I’m simply going to come back out and say it. The $899.99 Fenix 7S Professional Sapphire Photo voltaic Version is a superb multisport watch, however I’m baffled as to why it exists.
I’ve been carrying this look ahead to the previous month, proper after roughly a month with the $999.99 Garmin Epix Professional Sapphire Version. They’re, in lots of respects, the identical smartwatch, a lot that it actually looks like I’ve been carrying the identical watch for 2 complete months. They’re so related that I can sum up the distinction in a single sentence. The Epix Professional has an OLED display; the Fenix 7S Professional has higher battery life.
Garmin Fenix 7S Professional Sapphire Photo voltaic Version
$899.99
The Good
Fingers-free flashlight Lengthy battery lifeMultiband GPSUpgraded coronary heart price sensor
The Dangerous
The improved MIP show nonetheless not the best to learn in dim lightingToo just like the Epix Professional and normal Fenix 7How we price and evaluation merchandise
As I wrote in my Epix Professional evaluation, this makes Garmin’s high-end multisport watch lineup extra complicated. And I’m not even factoring in the usual second-gen Epix and Fenix 7 lineups, that are additionally similar to the Fenix 7S Professional. If you happen to rely all the assorted fashions and choices, that’s 22 variations of the Fenix 7 and 12 variations of the second-gen Epix for a complete of 34 watches which can be solely barely completely different from one another.
There are situations the place one watch trumps the opposite, which I’ll get into under. However, typically talking, there’s not sufficient of a purpose to justify having 34 variations of the identical factor. It’s a difficulty I’ve had with Garmin over time, however typically, there may be such a factor as an excessive amount of alternative.
Fenix 7S Professional vs. Epix Professional: would you like OLED?
There’s little or no separating the Fenix 7S Professional and the Epix Professional. Not solely did they launch on the similar time, however their designs are related, they each include Garmin’s upgraded coronary heart price sensor, they arrive in the identical three sizes (42mm, 47mm, 51mm), they usually each have a built-in LED flashlight. (As with the Epix Professional, this flashlight is low-key the very best factor concerning the Fenix 7S Professional.) They’ve the identical good options! That features issues like alarms, timers, notifications, Garmin Pay, and Spotify compatibility. Each additionally supply the choice of sapphire crystal and titanium for further sturdiness.
The MIP is barely simpler to learn in dimmer settings. This was below a shaded arch.
So far as accuracy, wearability, and health monitoring go, the expertise on each watches was equivalent. I loved the Morning Report — which summarizes your total readiness and sleep, the climate, and offers you a advised exercise — on the Epix Professional, and that didn’t change after I switched to the 7S Professional. Each have been comparable by way of GPS and coronary heart price accuracy on my runs in comparison with the Apple Watch Extremely. Each have been iffy at sleep monitoring in comparison with my Oura Ring as nicely, although to not the purpose the place it had a noticeably damaging influence on coaching and restoration options.
And it virtually goes with out saying: there are extra metrics within the convoluted Garmin Join app than you’ll know what to do with. Each the 7S Professional and Epix Professional have the brand new Hill Rating and Endurance Rating, which inform you how simply you may run up hills or how a lot endurance you might have primarily based in your VO2 Max. In my case, each mentioned I stink at hills and have sufficient endurance for leisure coaching. That mentioned, by the point I examined the 7S Professional, my Hill Rating recommendation did sound much less condescending. Small wins. The updates to topographical maps are additionally the identical.
What all of this boils all the way down to is whether or not you need an OLED show. In each situation, notifications, menus, and widgets have been simpler to learn on the Epix Professional’s OLED.
As I discussed, the Fenix 7S Professional has higher battery life. That mentioned, the Epix Professional has fairly spectacular battery life, too, when you think about that always-on OLED shows are usually energy guzzlers. With AOD enabled, the Epix Professional will get roughly 3.5 days on a single cost; with out it, it will get about 8-9 days. Both approach, it far exceeds what you’ll get on an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional.
