Are you ready to own the latest innovative sports watch?
The Garmin Fenix 7 is finally here and it’s already impressing us.
The Garmin Fenix was released on the 18th of January 2022, and you can order it on Garmin’s website directly now. Garmin has surprised the market with new colors and in-depth sports features never before seen. You can track your sports activities to a professional athlete level.
Top current Fenix 7 deals
Take a look at our favorite merchants currently selling the Garmin Fenix 7
| Model | Merchant | |
| Garmin Fenix 7X Solar | Amazon | View Offer |
| Garmin Fenix 7 Silver | eBay | View Offer |
| Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire | Best Buy | View Offer |
| Garmin Epix Gen 2 | Amazon | View Offer |
Read: 2022/2023 Latest Garmin Rumors – Which watches are next
Read more: Garmin Venu 2 Plus v.s. Google Pixel
Table of Contents
- Are you ready to own the latest innovative sports watch?
- A closer look at the Fenix 7
- New activity profiles
- How low can we go?
- How does the Fenix 7 compare to the Epix 2?
- End of the year summary
- Should I buy the Fenix 7?
Summary: The top new Fenix 7 features
Navigation
Navigate and connect with many tens of thousands of worldwide professional Ski, Golf, and topographical maps with the built-in Wifi on your watch. Robust navigation possibilities including best in class ABC sensors, Multi-GNSS support for location tracking wherever you are.
Sports and health tracking
Track your body battery and stamina in real-time and also get an accurate estimation of your recovery time based on your body, stress levels, and sleep patterns to an advanced level. The Fenix 7 will aggregate all your health data, including your sleep quality, and predict your starting and ending of day potential for your sports activities.
Display
The display incorporates a touchscreen which enables intuitive navigation of the watch features.
The Fenix 7 uses a sunlight-visible, transflective MIP 1.3″ 260×260 pixel display. The Fenix 7S has a 240x240px 1.2″ display and the 7X a 280x280px 1.4″ display. Some of the models feature a titanium band for an extra cost.
LED Flashlight Feature
Though there isn’t much of a difference in terms of brightness or screen performance, the Fenix 7X has an added flashlight. This handy tool is only available on the Fenix 7X and it’s built into the device without appearing bulky.
The flashlight offers red and white light modes, as well as pulse and flash settings too. This is ideal for any nighttime workouts, giving you extra visibility and keeping you safe.
Music
In terms of music, you get 32GB of storage which can store up to 2000 songs. It now works with Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music. Your wireless headphones can be used for listening directly from your watch via Bluetooth.
Pricing and deals
Top current Fenix 7X deals
Fenix 7 models
The Garmin Fenix 7 comes in 3 different sizes: the Fenix 7S (42mm), Fenix 7 (47mm), and Fenix 7X (51mm). You can get them in either standard glass, Solar or Solar, and Sapphire Glass.
The 7X only comes in Solar or Solar Sapphire currently. That’s eight different models at launch.
Color and appearance
In terms of colors, Garmin introduces the Mineral Blue DLC Titanium with Whitestone Band, the Dark Bronze Titanium with Shale Gray Band and the Cream Gold Titanium with Light Sand Band. Also, you can get it in 3 different blacks – the Carbon Gray and Black, DLC Titanium, and the Slate Gray.
Power and battery life
Power management has been improved and in a combination with solar charging, you can get the 7X solar model running up to 37 days in smartwatch mode without charge and 90 days in battery saver mode. The standard Fenix 7 will run up to 18 days on a single charge and the Fenix 7 Solar up to 22 days. In battery saver mode it will last up to 57 days and 90+ days with the solar model.
Garmin Fenix 7 Features
Tough design
The Fenix 7 features an extra-tough design that’s more durable than ever with the MIL-810 standard for durability testing. Since this smartwatch is optimized for active sports, it needs to be hardwearing as accidents happen. While the Fenix 6 is still an impressively designed smartwatch, the Fenix 7 takes this even further. With a robust build and a thinner bezel, this sports watch will survive any workout.
