Garmin Fenix 7 vs. 6 vs. Epix 2: Full Comparison & Verdict 2024
2.5% Cash BackGarmin has made live on its website recently the much anticipated Fenix 7 range and its more fancy brother called Epix 2. These are the successors of the Fenix 6. If you're thinking of investing in one of these top-tier sports watches, this guide will help you decide which is the right one for you. Here we've gathered the details and differences on Fenix 7, Epix 2, and Fenix 6 to help you pick a winner.
Garmin Fenix 7, Garmin Fenix 6, and Garmin Epix 2 Comparison
Fenix 7 | Epix 2 | Fenix 6 | |
Price | starting at $699.99 | starting at $899.99 | starting at $549.99 |
Lens material | Corning Gorilla Glass DX | Corning Gorilla Glass DX Sapphire Editions: sapphire crystal | Corning Gorilla Glass DX |
Bezel material | stainless steel | passivated stainless steel Sapphire Edition: carbon gray DLC titanium or pure titanium | stainless steel |
Bezel material | fiber-reinforced polymer with metal rear cover | fiber-reinforced polymer with steel rear cover Sapphire Editions: fiber-reinforced polymer with titanium rear cover | fiber-reinforced polymer with metal rear cover |
Strap material | silicone (22mm) | silicone (22mm) | silicone (22mm) |
Physical size | 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm | 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm | 47 x 47 x 14.7 mm |
Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | No |
Display size | 1.3” (33.02 mm) diameter | 1.3” (33.02 mm) diameter | 1.3” (33.02 mm) diameter |
Display resolution | 260 x 260 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels | 260 x 260 pixels |
Display type | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) | AMOLED (always-on) | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
Weight | 79 g (case only: 56 g) | 76 g (case only: 53 g) Sapphire Editions: 70 g (case only: 47 g) | Steel: 80 g (case only: 57 g) |
Water-resistance | 10 ATM | 10 ATM | 10 ATM |
Memory | 16 GB Sapphire Editions: 32 GB | 16 GB Sapphire Editions: 32 GB | 64MB |
Sensors | Heart rate, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, SpO2 | Heart rate, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, SpO2 | Heart rate, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, SpO2 |
Ambient light sensor | No | Yes | No |
Satellite connectivity | GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO multi-frequency positioning (Sapphire edition only) | GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO multi-frequency positioning (Sapphire edition only) | GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO |
Garmin Pay | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-FI | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-FI | Bluetooth, ANT+ |
Music storage | up to 2,000 songs | up to 2,000 songs | No |
Solar option | Yes | No | Yes |
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Garmin Fenix 7 vs. Garmin Fenix 6 vs. Garmin Epix 2: Prices
The Garmin Fenix 7 series launched on January 18, 2024 and is available to buy direct from Garmin. Prices start at $699.99 for the standard version. The top-tier Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar is $999.99.
That’s a significant increase from the Fenix 6, which started at $549.99 when it launched in 2019. However, it’s much less than the Garmin Epix 2 premium everyday watch, which launched the same day starting at $899.99.
Garmin Fenix 7 vs. Garmin Fenix 6 vs. Garmin Epix 2: Models
Garmin Fenix 7 Models
The Fenix 7 comes in three sizes (42mm, 47mm, and 51mm), with standard, Solar, and Sapphire Solar variants:
Garmin Fenix 7 models | ||
42mm case | 47mm case | 51mm case |
Fenix 7S | Fenix 7 | Fenix 7X |
Fenix 7S Solar | Fenix 7 Solar | Fenix 7X Solar |
Fenix 7S Solar Sapphire | Fenix 7 Solar Sapphire | Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire |
Garmin Fenix 6 Models
The Fenix 6 also comes in three sizes (42mm, 47mm, and 51mm), with standard, Solar, and Sapphire Solar variants:
Garmin Fenix 6 models | ||
42mm case | 47mm case | 51mm case |
Fenix 6S | Fenix 6 | Fenix 6X |
Fenix 6S Solar | Fenix 6 Solar | Fenix 6X Solar |
Fenix 6S Solar Sapphire | Fenix 6 Solar Sapphire | Fenix 6X Solar Sapphire |
Garmin Epix 2 Models
Garmin Epix comes in three stainless steel variations, each with a toughened glass lens and priced at $899.99 for the standard model. White and black titanium versions cost $999.99.
In terms of size options, the Epix comes in one size with a 47-millimeter case which is the same size as the mid-size Fenix 7.