Conversely, the 7S Professional has a memory-in-pixel show, which has been improved since the usual 7S. It’s alleged to be barely extra readable in low-light circumstances, emphasis on barely. I nonetheless needed to squint very often when indoors to learn the show, and there’s no beating the Epix Professional’s OLED once you’re exterior at evening. In direct daylight, the Fenix 7S Professional’s MIP show should get you superior readability. In actuality, the Epix Professional’s OLED was a lot vibrant whereas outdoor. You’d should be below essentially the most punishing summer season solar to note a lot of a distinction.
Warmth acclimation is useful however a type of metrics that may get buried within the labyrinthian Garmin Join app.
The place MIP excels is battery life — and I can’t deny that’s what you’ll get with the 7S Professional. My 42mm unit lasted roughly 11th of September days on a single cost. Photo voltaic charging additionally performed a job on this, although it’s arduous to quantify precisely how a lot further juice you’ll get. Usually talking, nonetheless, it is advisable spend a superb chunk of the day exterior for it to make a noticeable distinction.
For instance, I wore the Fenix 7S Professional throughout a weeklong journey to Acadia Nationwide Park, logging roughly 10-12 hours of direct daylight on most days. I began the journey with about eight days of battery and ended the journey with 5 days’ value. Some days, I’d get up to seek out that I had the identical quantity of estimated battery life because the day earlier than. That’s spectacular. However you shouldn’t count on these sorts of outcomes if, like me, you spend most of your time indoors once you’re not on trip. Photo voltaic charging made a negligible influence on weeks the place my solar publicity was restricted to 30-45 minute morning runs or hour-long walks.
You must also remember that battery life is closely dependent in your particular person utilization. These outcomes have been primarily based on my settings and exercise ranges — primarily multiband GPS on, and 30-60 minutes of GPS exercises 5-6 days per week. If you happen to go for much less intense GPS settings or partake in longer out of doors exercises, your battery life might look fairly completely different. The underside line is for a weeklong journey or an ultra-long day of exercises, you received’t have to fret about battery life.
The health options are the identical because the Epix Professional. Precisely the identical. Picture by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
In my day-to-day life, the Fenix 7S Professional’s further battery life didn’t trump the Epix Professional’s OLED show — not less than not on the 42mm dimension. With my dangerous eyes, I’ll take higher readability in all situations over a couple of further days of battery life. OLED additionally simply elevates the complete expertise and feels extra fashionable. Beforehand, the Fenix 7 lineup had the sting as a result of it got here in three sizes, whereas the usual Epix solely got here in a chunky 47mm dimension. However the Epix Professional now is available in the very same sizes, in order that edge isn’t precisely there anymore.
For these causes, I like to recommend the Epix Professional over the 7S Professional for most individuals. Worth-wise, you’re solely taking a look at about $100 in financial savings by choosing the Fenix 7S Professional. Head-to-head, 7S Professional solely makes extra sense if you happen to incessantly partake in multi-day endurance sports activities with out having to allow any low-power settings.
As soon as once more, the flashlight guidelines
However what if you happen to’re attempting to resolve between a regular Fenix 7 and the 7 Professional watches? Except you discover an incredible deal — as in $200-$300 off — I like to recommend the Professional as a result of it will get you the higher worth.
My largest purpose why is each mannequin of the Professional comes with the built-in LED flashlight, whereas it’s restricted to the 7X on the usual lineup. And I can’t overstate this, however the flashlight might be the very best function Garmin launched in current reminiscence. I like this factor.
You may as well go for a pink mild at evening. Good for raiding the fridge with out waking anybody up.
Its max brightness matches the flashlight on my iPhone 14 Professional Max. I don’t want to surrender a hand to make use of it. Not like different smartwatches with flashlight apps, just like the Apple Watch, you may nonetheless entry different menus and apps. An actual LED mild is brighter and extra helpful than the white display that typical smartwatches use, too. To activate it, you simply should faucet the highest left-hand button twice. It’s additionally adaptable to completely different situations; the brightness is adjustable, you may program strobe patterns if you happen to get injured throughout a hike, and you may as well go for a pink flashlight at evening. For nighttime runs or walks, you may as well allow a mode the place the sunshine flashes white in your arm’s upswing and pink on the downswing, so that you’re extra seen to automobiles.
I’ve watched too many true crime documentaries to run at evening or get caught within the woods previous sunset, however I take advantage of the flashlight virtually every day. I take advantage of it after I can’t see stuff in my automotive’s trunk or after I’m rearranging cables below my desk. It turns out to be useful when digging by my nightmare closet. It’s a useful nightlight after I don’t need to get up my partner however the cookie jar is looking.
