Garmin‘s smartwatches have always been an exquisite blend of style and substance. Despite information on the Garmin Fenix 7 series being leaked since December 2021, the series wasn’t announced during CES 2022. Instead, the brand decided to wait till 18 January 2022 to announce its new range of multisport GPS smartwatches.
The Fenix 7 smartwatches come in three sizes – 42mm Fenix 7S, 47mm Fenix 7, and 51mm Fenix 7X. All three models come in either a Solar Edition or a Sapphire Solar Edition. Both editions have solar charging capabilities with the latter being made of titanium and sporting a sapphire display for added durability. The Fenix 7S and 7 also come in a regular edition made with fibre-reinforced polymer.
Battery life is a huge feature here, with Garmin claiming that with GPS enabled, the 7S has a maximum battery life of 90 hours, and 162 hours with solar charging. For the 7, the maximum battery life is 136 hours and 289 hours with solar charging. For the 7X, it is 213 hours, and 578 hours (that’s three and a half weeks) with solar charging.
These smartwatches also come with the expected incremental improvements with both software and hardware, with the 7X also featuring a hands-free LED flashlight for nighttime activities.
Garmin also announced the Epix (Gen2) smartwatch. The previous iteration of the Epix was from 2015, a whole seven years ago. The Epix (Gen 2) comes in three 47mm models, and has many of the same features as the Fenix 7, such as buttons, touchscreens, and Real-TIme Stamina, which calculates the users’ potential stamina level at different intensities of activity. The main difference is that the Epix doesn’t have an LED flashlight or solar charging. Garmin claims that the Epix (Gen 2) can last up to 16 days on a single charge, and six days with the always-on display enabled.
The Fenix 7S and 7 start from US$699.99, the Fenix 7X starts from US$899.99, while the Epix (Gen2) starts from US$899.99. Make no mistake, these are premium smartwatches for active users.
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