Garmin Edge 1030 Plus | Opinion | 830/1030 Comparison | Specs

 

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus

The Garmin Edge 1030 Plus is the new top-end bikenav from the world’s leading bike computer manufacturer. It should be the best of the best for the keenest of all keen cyclists. Is it? I mean, the earlier Edge 1030 was feature-full and impossible to beat if features were your thing, has anything been meaningfully added to it to justify the apex price tag?

Return to main: Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review Specs Comparison

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus – Q: What’s Changed?

A: In a nutshell: better hardware eg GPS chip, battery & storage, global heatmap maps, Firstbeat Daily Workouts and some carried over 530/830 features.

If we go back almost 3 years to when the1030 was first released there were a whole host of impressive new features including UI changes; battery pack support; BLE sensor support; heatmap route creation; many hardware improvements including screen performance & 20-hour battery life; some Firstbeat training and recovery metrics; and more besides, all at an eye-watering $600rrp. Since the 1030 launch, the newer Edge 530/830 also received new features which were soon also pushed across to the Edge 1030 (firmware list) including Physio TrueUp support, CIQ3.X; display mode support; Galileo; Shimano Steps 2.1; nutrition/hydration alerts; MTB dynamics – grit, flow and jump metrics; bike theft alarm; FindMyEdge; Power Curve tracking; Workout tracking; heat acclimation & altitude acclimatisation; ClimbPro; Training Load Focus plus several subtle improvements.

So the Edge 1030 obviously has ALL of that plus oodles of the legacy functionality, with the Edge 1030 Plus you now get these too
  • Better hardware – the mysterious innards are now ‘better’ and faster in unquantifiable ways – well, the battery lasts longer (24 hours) probably mostly due to a Sony GNSS chip and routes are claimed to recalculate twice as fast and, scarily, the touchscreen seems to work well.
  • 32Gb (formerly 16Gb) onboard storage to support multi-region maps but no SD expansion
  • Firstbeat ‘Daily Workout Suggestions’ – these are more intelligently derived adaptive workouts based on leveraging and targetting both your Anaerobic and Aerobic Training Loads. ie An informed workout recommendation for today based on your recent training achievements. See Firstbeat’s advanced workout recommendations.
  • Setup is simplified with some settings carried over from your previous Garmin. (Finally! thank you Garmin)
  • MTB Dynamics and ForkSight mode added from the pre-loaded TrailForks CIQ app (previously in Edge 530/830)
  • Assistance & Bike Alarm are new to the Edge 1030 Plus (previously in Edge 530/830)
Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review Specs ComparisonThe great thing here is that the headline rrp is unchanged at $600, although obviously the earlier Edge 1030 (not the PLUS version) is now selling for considerably less than rrp eg $499 at B&H and $549 at Walmart; similarly, in the UK the older Edge 1030 is discounted to just over £400 at Wiggle.

Let’s quickly contrast some of the changes to the interface with this one example of old vs. new. In this one specific example, you can see some improvements to readability and to the condensing of the data. I’d say Garmin has done a reasonable job here, however, IMHO this particular screen could still be better presented and indeed Garmin devices all suffer from somewhat of a UI malaise aka ‘screens could still look & work better‘. However, it’s more the screen FLOW than the individual screen designs that I have the most issue with.

What’s Still Included

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review Specs Comparison

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus – Opinion

For more affluent, Garmin-lovers this is a nice, incremental improvement and you’ve already sold your Edge 1030 last week on eBay in anticipation of this well-leaked release :-).
For the rest of us, if you want a top-end Garmin then the Edge 1030 Plus would still be my recommendation over the older 1030, mainly because of the improved hardware package and the longevity that offers rather than just for the tinkerings Garmin have made with the onboard software. Yet, if you just do NOT need or want the full set of uber-navigation features that Garmin offer and which are aided and abetted by a touchscreen, then just go for the significantly cheaper Edge 530, which is a sweet device that has pretty much the same features and which is very hard to beat.  But then again, that screen size on the Edge 530 is just that little bit smaller and as we get older the bigger screen becomes that little bit more attractive.
Me? I’d get the Garmin Edge 530 as I’m personally not interested in uber-routing functionality and the Edge 530 is big enough for me, plus I don’t like touchscreens.

Watch This Space

I’m working on a series of 1030-Plus pieces of content to brighten your inbox over the coming weeks, including a Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review.

Alternatives

There’s nothing that is directly comparable to the size and capability of the Edge 1030 Plus bikenav. The large-format Karoo 1 is no longer in production and the new one will be of a smaller format, the MIO Cyclo 605HC is sweet and similarly-sized but just doesn’t have the depth of performance features offered by Garmin. The Wahoo Elemnt is an awesome device for a more serious cyclist but if you want Firstbeat physiology coming out of your ears, a beautiful screen and uber-routing features you don’t buy a Wahoo.
Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Review Specs Comparison
Rox 12, Edge 1030+, Haroo, Cyclo 605HC, OS Trail 2 Nav – the 1030+ is big…but bigger exist. But bigger is not necessarily better.