One more reason why the Professional beats the vanilla Fenix 7: it’s extra futureproof, with newer sensors and doubtlessly the potential to at some point assist EKGs. Proper now, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is the one one that’s cleared for this goal, however Garmin says it hopes to at some point develop EKG performance to extra watches. If and when it does, the Professional not less than has the {hardware} to assist it.
The up to date sensor array has a brand new optical coronary heart price sensor and, maybe at some point, EKG functionality.
That mentioned, I don’t assume software-based options (e.g., Hill Rating, Endurance Rating, extra detailed maps, and so on.) are a professional for the Professional except you need them proper now. Garmin tends to deliver the most recent options to older fashions, and all the things the Epix Professional and Fenix 7 Professional have will seemingly arrive on the common Fenix 7 (and a number of other different Garmins) this fall.
To me, the flashlight alone is value the additional value, however for the budget-conscious, the usual Fenix 7 can prevent $100-$150.
Much less is extra
If I sound damaging, it’s as a result of my mind hurts from attempting to recollect all of the completely different permutations of Epix and Fenix watches, their accompanying function units, and costs. However once more, I need to emphasize the Fenix 7S Professional is great, and by itself, I’ve little or no to complain about.
I simply don’t see how having a Fenix, Fenix Professional, Epix, and Epix Professional lineup is sensible in the long term.
I’ve only a few complaints concerning the Fenix 7S Professional other than the truth that it will get misplaced in Garmin’s cluttered product catalog. Picture by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
I get why it’s right here now. The Professional watches are the equal of an “S” 12 months iPhone. However going ahead, it’d do Garmin plenty of good to pare down the choices. Perhaps stick photo voltaic charging with further lengthy battery life on a higher-end Forerunner watch and condense the Fenix and Epix line into one OLED-happy lineup. You’d nonetheless have loads of decisions to select from, however all the things could be extra clearly differentiated.
All this jogs my memory of an Amy Poehler interview I watched ages again. In it, she explains how her children solely get two decisions of ice cream flavors as a result of having too many taste choices holds up the road and results in evaluation paralysis. I want Garmin to start out doing the identical factor — or not less than acknowledge that the extent of alternative it is offering far exceeds what folks really want. A number of sizes are nice. Having a couple of traces within the life-style, midrange, and premium watch classes can also be nice. However when you find yourself like Garmin, with 36 completely different product traces on the market, lots of that are iterations on the identical factor? All this alternative all of the sudden turns into not-so-great.
Conform to proceed: Garmin Fenix 7S Professional
Each good system now requires you to comply with a collection of phrases and circumstances earlier than you should utilize it — contracts that nobody truly reads. It’s unimaginable for us to learn and analyze each single considered one of these agreements. However we’re going to start out counting precisely what number of instances it’s a must to hit “agree” to make use of gadgets after we evaluation them since these are agreements most individuals don’t learn and positively can’t negotiate.
To make use of the Garmin Fenix 7S Professional, you have to pair it with an iPhone or Android smartphone. That features the cellphone’s phrases of service, privateness coverage, and another permissions you grant. You will need to additionally create a Garmin Join account to make use of the app.
By organising the Garmin Fenix 7S Professional, you’re agreeing to:
All of Garmin’s privateness and authorized insurance policies can be found throughout the Garmin Join app. You will need to additionally grant the Garmin Join app sure cellphone permissions for Bluetooth, calendar, location, and notifications. Moreover, elective security options like LiveTrack additionally include an end-user license settlement. You might also should comply with share your well being knowledge with the corporate for sure options. If you happen to resolve to allow Garmin Pay, you’ll additionally should comply with the Garmin Pay Phrases and Circumstances and Garmin Pay Privateness Coverage. Integrating your Garmin exercise knowledge with different companies, like Strava, Spotify, or Apple HealthKit, additionally requires you to comply with these particular person phrases and insurance policies.
Remaining tally: no matter your cellphone requires, plus three necessary Garmin insurance policies and 4 cellphone permissions for good options. There are further insurance policies for elective well being insights, contactless funds, and security options.
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