Visual race predictor
While this tool was available on the Fenix 6, it’s been updated for the 7. Instead of viewing lists of predicted times, the Fenix 7 now allows users to see their data plotted on graphs with increases or decreases. Personally, we think this list is much more inspiring.
With the new sports activities added, comes new features for the user experience. By programming your exercise on the Connect App and downloading it to your smartwatch, you are ready for your workout. From this stage onwards, your Garmin will alert you and give you instructions on what to do. If you connected your earpiece, the instructions are also verbal in your ear. If you are swimming it would be a Beep.
Other features
You’ll get improved sleep monitoring, with a full breakdown of your sleep stages directly displayed on your watch.
Incident detection works in a similar way to the Garmin 6 range. When triggered, the watch will send an alert to your emergency contacts.
The Fenix 7 is waterproof to 10ATM (100m).
Drawbacks
What the watch lacks is LTE, a speaker, and a microphone. It’s more of a professional sports watch than a personal assistant.
If you really need those features you should go for the Venu 2 Plus. Some people expected a bit more in terms of health monitoring such as the addition of ECG but that was not included in the release. The FDA has recently approved the ECG recording feature for the Venu 2 Plus. This means that it is more than likely to appear with the next release of the Fenix series.
A closer look at the Fenix 7
Here’s a closer look at some of the new Fenix 7 features and how some compare to the Fenix 6 range.
Exploring solar power
Solar has been incorporated in all the different sizes as an optional feature. While the Fenix 6 range also had solar power options, these have been strengthened for the Fenix 7 range.
The cheaper options in the Fenix 7 range feature stronger glass. However, you can pay more for the Power Glass lens or the Power Sapphire Lens. The Power Sapphire option gives you added solar power alongside sapphire crystals too.
As seen before the release, the case is MIL-STD 810 and uses Power Glass. Garmin uses Power Glass watch lens technology for solar charging. The display shows the number of remaining power in days based on current power consumption.
Also, the Fenix 7 is waterproof up to 100 meters — or, more than 300 feet. The Fenix 7 Power Glass provides more effective solar charging than the one on the Fenix 6 solar models.
MIL-STD 810 ensures new Garmin Watches are environmentally tested and use materials designed to meet US Military standards for the conditions expected in the service life of the device.
Familiar design
One of the realities for Fenix watch wearers is that you can’t be accused of its cutting-edge style — a reality we’d like to change. Reducing the bulkiness of the Fenix to give it a fashion-forward look will increase its appeal. It could also attract a whole new market.
The new Garmin 7 is thinner by 0.5 mm to 1 mm depending on the model where the average thickness is now around 14 mm. This isn’t a significant difference and the design looks similar to the 6 models.
While some Fenix fans might scoff at the design, the reality is the Fenix range will always look more rugged than other watches. If you want the watch to have modern sensors, durability, and various other features, it’ll lose its sleekness as a fashion watch.
New dual-frequency GNSS chipset
Garmin has had a year to test and adapt the chipset to its new model since it’s been on the market for a year. As we expected, this feature is included in the new Fenix 7 launch. You can use GNSS chipset software on the Solar Sapphire models of the 7, 7X, and 7S too.
What are the advantages of dual-frequency technology? Dual-frequency systems increase positioning in places where reception is difficult.
Dual-frequency technology is increasingly important in places such as woods and cities where signals bounce off buildings. The system can distinguish between actual and bounced signals by obtaining information from many radio signals from each satellite.
We’ll have better satellite data recordings if we use it, obviously at a larger battery usage. It’s not only that we’ll have prettier tracks after synchronizing our activity — both speed and distance will be more dependable throughout the exercise because of fewer reception failures.
Touchscreen improvements
Garmin has avoided installing a touchscreen on their devices up until now. The new Garmin Fenix 7 does offer this capability to make it easier to use, similar to the Venu 2. We know that buttons are important to ensure that there are no slips when tracking activity. But, a touchscreen allows for versatile usage.
