Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar - Carbon Grey DLC Titanium

Product Information

Switched to glass-covered optical HR sensor (versus plastic with a coating), which increases durability The one downside here is that ostensibly the main reason you’d do a Health Snapshot on a regular basis is consistency in timing of the readings. Meaning, everything except for HRV is automatically captured 24×7 anyway, and plotted 24×7 up to monthly and more if you like (assuming you’ve enabled SpO2). However, HRV is not. And arguably the ability to trend just these Health Snapshot readings by themselves, would be pretty useful. Unfortunately, there’s no way to do that currently. You can only look at a single reading at a time. If you’re upgrading from an older Garmin device, all the data will be pooled together seamlessly, though selecting a training session will allow you to see which device recorded it. Keep in mind that this chart is really a starting point. Using the Power Manager feature, you can get crazy detailed on which features you care about (for example, toggling off optical HR sensor and connecting to a chest strap saves a boatload of battery), and thus can easily extend these. Or, inversely, turning on the flashlight while playing music will decrease them. Use your powers wisely.

A) Day-to-day usage where you just want a flashlight: For example, getting around in darkness, illuminating a small space, surprising someone in the middle of the night with a bright light to their eyes, etc…Basically, the same scenarios you’d use your phone’s flashlight for, except you don’t have to hold your phone

There’s no getting away from the fact that the 7X is a giant of a watch to wear, especially on my slender wrist. But Garmin has managed to make that weight on the X more manageable over the years and if you spend more on the titanium bezel and case, then things will get noticeable lighter on the design front.

I have been using a fenix 6 Sapphire for about 2 years and had 2 units both with problems measuring elevation. They would calibrate before an activity correctly but the activity would report 20-60% increased elevation. Garmin replaced the first one unit after my reporting of this issue, but the second unit they sent me had the same issue. Mapping and navigation related tasks are a big part of the Fenix series, which contains far more mapping/navigation features than you’d likely ever use. For example, there are common ones like following routes, then semi-common ones like creating one-off spontaneous routes, and then lesser-used features like calculating the area of a plot of land. For this review, I’m going to focus on the core route following components including features like the new Up Ahead function, map manager, ClimbPro, and map/route-following practical stuff.Vertical Oscillation and Ratio: The degree of ‘bounce’ in your running motion and the cost-benefit ratio with stride length (only with compatible accessory – sold separately) You’re looking at going from 96g on the solar version to 89g on the sapphire solar model, but those kinds of differences are going to be more noticeable if you’re planning to keep this on for long spells on hikes or climbs. Again, this is super basic at this point. But as Garmin outlined previously, it’s merely the starting point here. Added RealTime Stamina feature, which is used during runs & rides to try and leave nothing in the tank (or, properly manage a workout) All Systems: This confusingly named option is dealers choice between GLONASS and GALILEO, and Garmin is the dealer. As a user you can’t choose which one to use, but instead, Garmin is now switching between GPS< GLONASS, GALILEO, BeiDou, and QZSS based on the quality of the satellites from each, determining “which to prioritize”

A) The most important, is that it actually can. But that’s not Garmin’s claims. Garmin’s very specific (more reasonable) claim is 3 hours of 50K Lux sun. Which, in the summer is a low-trivial amount if you’re outside. I got readings anywhere from 100-150K last week in the sun in the Canary Islands. And for far longer outside. Garmin says it’ll use that extra capacity if it gets it. Another of the key improvements for the Fenix 7 is battery life, which has been boosted across the board compared with the Fenix 6 series. It also doesn’t have a smart fuelling advisor like Polar watches. This reminds you, on long workouts, when to take on carbs and water and adapts if your effort levels are higher or lower than expected.

The Fenix 7 Series follows that of the Venu 2 Plus two weeks ago, which allows you to long-press on any data in the watch face and be brought straight to that widget for deeper data. For example, if you long-press on the steps, it’ll bring you to the steps widget. I demonstrate this within the user interface video above.

So, here’s that data set, and at a high level, things look pretty similar. All Fenix 7/Epix/Vertix 2 units were set for multiband GPS, and the FR745 was set for GPS+GLONASS. All the units had no problems in the openness sections: There's also a new on-screen race predictor that estimates how your current training regime will affect your 5k, 10k, and half marathon race times. This data was already available in the Garmin Connect app, but the new chart on your wrist allows you to see how your times are trending – and hopefully dropping – thanks to your efforts. It’s no spoiler to say it so early in this review but the Fenix 7 is the best sports wearable you can buy right now: it’s streets ahead of the competition. Like any product series, the longer the product is in the market, the less revolutionary the changes to each iteration become. As the product, or even product category, matures – the step-up in changes tends to decrease. While the Fenix 7 is theoretically the 7th generation, in reality, it’s closer to the 8th or 9th generation. There was no Fenix 4, but there was both a Fenix 3HR and Fenix 5 Plus, which were both substantially new generations of devices under the previous generation’s name. A good example of where Garmin seems half-way on this is the Sensors & Accessories section. You can see here that you can tweak all the onboard sensors (like whether or not your heart rate broadcasts), but you can’t pair any external sensors from the phone, you’ve gotta go to the watch. I’d imagine over time these will converge.Hopefully, we’ll see this feature expand to the rest of the Fenix series in the Fenix 8. Or, to other Garmin watches. As with every Fenix series, the ‘X’ variant (e.g. Fenix 7X) always gets some new experimental feature first, and in the case of the Fenix 7 series, that’s the flashlight. Sports Usage: If you’re tired of your usual running, cycling or walking routes, you can use the course creation tool in Garmin Connect to create a new one; just select a starting point, a distance, and an overall bearing (north, south, east, or west) and the app will generate a suitable route in a couple of seconds. You can then sync this to your Fenix 7, which will give you turn-by-turn directions as you go. And not only is the Fenix 7 rammed with training and sports capabilities, it’s also a highly impressive performer when it comes to general heart rate and GNSS accuracy. Undoubtedly, Garmin will eventually come out with an LTE Fenix/Epix series. Where that’s just an Epix LTE, an Epix Plus LTE, or down the road in a Fenix 8 or Epix V3 (or whatever they call it). I don’t know, but as you’ll see – what’s here today is undeniably cool. But it’s also hard to reconcile this missing bit with one’s purchasing considerations. If you tap the up button you can add a course (or other routing, more on that later), structured training, or change the power profiles. I mean, frankly, you can change anything from this point. For example, you can see how many hours of GPS life you’ll get with your current settings, and then there’s some pre-canned options which show higher GPS levels if you realize you’ll need them. Or, you can go rogue and create your own battery profile: