. It features an updated design, improved battery life, new heart rate, sensor, responsive touch, screen interface and multi band gps technology that aims to drastically improve gps accuracy during your activities and all this makes the garmin fenix 7 the best multi sport gps watch that garmin has ever Made oh welcome back. Everybody today is a very exciting day because, yes, i have the garmin fenix 7 in my hands its finally here and the garmin fenix 7 isnt, the only new thing from garmin today. They also announced the garmin epics gen 2, that i have here and actually have an entirely different video about the epics that you can click on up here. If you want to check that out, uh. To be honest, both the garmin fenix 7 and the epics are very similar, theyre, basically the same watch, but there is one differentiating factor with the epics thatll. Let you click on the video to find out what thats all about the new garmin fenix 7 shares a lot in common with the older garmin fenix 6 that i have here, but it also adds a bunch of functionality and updates that make it a much more Compelling option by todays standards before we dive in though i do want to thank my sponsor today and that is playbetter.com. Instead of wasting your time with a long ad segment ill just go ahead and suggest that you check out the links in the description down below.
If youre interested in picking up a garmin, fenix 7 or the new epics or even an older, garmin, fenix 6. and the best thing about playbetter.com, is that you get super fast shipping and a crazy long return policy. If you decide to change your mind a couple of months later, with that out of the way lets talk about the options when it comes to the garmin fenix 7, because there are a crapload of options just like on the garmin fenix 6, i think theres actually, 16 different models to choose from so yeah theres a lot just like the older garmin fenix 6. There are three sizes available for the phoenix 7. youre looking at 42 millimeters, all the way on the left here and thats. The garmin fenix 7s right in the middle is going to be the garmin fenix 7, and this is actually the epics. But you get the idea same size and then on. The right here is the garmin fenix 7x. That is the big boy coming in at 51 millimeters and there are a couple of unique things about the garmin fenix 7x. To consider and well talk about that. A little later on in this video, on top of those three size options, you also have three trim levels to choose from just like before on the phoenix 6, however, theyre a little different now so now, youre looking at the garmin fenix 7 base model. That starts at 699, then you can bump up to the garmin fenix 7 solar.
That starts at 799, and if you want to get the best, you can bump all the way up to the garmin fenix 7 sapphire solar, and that starts at 899. Interestingly enough this year, unlike the phoenix 6, all the options get offline, music, garmin pay and mapping. So you dont have to choose. If you get the base model, you dont get those things. Now all the models get that theres only differences in the hardware and it doesnt just end there. When we talk about the garmin fenix 7x theres a couple of more options, so theres, the phoenix 7x solar that starts at 899 and then theres, the phoenix 7x sapphire solar, dlc, titanium thats a long one, and that starts at 999 and boy. Is that a lot of money uh? Is it worth it were gon na find out today quick interruption if youre, finding this video, helpful or useful or fun, or anything consider hitting that like and subscribe button down below, because it really helps me out. Okay back to the video alright, so, as you can see in front of me, i have the three size options: weve got the phoenix 7s weve got the seven in the middle here, which is actually the epics, because i dont have a regular seven and then on The right here is the phoenix 7x so for the purpose of this, video were just gon na focus on one model and im gon na choose the 7x, because its got the most features.
Now let me bring in my trusty old garmin fenix 6 sapphire on the left here and lets talk about whats the same between the garmin fenix 6 and the garmin fenix 7.. What do they have in common first off in terms of wellness tracking, both devices offer body battery stress, tracking step, counting calories, burned, advanced sleep tracking respiratory rate, all day, heart rate, monitoring and spo2 levels, and more basically, the same in terms of wellness tracking and the Same goes for activity, tracking youve got the same activity profiles covering all the basics like running cycling, swimming etc. Along with a couple of more niche activities like triathlon, surfing and everything in between in terms of training tools, the phoenix 7 comes with the same excellent advanced training tools that we saw on the phoenix 6 that includes estimated vo2 max training status, training load, load, focus Race, predictor and recovery advisor and when we talk about smart features again, theyre very similar. The garmin fenix 7 and phoenix 6 have the same phone notification, support calendar and weather widget. Garmin pay for contactless payments in the ability to download additional features from the connect iq store, and, finally, both the phoenix 7 and phoenix 6 offer offline music that you can play back without having your phone on you and thats available from mp3 files on your computer Or you can use services like spotify, deezer, amazon, music, iheart, radio and more okay. Now that weve gone through all of that, as you can see, the phoenix 7 and the phoenix 6 are pretty similar, but there are some differences now lets talk about the new stuff.
