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Garmin Fenix 7 vs. 6 vs. Epix 2: Full Comparison & Verdict 2024

Garmin Fenix 7 vs. 6 vs. Epix 2: Full Comparison & Verdict 2024

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    Garmin 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.

Cover Photo:garmin.com
 

Garmin Fenix 7, Garmin Fenix 6, and Garmin Epix 2 Comparison


Fenix 7Epix 2Fenix 6
Pricestarting at $699.99starting at $899.99starting 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) diameter1.3” (33.02 mm) diameter
Display resolution260 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-resistance10 ATM 10 ATM 10 ATM 
Memory  

16 GB

Sapphire Editions: 32 GB 

16 GB

Sapphire Editions: 32 GB 

64MB 
SensorsHeart rate, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, SpO2Heart 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 PayYes Yes Yes 
ConnectivityBluetooth, ANT+, Wi-FIBluetooth, ANT+, Wi-FI Bluetooth, ANT+ 
Music storage  up to 2,000 songs up to 2,000 songs No 
Solar option  Yes  NoYes 

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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 case47mm case51mm 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 case47mm case51mm 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.
image.png

Source:garmin.com
 

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.

ModeFenix 6S Battery LifeFenix 6 Battery LifeFenix 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 modeUp to 34 days/59 days with solarUp to 48 days/80 days with solarUp 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

image.png

Source:garmin.com
 

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.

image.png

Source:garmin.com
 

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 StaminaThe 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 SnapshotThis 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.

image.png

Source:garmin.com
 

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. 

Garmin 4
2022-02-12 00:304300