A big online retailer adds Garmin Fenix 6 to its website before removing it
A big online retailer has added the Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire to its website earlier today, before quickly removing it. The listing is not there anymore but it does indicate the launch may happen sooner than most had expected. Most probably in time for IFA 2019 next month in Berlin.
What does the listing reveal?
Garmin Fenix 6x Sapphire comes with a scratch-resistant 1.4” sunlight-readable display. This is 36% bigger than previous Fenix models which sport a 1.2″ screen (Fenix 6 will come with a 1.3″ and 6s with a 1.2″ display).
As before, the watch is designed as a rugged all-rounder. It has stainless steel bezels and a titanium or diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating.
The heart rate sensor has been upgraded to feature the latest Garmin ELEVATE heart rate module. This should help with accuracy.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
Advanced training features include something called PacePro. This is “grade-adjusted pace guidance throughout your activity”. We’ve not seen this before on a Garmin watch. The popular fitness app Strava has something like this. It adjusts a runners pace based on terrain – the steeper the grade, the larger the adjustment. Essentially, it estimates an equivalent pace when running on flat land – at least in Strava’s case.
Similar to the Forerunner 945, Vo2Max and training status are now adjusted for heat and altitude acclimation status. Your performance metrics will no longer be influenced by environmental factors.
Other than that, there are pre-loaded TOPO maps and ski maps for over 2,000 worldwide ski results. Like its predecessor, there’s support for multiple navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo). Built-in sensors include a 3-axis compass, gyroscope, barometric altimeter and PulseOx.
Smart features include support for notifications (when paired with a smartphone), Garmin Pay and music storage with streaming support. No LTE as some had hoped.
The listing does not provide any more details but we are guessing the watch will benefit from all Firstbeat features that were slapped on to the Forerunner 945. There are a total of 18.
Similar to an increasing number of smartwatches, the Fenix 6X Sapphire comes with customisable power-management modes. According to the listing, users are actually able to see how various settings and sensors impact battery life.
The following images come from Winfuture.de.
Multiple models
Fenix 6 will come in a few other variants. According to previous leaks these include 6, 6 Pro, 6s, 6s Pro, 6x Pro and 6x Pro Solar. We have seen the Solar and Pro models on the retailer’s website confirming the rumours. To remind, Fenix 5 Plus only comes in three iterations. It is not clear yet what the difference is between the standard and Pro version.
A Solar model in particular sounds interesting and represents a first for Garmin. How this would work, how well this would work and how much it could extend battery life remains to be seen.
Price & release date
The price of the Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire was listed at a hefty $950. The Solar model runs $200 more. So the lowest- priced watches in the range will probably start at around $800.
As far as the release date as concerned – yes we finally know that, too. August 29th has been pinned as the date the smartwatch will start shipping. This makes sense as it will be just in time for Europe’s largest tech gathering. IFA 2019 starts a week later on September 6th.
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hahahhah Nah won’t pay extra 40% for something that should be at the same price.
The idea of new generation was to sell AGAIN to existing customer base, not to hike price every gen.
Apple is loosing market share to the point that in couple years we can see app store loosing develooers due to small number of users.
Hiking prices is wrong.
It doesn’t matter, people will buy because everything around Garmin (like everything around Apple) is about the cult. The MARQ series was nothing but “how much money people is willing to spend on our devices”. And the test worked.
From my point of view Garmin watches are just overpriced devices packed with unreliable sensors and uncountable software bugs and firmware issues. And I don’t expect this to change with Fenix series 6.