All right, so the first change on the garmin fenix 7 is going to be the updated design with thinner metal bezels across all of the models from the phoenix 7s all the way up to the 7x. These thinner, bezels dont actually make room for a larger display, as you might think, they actually make room for a much thicker solar ring around the circumference of the watch. That actually adds to the solar function, which well talk about in a little bit now the design language of the phoenix 6 and the phoenix 7 are largely the same theres, not really a big difference, but there are some subtle changes to the phoenix 7.. For instance, the screws that are located around the perimeter of the bezel have been moved out to the strap lugs, as you can see here on the phoenix 6 theyre actually located right in the center line of the bezel on the phoenix 7. They moved out to the extent of the watch and, in my opinion, moving the screws out actually gives the watch a cleaner, more minimalistic appearance. I, like the look of the phoenix 7 a little bit more than the phoenix 6, but theyre really both great looking watches. Another minor change on the phoenix 7 is that the start stop button is slightly recessed into the body of the watch. Now, as you can see here and theres, a little red accent around it on certain models, i think this change is both for looks because it does look pretty cool, but its also for function, because, with that raised edge around the button, it means youre less likely To accidentally bump it while youre out in the field and of course the garmin fenix 7, is waterproof to a depth of 100 meters, so you can go swimming with it.
You can shower with it. You can run in the rain with it. No issues there now lets briefly talk about the differences in hardware between something like the garmin fenix 7s and the phoenix 7x, because there is one really unique difference on the 7x. Interestingly enough, theyve actually built an led flashlight into the garmin fenix 7x. Yes, you heard me right theres a flashlight built into this watch to access the flashlight. You simply double tap the top left button here like this and, as you can see, there is an led flashlight on the top of the watch right under the band. This is actually, i thought it was like a gimmick when i first saw it, but it is incredibly useful. This could be a great backup flashlight to have on you at all times, because its strapped to your wrist, it isnt super bright, but it is definitely bright enough to do various tasks and uh yeah its very useful. If the power goes out, youve got something right on your wrist. You can also access the flashlight from within the command menu here. If i click in on that, there are four brightness settings and theres also a red led that you can enable right there. So, as far as i know, the phoenix 7x is the first watch to have a flashlight built into it, its pretty unique and if you want a 1 000 led flashlight, maybe pick up a phoenix 7x and, like i said before, if we take a look at The phoenix 7s i have here there is no flashlight on board its only available on the phoenix 7x, just like the garmin fenix 6.
The garmin fenix 7 also ships with quick fit bands, and these are just super easy to pop off with your fingernail. Just by pressing the button on the back there and they pop right off the actual band design has changed a little bit on the phoenix 7.. You can see its much more minimalistic theres just kind of a recessed area in the middle there, whereas on the phoenix 6 there are a bunch of little lugs or bumps along the way. Another big change on the garmin fenix 7 is going to be the new user interface, its not totally different to the phoenix 6. However, they did make a bunch of tweaks throughout the entire ui to make it more useful as a touch screen user interface. Menu items are a little bit simpler, theyre spaced apart a little bit more and it makes the user interface just a little bit easier to use with your fingertip, along with the new user interface. Of course, there are new watch faces youre looking at one of the new ones here, but there are a handful of new watch faces to choose from on the phoenix 7. theres a few hidden features buried within the user interface. For example, i found a new sleep mode, thats similar to do not disturb, but has the additional functionality of being able to set a schedule where you want it to turn on and off. You can also enable a simplified watch face and you can enable custom, backlight brightness, while youre sleeping theres a couple of additional settings there that can actually save you battery life, while youre asleep so youre, not wasting backlight, brightness and doing all sorts of things while youre.
Not using the watch, the race predictor on the phoenix 7 has also been given a minor update. That now shows a graph of your predictive race efforts over time, which makes performance improvements easier to see at a glance. Another hidden feature in the garmin fenix 7 is called real time. Stamina, and this is actually a custom data field that you can enable within your activity. So if you drop into the data pages of your activities, you can add this data field and its kind of similar to garmins body battery metric, but instead of being used as a daily metric, its kind of gauging how much energy you have left within your activity. It can also try to predict how much longer you can run or ride at your current intensity level and ill need to do more testing on this data field to see exactly whats going on here, but at a high level it actually seems pretty cool. This is not just a single data field; this is a whole set of data fields. You can choose from from current stamina potential stamina, distance remaining time remaining and a visual stamina gage. That shows it on a little graphical interface. Another new feature coming to the phoenix 7 is the elevate, 4.0 heart rate sensor. This is the same heart rate sensor that we saw release on the garmin venue, 2, plus the garmin venue 2, the garmin foreigner 945. All these watches have this heart rate sensor already and in my testing its one of the better heart rate sensors ive tested on this channel right up there with things like the apple watch series, 7.