So the Epix has two different levels a stainless steel version and a titanium version the stainless steel version comes with a stainless steel bezel on the back with a corning gorilla glass dx lens and the titanium version comes with a sapphire lens with a titanium bezel on the back and then the stainless steel models come with 16 gigabytes of storage and these sapphire editions come with 32 gigabytes. |
Garmin Fenix 7 vs. Garmin Fenix 6 vs. Garmin Epix 2: Battery Life
Garmin Fenix 7 Battery Life
There is a difference is in battery life. the Fenix 7s boasts 37 hours GPS that extends up to 46 with solar, the Fenix 7 is 57 hours GPS 73 hours with solar, and the Fenix 7x is 89 hours GPS only and that goes up to 122 hours with solar.
Fenix 7 Battery Life | ||
Without solar | With solar | |
Smartwatch mode | 18 days | Up to 22 days |
GPS-only | 57 hours | Up to 73 hours |
All satellite systems GPS | 40 hours | Up to 48 hours |
All satellite systems GPS, plus music | Up to 10 hours | Not given |
All satellite systems, plus multi-band GPS | 23 hours | Up to 26 hours |
Fenix 7S Battery Life | ||
Without solar | With solar | |
Smartwatch mode | 11 days | Up to 14 days |
GPS-only | 37 hours | Up to 46 hours |
All satellite systems GPS | 26 hours | Up to 30 hours |
All satellite systems GPS, plus music | Up to 7 hours | Not given |
All satellite systems, plus multi-band GPS | 15 hours | Up to 16 hours |
Fenix 7X Battery Life | ||
Without solar | With solar | |
Smartwatch mode | 28 days | Up to 37 days |
GPS-only | 89 hours | Up to 122 hours |
All satellite systems GPS | 63 hours | Up to 77 hours |
All satellite systems GPS, plus music | Up to 16 hours | Not given |
All satellite systems, plus multi-band GPS | 36 hours | Up to 41 hours |
Garmin Fenix 6 Battery Life
The actual battery life depends on the features enabled on your device, such as activity tracking, wrist-based heart rate, smartphone notifications, GPS, internal sensors, and connected sensors.
Mode | Fenix 6S Battery Life | Fenix 6 Battery Life | Fenix 6X Battery Life |
Smartwatch mode with activity tracking and 24/7 wrist-based heart rate monitoring | Up to 9 days/10.5 days with solar | Up to 14 days/16 days with solar | Up to 21 days/24 days with solar |
GPS mode | Up to 25 hr./28 hr. with solar | Up to 36 hr./40 hr. with solar | Up to 60 hours/66 hours with solar |
Max. battery GPS mode | Up to 50 hr./64 hr. with solar | Up to 72 hr./93 hr. with solar | Up to 120 hours/148 hours with solar |
Expedition GPS mode | Up to 20 days/26 days with solar | Up to 28 days/36 days with solar | Up to 46 days/56 days with solar |
Battery saver watch mode | Up to 34 days/59 days with solar | Up to 48 days/80 days with solar | Up to 80 days/120 days with solar |
Garmin Epix 2 Battery Life
Naturally, you pay for the Epix 2’s glorious AMOLED screen in battery life. You can easily make the battery go further though, with the Epix 2 lasting over 10 days if you turn off the always-on screen and use less demanding GPS modes.
Epix 2 Battery Life | ||
With always-on screen | Without always-on screen | |
Smartwatch mode | 6 days | 16 days |
GPS-only | 30 hours | 42 hours |
All satellite systems GPS | 24 hours | 32 hours |
All satellite systems GPS, plus music | 9 hours | 10 hours |
All satellite systems, plus multi-band GPS | 15 hours | 20 hours |
Garmin Fenix 7 vs. Garmin Fenix 6 vs. Garmin Epix 2: Activity Tracking
Some of the features that come when you buy the Fenix 7 and Epix 2 will eventually come as software upgrades to the Fenix 6 model.
Fenix 7 and Epix 2 have Garmin's latest biometric sensors
Fenix 7 best suited to outdoor training
Epix has on-screen workout animations
Garmin itself has said that the Fenix 7 series are designed with 'elite' athletes in mind – particularly those who enjoy a range of outdoor sports – while the Epix is perhaps better suited to those who like working out in the gym. |
That's largely due to the Fenix 7's optional solar charging; when it comes to actual fitness tracking and training tools, the Fenix 7 and Epix 2 are extremely similar. Both have Garmin's latest optical heart rate monitor, SpO2 sensor, and temperature sensor, and are capable of tracking heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen saturation, stress, and respiration 24 hours a day.
