Fenix 7 & Epix 2 incoming: Garmin teases product launch for January 18th
The countdown begins! Following a slew of leaks and rumours over the past month, Garmin has finally made official a product launch event for January 18th. We are expecting to see the Fenix 7, Epix 2, and perhaps Instict 2.
The sports watch maker posted a tweet today titled “It’s just a matter of time”. Underneath it says “Something big is coming”.
There’s also an accompanying video that you can watch below. It doesn’t reveal very much although the background is of the rugged sports adventurer type. Fenix 7, Epix 2 and Instict 2 are devices for that part of the market. Also, the launch is from the Garmin Outdoor division which is responsible for these watches, and not the Garmin Fitness division which looks after the Forerunners.
We already had our sights on the 18th as Garmin Norway and Garmin Israel had posted teasers for an international launch event on that same day. The actual live stream from the company’s US headquarters in the US begins at 15:00 GMT. This is the equivalent to 10am EST. Garmin always holds their launch events on Tuesdays.
Our hope is that this will be a public live stream that everyone will be able to tap into. Garmin doesn’t usually do this but there is lots of interest and anticipation, particularly to do with Fenix 7. Garmin has a loyal following and Fenix is its flagship watch.
If you are wondering what to expect from these upcoming devices, take a scan of the press headlines. There’s been no shortage of coverage plastered all over the internet in recent days and weeks.
We’ve even seen pictures of Garmin Fenix 7, the fancy version of the same called Epix 2 and Instict 2. All of these watches are expected to come with the Elevate 4 heart rate sensor and newest Sony multi-band GNSS chip. The Elevate 4 heart rate sensor has made its debut in Venu 2 Plus and Forerunner 945 LTE and reviews about its accuracy have been good.
Other upgrades come in the form of improved battery life, a tweaked design, a touchscreen along with the five button interface and more. Software updates will include a new Stamina metric and a new health metric. Epix 2 offers the same functionality but with a high-res AMOLED display.
There’s even a possibility Fenix 7 might have an ECG sensor. But it is still not clear whether this will be the case. A German source and a Norway retailer have mentioned it. But other sources haven’t.
Of course, this could mean that ECG might launch in some countries and not in others. Regulatory approval would be necessary from different countries, hence the complication. A good example is the Withings Scanwatch. It received European clearance easily, but it took nearly two years to secure the same from the FDA in the US. So it could be the case that the hardware will be there on the Fenix 7, but the software for ECG in certain countries isn’t activated.
Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets
As far as pricing, we are expecting Fenix 7 to be only slightly more expensive that Fenix 6. The standard edition should cost 699 Euros which is 150 more than Fenix 6. However, reportedly there is no Pro version as all iterations will have maps, WiFi and music. The Pro version of Fenix 6 comes in at 649 Euros so there’s a 50 Euro difference with Fenix 7. Expected pricing for other models can be seen in our separate piece.
There’s been no mention of voice assistant capability. To remind, that made its debut on the Venu 2 Plus earlier this month. There’s also been no mention of LTE on Fenix 7. But similar to the Forerunner 945 and 945 LTE, it could follow at a later stage.
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