Heart rate accuracy on the garmin fenix 7 has generally been pretty Good so far, ive only had a handful of runs in to test it, but so far its looking pretty good and comparable to something like the garmin venue. 2. However, there were a few highs and lows: some spikes, some drops here and there so its not absolutely perfect, but generally its looking way better than the older garmin fenix 6.. I think the difference between the garmin venue, 2 plus, and something like the garmin fenix 7x, is actually going to be the weight. So if youre unable to strap it down really tight on your wrist and its moving around, you might see some wobbles in your heart rate data, but overall, its a huge leap forward compared to the garmin fenix 6.. So the elevate 4.0 heart rate sensor is a welcome addition to the phoenix 7. In my opinion, all right lets talk about the display on the garmin fenix 7 and largely its unchanged from the garmin fenix 6.. Both the garmin fenix, 6 and phoenix 7 offer the same transflective display and again the garmin fenix 7s gets a 1.2 inch display. The phoenix 7 gets a 1.3 inch display and the big phoenix 7x i have here has the 1.4 inch display, even though the display technology is the same, it is readable in direct sunlight and in the dark. The backlight is quite contrasty and crisp. One major change to this display, though, is that its now fully touch enabled, which i find to be awesome.
The touchscreen on the garmin fenix 7 is super. Responsive theres is almost zero lag. Its got a pretty high refresh rate on the screen, so everything reels feels really fluid and its really easy to use im a big fan of the touch screen on the phoenix 7. and for those of you saying i dont want a touch screen on my garmin Fenix, it was never designed for that theres good news for you. You can actually dive into the settings here and you can enable or disable the touchscreen entirely when you disable the touchscreen on the phoenix 7. It acts like the old phoenix 6.. Really you can do everything from the buttons entirely you dont need the touchscreen its just a nice to have. The touchscreen is especially useful, though once youre using the mapping and navigation function, because you can actually pan around the map with your fingertip and uh yeah. Its awesome and well talk more about mapping and navigation in a little bit. Another big change on the phoenix 7 is the addition of power sapphire glass. Previously, on the phoenix 6 you had to choose whether or not you wanted the solar function on the phoenix 6 pro or you wanted sapphire for added durability. Now, on the phoenix 7, you can have the best of both worlds. Well, talk about the effects of the solar function when we get to the battery segment in this video. Okay lets talk about mapping and navigation on the phoenix 7.
. The phoenix 7 offers full blown topo mapping just like the older phoenix 6., it utilizes topo active maps and they can be downloaded for different regions right through the watch using wi fi. The mapping on the garmin fenix 7 is incredibly powerful. It has waypoint support points of interest support and you can generate roots on the fly right from your watch on your wrist, without digging out your phone or even being in front of a computer. You can also follow a pre designed course. Using garmin connects excellent course. Designer tool and thats available within the garmin connect app and on the website. The phoenix 7 is also compatible with the new ski view maps and these can be downloaded using the map manager right on the watch over wi fi. These maps support over 2000 ski resorts worldwide and theyre, complete with individual run names, showing the runs tracks and also color coded for difficulty level. Another really cool feature to the phoenix 7s navigation tools is something called up ahead up ahead, will display upcoming points of interest along a predefined route. This includes course points or points of interest that you set up ahead of time. I could see this becoming valuable in a race environment when you want to know when the next aid station is coming up. One huge perk of the garmin fenix 7 compared to the phoenix 6 with its navigation tools, is the ability to use the touchscreen in the map.