There are preset profiles for dozens of activities (including triathlon and duathlon), plus training tools to help you monitor and improve your performance, such as real-time stamina tracking. This lets you see how much gas you have left in the tank during a run or bike ride. If your stamina is running low, you might want to ease off the pace, but if you've still got plenty of energy left then you may choose to push yourself harder for the last part of your workout.
You can also use any Fenix 7 or Epix watch to check your seven-day training load on your wrist. This is presented as a bar chart showing your training load each day, the type of training (base, tempo, threshold, speed etc) represented by a color, and whether your tracked activities are having a positive impact on your fitness. You'll also see a number representing your training load that will help you judge if you're at risk of under- or over-training.
Garmin Fenix 7 vs. Garmin Fenix 6 vs. Garmin Epix 2: Smartwatch Features
Garmin Fenix 7 and Garmin Epix 2 get the best of Garmin’s smart features, including NFC payments through Garmin Pay, smartphone notifications and weather forecasts, plus music storage and the ability to connect to a Spotify Premium and Amazon Music account for offline playback. Epix 2 also looks the part with its AMOLED screen. The Garmin Fenix 6 is slightly inferior.
1. One of the new metrics is called Real-Time Stamina. | The idea here is to present something that helps you pace yourself. You can use it to track and manage your exertion during running or bike activities. That way you can finish just as strong as you started. |
2. Another is Health Snapshot. | This is a screen that gathers everything you can do yourself via the individual health stats widgets. But it also adds heart rate variability (HRV) as RMSSD (route mean square of successive differences in milliseconds) via the optical sensor rather than having to put a strap on. This is different to stress as HRV is only a contributing factor to stress. The Fenix 7 and Epix 2 are the first Garmins to report the HRV metric – before you could only do it by installing ConnectIQ apps and with heart rate straps. |
3. The Fenix 7X model also comes with a built-in LED flashlight. | This is actually not a novel idea – we’ve seen quite a few fitness tracker and smartwatches that can illuminate the surroundings. Switch it on and it will help guide your way in low-light conditions. The feature provides quick access to a bright, steady beam of light. |
4. Moving on and the next difference is the addition of realtime settings sync with Garmin Connect Mobile / On-device Connect IQ store on Fenix 7 and Epix 2. | This should make the watch easier to use and manage as you can connect to the IQ store from the device itself. Plus you can make changes to watch settings on the Connect app. |
But these three Garmin watches don't matches the experience of using a true smartwatch like the Apple Watch, mainly because Garmin’s Connect IQ store is sparse compared with the App Store or Google Play, but these three Garmin watches have an array of useful smart features.
Verdict
The Fenix range is for those that want absolutely everything Garmin has on offer. Whatever athletic pursuit or adventure you are into, there will be a Fenix for that. The watch is for hard-core athletes and adventurer types.
If you are in the market for a new sports watch, you will not go wrong with the Fenix 7. It makes much more sense to buy that one as it will benefit from more software upgrades going forward. Otherwise, you can save some money by getting the Fenix 6 at a discount. There is a good chance that the price of that model will plummet in the next few months.
The new Garmin Fenix 7 and Garmin Epix Gen 2 are Garmin’s latest high-end GPS smartwatches and they share tons in common but they have different names. On the outside, the cases are exactly the same they both have touch screens they both have Garmin’s updated fourth-generation elevated heart rate sensor they have the same enormous list of sports profiles to choose from.
In addition, They provide tons of training feedback like the new real-time stamina and visual race predictor features and they all have contactless payments wi-fi maps and music.
However, the Epix has one big advantage over Fenix watches: a bright, high resolution AMOLED display, which makes charts, maps and graphics really shine. It's much more vivid than the memory-in-pixel (MiP) displays of watches in the Fenix 7 range, but it does put more demand on the battery, so an Epix watch will need charging more frequently.
These are premium watches, and none of them come cheap, but the base specification Fenix 7 costs significantly less than the standard Epix. However, that price soon increases when you start adding features like solar charging and premium materials such as titanium and leather.
All in all, Epix 2 is intended for those with a large budget. With it, you’ll get all of the features of the Fenix 7 range are included with the AMOLED touchscreen.
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