s why most users that do serious MTB riding or Trail running buy Garmin. If Apple could read GPX or KML files for route tracking it would be a winner….. sadly that’s it’s downfall
The watch app “workoutdoors” takes GPX tracks and uses open street map map data for its offline map. Been very happy with it for a number of years
Alao the battery of Garmin is on another league… 🤷🏻♂️
There are apps you can use to navigate with a GPX file on a phone or Apple Watch, it's just not baked into the operating system like on Garmin. And lots of folks who just hike occasionally and want to know if their iPhone or Apple Watch will be able to record the their workout accurately.
@@Hikingguy true. I really like the footpath app I found from your channel. Granted I have a garmin inreach which I also have my route on as a backup and for SOS but I mostly will use the footpath app and my iPhone for day hikes or FarOut app if I want other waypoints on a map already in place. I don’t do many multi-day hikes since having small children so it works for me.
and the lack of long battery power, and the problem with oled overheating in warm conditions, and the lack of handlebar mounts, and so on…
Thinking of getting an iPhone 14 or 15 and was wondering if it could replace my Garmin Inreach. Your study seems to say it can. What are your thoughts?
The best option is the inReach, but if you are in an area covered by iPhone and want to cut costs, the iPhone is a great option. Personally I keep the inReach - it's more expensive but it's my life / safety so its worth it for me.
El Garmin también es bueno, no?. Yo tengo el Fénix 7 y creo que monta el mismo sistema de GPS que el Epic. Saludos y gracias por la review 😉👍
I have a Garmin 750i but it is so complicated to use and I wonder whether you have compared this unit to compare with others in your channel.
I have a guide to the 750 on my channel but no comparison videos. I sold it a few years ago.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is cutting corners and has less detailed track
I find the Android phone struggles interesting. I've used Android navigation, not for hiking so maybe not a great comparison, but it's always spot on in my experience. Makes me wonder if a different Android phone would have worked better?
Reviewing the Ulefone and going to do comparisons with my Google Pixel - not sure if it's a Ulefone thing or maybe just a bad day for the device
@@Hikingguy thank you for your reply, almost a rhetorical statement but it's a pleasure to hear your thoughts. Yes it would be interesting to see what the pure Google Experience is such as the Pixel. Really enjoy your channel a lot, thanks.
j@@mattsutube thank you!
The GPS tracking is a hardware thing, not software -- there's no reason to think that all Android phones will have the same GPS behavior. TBH, I've never heard of a Ulefone before -- it would probably make more sense to test mainstream phones like Samsung and Google Pixel. We just spent a month hiking in the southwest using Alltrails and a Samsung S22 with no issues (although none of our hikes were on such a well defined trails as in the Grand Canyon where it's almost impossible to wander off the preferred route, so it's harder to tell if it was the GPS that deviated a little or us). That said, we were always able to use the GPS and map to easily rejoin the trail if we'd taken a little detour.
iPhone and Apple Watch are the best. Why? Because they are multi use devices and have bought them already. Every other device costs a lot of money only for navigation.
It’s an android thing. Something by the lines of mass produced clothes vs tailored suits. Baggy clothes look good too but they have no place at a tailored suit occasion.
Tailored suit being IOS tailored for Apple hardware for every new gen device and mass produced clothes being one size fits all, android used on every form shape and size of hardwares.
Not surprised the Ulefone did terrible, considering it's a cheap no-name brand device.
Actually not, it's a new device and one of the only ones with a dedicated satellite communications via GEO satellites using Bullitt.
now try huawei !
⌚️
Need samsung
that ule thing is just disposable chinese junk. would be interested in seeing accuracy of genuine phones like the Galaxy ultra or a Oneplus. thanks!
In short, just use the iphone which you already own
I had no idea that Apple was that superior to Garmin!
I just wonder these device work in China😢
Exactly why I stay clear of androids
Why ulefone at all? It's chinese knockoff who can claim whatever they want with no respect to their customers.
Because it has satellite connectivity and I'm testing it. The satellite messaging works well.
You guys rely on GPS too much, what if you run out of battery or an attack happen and your GPS is useless… GPS is nice to have but i always cross reference my location with a compass and three or more known points.
Then I use the map I carry.
Anything but Apple.
Not much choice left for pocketable devices
Android is garbage as usual.
Android for the win, not.
Apple Watch in hiking?? Really? Its joke! This device can working 5 hours! Ahaha. Trash.
Also 🪦weird android phones. I'm glad you're trying them out though.