This makes using the map incredibly less frustrating than on the phoenix 6. You can simply tap and drag around the map. It can hold for a second and select a point that you want to navigate to you can zoom in and out by tapping the plus or minus sign its just way better than using it on any other garmin watch. Not only that, but i think theres a more powerful cpu inside the phoenix 7, because the refresh rate in the map is way quicker than on the garmin fenix 6.. So if youre panning around the map, you dont need to wait for it to load the map. It actually just happens in real time, and it feels more like using a handheld gps device or even your phone compared to some of the older garmin models with mapping overall its easy to say that at this point in time, the mapping and navigation on the garmin Fenix 7 is easily the best, and you know most robust and easiest to use on any watch that ive ever tried. So if mapping and navigation is the highest priority to you check out the phoenix up, the phoenix 7 also comes equipped with multi band gps technology, which is similar to what we saw on the chorus vertex 2 that launched a while ago. This means that the watch can actually access multiple satellite systems simultaneously to acquire a more accurate gps fix theres, currently three options. When it comes to gps settings in the watch, you can use plain old gps, just a regular global positioning system.
You can also bump up to gps, all on which uses gps plus glonass, plus galileo, and chooses the best signal of the three systems or you can bump up to gps multiband, which is gps, glonass. Galileo and itll utilize, multiple frequencies, to get more satellites to get a better accurate fix using multiple frequencies means you can pick up more satellites and more satellites equals more accuracy. In terms of accuracy, i can see that the phoenix 7 is one of the better watches ive tested using that multi band gps mode, but oddly, even in the lower regular gps, only mode its proven to be way more accurate than my garmin fenix 6, which is A good thing – this is just my initial testing, though, and ill need to continue to test the watch in terms of gps accuracy to get a longer term view of it and maybe have a follow up video, so stay tuned. For that now lets talk about battery life because thats a hot topic and i feel like everyones, going to think because of all this new gps technology were going to get worse battery life youre wrong. The new garmin fenix 7 has improved battery life across the board. On all the models using standard gps modes, so on the garmin fenix 7s, which is the smallest device with the smallest battery, you can get up to 11 days in smartwatch mode up to 37 hours in gps mode 46 hours with the solar function.
If you get enough sunlight and 17 hours in multi band gps mode now, if we go up to the phoenix 7, the middle of the road 47 millimeter case model, you can get up to 18 days in smart watch mode 57 hours in gps mode 73 hours With the solar function and 23 hours in multi band gps mode, if we bump all the way up to the phoenix 7x, the big boy we get up to 28 days in smartwatch mode 89 hours in standard gps mode or 122 hours, with solar function and 36 Hours in multi band, gps mode, the solar numbers i just mentioned there – assume up to three hours of direct sunlight in bright conditions, so just take that for what its worth all in all, though, the battery specs of all these watches have been significantly bumped up and Even on the little phoenix 7 s here, you can get up to 37 hours in gps mode out of the box and thats going to be enough for most people to run a 100 mile ultra marathon. That said, if you bump into that multi band gps mode on the smaller watch, youre only getting 17 hours. So if you want the best accuracy youre going to pay the price in battery, i think for me, though, in most applications that standard gps mode or the all on gps mode is going to be perfectly acceptable and youre going to get great battery life.
Out of these watches, okay final thoughts on the garmin fenix 7. whos it for is it a good watch? Well, yes, its a great watch. I think the garmin fenix 7 is going to be a beast of gps. Multi sport watch for most people with the new touchscreen, the updated heart rate sensor, the improved battery life, its basically solved all of the minor complaints i had with my older garmin fenix 6.. Even though im super impressed with the garmin fenix 7 as a whole. I do wish they added a few more features like the lte function. We saw on the 945 lte that launched a while ago, or even the speaker and microphone that came out on the garmin venue, 2 plus, because thats pretty handy. That said, i think, if youre a hiker a trail runner an endurance athlete looking for an amazingly powerful training, companion with offline mapping, a touch screen, all the bells and whistles, and you dont really care how much it costs the garmin fenix 7 is going to be The one youre going to want to look at starting at 699 and going all the way up to this 999 garmin phoenix 7x. These are not cheap, but you do get what you pay for, and these things pack all the bells and whistles you could ever imagine. Okay, if you found this video helpful fun entertaining anything, please consider hitting that like button and subscribing to my channel down below.
So you dont miss more videos like this in the future and as always, if youre interested in picking up a brand new garmin, fenix, 7 or even the older phoenix 6 check out the links in the description down below from play better because they do help support. My channel and you dont pay anything extra. They cost nothing extra to you. That is all ive got for this one. This was an exciting announcement. Im really excited about this one. Now i need to go decide which garments phoenix 7 im gon na keep which one im going to be rocking moving forward. Is it going to be the 7, the 7x or even the epics? I dont know its a tough decision to make which one do you think ill pick up all right: the excitements over cats out of the bag.9eCpVTh8QzU
