Garmin unveils long-awaited Fenix 7, plus luxury Epix smartwatch
Titanium and sapphire are the order of the day
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After months of speculation,Garminhas unveiled a new set of premium watches: the Fenix 7 series for serious sports training, and the luxuryEpix (Gen 2)for everyday wear.
TheGarmin Fenix 7lineup includes three sizes (Fenix 7S, Fenix 7, and Fenix 7X), all of which are available in standard, solar, and solar sapphire editions. All of these have touchscreens in addition to the five physical buttons of previous Fenix watches, though this locks automatically during activity tracking to prevent accidents.
The Fenix 7 is aimed squarely at serious athletes aiming to improve their performance whether that’s in running, cycling, golf, swimming, or any of the myriad other sports supported. The big difference is that its advanced training tools are now more accessible, and it’s easier to use the watch together with the Garmin Connect app to create and follow a personal training plan that adapts along the way.
For example, the watch will show you a real-time stamina rating during workouts, which is a measure of how much energy you have left in the tank. If you’ve got plenty of energy left then you might want to push yourself a little harder, but if your stamina rating has dropped low, it’d be wise to wrap things up soon before it bottoms out.
Runners will benefit most from the Fenix 7’s new training tools. The watch will assess your training load throughout the week, and suggest a running session that will optimize your training (or a rest day if you’d benefit from taking it easy). You’ll also be able to see a race time predictor at a glance, which will estimate your 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon finish times based on your current fitness level.
After any workout, the watch will estimate how long it’ll take for you to fully recover and be ready for your next session.
We’re currently putting the Fenix 7 Solar Sapphire to the test, and you cancheck out our hands-on reviewfor our first impressions. We’ll be updating this review over the coming weeks as we spend more time with the watch’s training tools, and are able to judge its performance in the long term.
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The Fenix 7 range starts at $699.99 / £599.99 / AU$1,049 for the standard version – a price increase of roughly 8% from the Fenix 6.
Epix adventures
While the Fenix 7 is built specifically for sports, the newGarmin Epixis a premium everyday watch. It’s essentially a top-end counterpart to theVenu 2, with the same bright high-res AMOLED display, plus a new sapphire crystal lens, titanium bezel, and a selection of higher-tier sports tracking tools.
The Epix tracks all the biometrics you’d expect from aGarmin watch, including heart rate, respiration, stress, sleep score, and energy. It also has a wide array of sports tracking profiles, including indoor and gym sessions, plus some more esoteric options like pickleball and padel (which wereadded to the Garmin Fenix 6earlier this week).
Like the Venu 2, the Epix offers animated yoga and Pilates sessions to follow, plus custom training plans to help you prepare for an event or achieve a new personal best. The Epix also has the same stamina tracking as the Fenix 7, allowing you to see how much energy you have during a run and plan the rest of the session accordingly.
There’s on-board music storage for songs and playlists, and Spotify,AmazonMusic and Deezer apps are all pre-installed. As with all Garmin watches, you can download additional apps, watch faces, and data fields (which show information during a workout) through the Garmin Connect IQ mobile app.
The Epix comes in three colorways: slate steel, black titanium sapphire, white titanium sapphire, and black titanium with a chestnut leather band. Its price starts at $899.99 / £799.99 / AU$1,399 direct fromGarmin, which makes it one of the company’s most expensive watches to date (though still cheaper than the premiumMARQ Collection).
Cat is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She’s been a tech journalist for 15 years, and is here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she’s a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.
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