The touchscreen will make general use easier, plus you can now scroll through maps while working out on the go too. The new touchscreen addition is also perfect for scrolling through messages and notifications, optimizing the general smartwatch experience. Now Garmin has a touchscreen Fenix, it’s able to compete with Apple and Garmin.
Garmin has shown it can create a sports watch with a color touchscreen display that lasts more than a couple of days with the release of the Venu and Venu Sq.
Health features
The Garmin Fenix range is all about fitness, and the Fenix 7 model offers many of the same features as the Fenix 6. Key differences in the health features include an added Health Snapshot. This allows the Fenix 7 to combine your heart rate data, your stress, your blood oxygen levels, and your respiration for a total health value.
Whether your goal is to get fit or to maintain your health, the Fenix 7 is well designed to offer you a complete suite of health trackers. Though many of these services are found on typical modern smartwatches, the Fenix 7 boasts accurate trackers as the company has been providing high-quality sensors for years.
Nylon strap
The Garmin Enduro is essentially a Fenix 6X Solar dressed up. But the nylon strap was a first for Garmin, and we liked it.
The sweatproof, high-quality band provides a good fit and helps maintain excellent pressure for the heart rate sensor — plus, it looks great.
Now that the Fenix 7 is released, we know that it essentially uses the same strap as the Fenix 6 range. The QuickFit straps are interchangeable and users can choose between different colors and materials too. Popular materials include silicone, leather, and metal — giving you options for different occasions.
Better recovery and training analytics
Garmin bought Firstbeat Analytics in 2020, a company that provides heart rate-based analytics for watches. While the company uses this tech in the 6 range, there are no notable updates for the 7 range.
Both watches give the user suggested workouts and general recovery advice, but the Fenix 7 has no new updates here – aside from the health snapshot feature.
LTE and better safety features
Unfortunately, the Fenix 7 isn’t available with LTE. Users can still take advantage of the watch’s safety feature as these are standard on Garmin watches now.
Many of Garmin’s watches, including the Fenix 6 and 7, include incident detection and safety capabilities.
It has recently purchased GEOS Worldwide, a firm that specializes in emergency monitoring and disaster response. As a result, it may try to enhance how those features operate.
The safety features on the Fenix that exist right now need your phone nearby to utilize them. Adding LTE to the mix would allow you to get those capabilities without relying on your smartphone being close by. LTE connectivity has already been added to one of Garmin’s Vivoactive series watches but unfortunately, it is not yet available on the Fenix 7.
New activity profiles
Various new activity profiles are also available on the Fenix 7. One new profile is the adventure race profile. It’s a special profile for orientation-type races where using a GPS to know navigation data, distance traveled, positions, and so on is prohibited.
Other new profiles include:
- High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
- Open-water swimming
- And much more
How low can we go?
We took out the fenix 7 to the lowest place on Earth- the dead sea, and as expected the Fenix 7 did not let us down. It did however bring the Alt meter down all the way to -416 meters below sea level.
How does the Fenix 7 compare to the Epix 2?
Considering your next sports watch? Here’s a quick Fenix 7 v.s Epix 2 comparison to help you decide.
The Fenix 7 has a lower starting price, so if you’re looking to save money this might be best for you. However, if you want to take advantage of the solar Fenix 7, this will cost more.
In fact, any premium materials will add to the cost – so bear this in mind. The Garmin Epix starts at around $899.99, whereas the Fenix 7 retails at $699.99.
When it comes to design, you have more choice of size in the Fenix 7 range. The Fenix 7 is available in 3 unique sizes, but you can only choose the Epix in one size.
Both watches look very similar and feature Garmin’s distinct rugged design. Garmin stands by this hardwearing design as it offers the durability needed for outdoor sports.
The display on the Epix model uses a color AMOLED screen and it also boasts a higher resolution than the Fenix 7. The Fenix 7 uses a color memory-in-pixel design, which is visible but not as bright and striking as an AMOLED screen.
Other key points:
- The Fenix 7 solar lasts the longest between charges
- Most Fenix 7 watches have a longer battery life than the Epix range
- The Fenix 7 is better for any outdoor exercise
- The Epix offers additional on-screen animations for workouts
- Both watches offer Garmin Pay and music storage
- Both watches have high-quality biometric sensors
- Neither watch features a built-in microphone
End of the year summary
Reaching year-end the Garmin Fenix 7 gives us an all year summary of our activities and achievements. Showing us how many total miles we covered, what was the monthly average, and how well have we improved.
Should I buy the Fenix 7?
If you love sports, competitions, and beating your personal best, the latest Garmin watch might be right for you. The Fenix 7 has the ability to coach you and guide you through new workouts, whilst recording your health data to give you informed progress insights too. The design is also updated and you have a number of high-quality smartwatch features too.
While the initial purchase price is high, this watch is worth every penny. The only downsides to this new release are the low-contrast display, the lack of a built-in microphone, and the price. If you’re not ready to take the plunge, you can investigate the Fenix 6 instead.
Some new feature we would like to see in the next Fenix release would include:
- Wireless charging. Introduced in the Vivomove Trend.
- Blood Pressure monitoring.
- ECG Monitoring. Just approved by the FDA for Venu 2 Plus
Read all about our predictions for the next Fenix 8 release
So, will you be purchasing a new Fenix 7? Let us know in the comments.
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Last Updated on November 7, 2024
A top of the line copywriter with more than a decade of writing experience with many high-end and diverse multinational clients. Lots of experience and interest in writing about and implementing technology. Scott manages the creation of content for us as a freelancer service and even though he is based in the UK, his writers can adapt and cater to our audience which is mostly US based.
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Waiting for fenix7 together with my vertix2 ?
There wont be a thinner design, with sensor even thicker… you can measure it yourself…
I’m using a Forerunner 935 since some years now. Apart from the breaking pulse measuring it still does it’s job – daily!
However – changing to a Fenix 7 would be nice and looking forward to something new. Size similar to Forerunner would be a must for me.
Does the solar charging really bring any benefit???
Buy an apple watch if you want one. The Fenix is not a mini phone strapped to your wrist. It’s suppose to be dedicated outdoor gear, not a shiny tech toy.
I tend to doubt that they will change the physical appearance of the watch very much. Garmin has plenty of other watches with slimmer appearances with similar performance that could be upgraded. Many/most of us who purchase the Fenix line affirmatively like the look. I don’t want a smaller watch. I would be fine with slimmer, so long as it doesn’t change the button size.
Touch screen does not work when wet. I (and a lot of other customers) would not buy it if it had touch screen.
I would suggest to upgrade Tactix line to incorporate diving functionality in one paclage.
That would convince me to buy F7 over Tactix Delta
Have you looked at a Venu screen in bright sunlight? It is barely visible. I can’t see Garmin going OLED on Fenix 7. It is an outdoor watch after all. I like my Venu, and wear it most of the time. But when I head outside for an activity, I reach for my Fenix every time. The Fenix screen is much better for outdoor viewing, especially in bright direct sunlight. If they want to add touch capability, fine. But don’t take the buttons away. Touchscreens don’t work well in adverse conditions. Garmin knows that.
I have been looking at Garmin Fenix 6 for a while. Will wait for the Fenix 7. In the 3 models of different sizes, do they offer same apps and functions? Do we know the approximate price? Thank You
As this watch has golf capabilities a touch screen is really required to be competitive in that market. Garmin has plenty of experience with golf GPS devices with touch screens, so this would not be new for them.
I very much hope they do not have voice assistant, AMOLED, or touchscreen.
Doesn’t make sense for this watch.
The fenix is a premium and rugged multisport offering, not an apple watch to answer texts on.