Image source: Garmin

The Garmin Fenix E experiment seems to be falling flat

The Garmin Fenix E has been out for a few months now, and it looks like barely anyone is paying attention. If you check the official Garmin forums, you’ll find a grand total of 12 discussion threads about it. That’s pretty dismal. And nine of those were started by Garmin itself! Not exactly the sign of a watch that’s flying off the shelves.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Fenix E is whether Garmin ever expected it to be a bestseller. Some users speculate that its main purpose is to steer customers toward other models, rather than stand on its own as a must-have upgrade. It’s also being positioned for a niche audience—long-distance hikers, ultra runners, and endurance athletes who can make use of its specific features. But even in that crowd, the excitement just doesn’t seem to be there.


Same old stuff

A growing sentiment on the forums is that the Fenix E isn’t really bringing anything new to the table. Some have pointed out that it’s essentially a rebranded version of a 2021 model. Which is true if you ignore the few minor tweaks. So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that there has been a lack of interest. Why would people get all excited about a watch that’s barely different from what they could buy three years ago?

Add into that that Garmin has not really gone all-in on marketing for the Fenix E. Unlike other recent releases, it hasn’t been heavily promoted, which makes it hard to tell whether the company even expected big sales numbers from it. There’s also the possibility that it was simply an experiment—testing out whether there’s demand for a specific type of watch without a major overhaul.

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Many people feel that the Fenix E is overpriced for what it offers, especially when compared to other models in Garmin’s lineup. That’s probably the biggest issue holding it back. Even if it has a solid feature set, it’s hard to justify spending top dollar on a watch that feels like a repackaged version of an old device.

At this point, it’s hard to see where the Fenix E goes from here. Maybe Garmin had bigger plans for it, or maybe they were just throwing it out there to see what happened. Either way, the lack of conversation around it says a lot. If a Garmin watch launches and no one talks about it, did it even really launch?

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Ivan Jovin

Ivan has been a tech journalist for over 7 years now, covering all kinds of technology issues. He is the guy who gets to dive deep into the latest wearable tech news.

One thought on “The Garmin Fenix E experiment seems to be falling flat

  • Same with the new Instinct E…no one is talking about it on the forum. One has to wonder what Garmin’s thought process behind those product lines is…but no matter what, this experiment will cost them a lot of money because these E models have to be produced, advertised and sold…to a very elusive audience.

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