Price, Availability & Discounts

The Garmin Edge 1030 Plus is in stock now and is reasonably widely available,
Edge 1030 Plus Bundle (speed, cadence, hrm, mount) – $699, £599, Eu699

Best Triathlon Watch

Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Specs & Comparison to Edge 1030, Edge 830

Source: Garmin.com

These are the main differences in the headlines feature sets as Garmin sees them. There are few differences to spot so I’ve made them bold.

 

General Garmin Edge 1030 PLUS Garmin Edge 1030 Garmin Edge 830
Physical dimensions 2.3″ x 4.5″ x 0.8″ (58 x 114 x 19 mm) 2.3″ x 4.5″ x 0.8″ (58 x 114 x 19 mm) 1.9” x 3.2” x 0.8” (50.0 x 82.0 x 20.0 mm)
Touchscreen Yes Yes Yes
Color display Yes Yes Yes
Display size 3.5″ (88.9 mm) diagonal 3.5″ (88.9 mm) diagonal 2.6″ (66 mm) diagonal
Display resolution 282 x 470 pixels 282 x 470 pixels 246 x 322 pixels
Weight 4.4 oz (124 g) 4.3 oz (123 g) 2.8 oz (79.1 g)
Battery type rechargeable lithium-ion rechargeable lithium-ion rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life 24 hours up to 20 hours up to 20 hours
Battery save mode Yes Yes Yes
In-ride power compatible (Garmin Charge battery pack) Yes Yes Yes
Water rating IPX7 IPX7 IPX7
Maps & Memory
Ability to add maps Yes Yes Yes
Basemap Yes Yes Yes
External memory storage yes (32 GB internal memory) Internal plus microSD™ slot Internal memory only
Waypoints/favorites/locations 200 200 200
Routes 100 courses 100 Courses 100 Courses
History up to 200 hours up to 200 hours up to 200 hours
Sensors
GPS Yes Yes Yes
GLONASS Yes Yes Yes
Galileo Yes Yes Yes
Barometric altimeter Yes Yes Yes
Accelerometer Yes Yes Yes
Ambient light sensor Yes Yes Yes
Daily Smart Features
Connectivity Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi®
Connect IQ™ (downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets and apps) Yes Yes Yes
Smart notifications Yes Yes Yes
Text response/reject phone call with text (Android™ only) Yes Yes Yes
Weather Yes Yes Yes
VIRB® Remote Yes Yes Yes
Smartphone compatibility iPhone®, Android™ iPhone®, Android™ iPhone®, Android™
Safety and Tracking Features
LiveTrack Yes Yes Yes
Group LiveTrack Yes Yes Yes
Rider-to-rider messaging Yes Yes Yes
Incident Detection Yes Yes Yes
Assistance Yes No Yes
Bike alarm Yes No Yes
Weather alerts Yes Yes Yes
Activity Tracking Features
Calories burned Yes Yes Yes
Training, Planning and Analysis Features
Customizable data pages Yes Yes Yes
Auto Pause® Yes Yes Yes
Interval training Yes Yes Yes
Advanced workouts Yes Yes Yes
Downloadable training plans Yes Yes Yes
Daily workout suggestions Yes No No
Auto Lap® Yes Yes Yes
Vo2 max Yes Yes Yes
Training Effect Yes Yes Yes
Recovery advisor Yes Yes Yes
Virtual Partner Yes Yes Yes
Race an Activity Yes Yes Yes
Segments Yes Yes Yes
Auto scroll Yes Yes Yes
Physio TrueUp Yes Yes Yes
Physiological measurements Yes Yes Yes
Outdoor Recreation
ClimbPro™ Ascent Planner Yes Yes Yes
Cycling Features
Alerts Yes Yes Yes
Courses Yes Yes Yes
On-device course creator Yes Yes Yes
Cycle Map (routable cycling-specific street map) yes (multi-region) Yes Yes
Cycling Dynamics compatible Yes Yes Yes
MTB Dynamics Yes No Yes
Integrated TrailForks trail data Yes No Yes
Power meter compatible Yes Yes Yes
Compatible with Varia™ radar (rear-facing radar) Yes Yes Yes
Compatible with Varia™ lights Yes Yes Yes
Connectivity
Edge® remote Yes Yes Yes
Varia™ remote Yes Yes Yes
ANT+™ electronic shifting Yes Yes Yes
Shimano Di2 Synchro Shift integration Yes Yes Yes
Smart trainer control Yes Yes Yes

Garmin Edge 1030 Headline Feature Screens

 

 

The Garmin Edge 1030 Plus is in stock now and is reasonably widely available,
Edge 1030 Plus Bundle (speed, cadence, hrm, mount) – $699, £599, Eu699

Best Triathlon Watch

 

Reader-Powered Content

This content is not sponsored. It’s mostly me behind the labour of love which is this site and I appreciate everyone who follows, subscribes or Buys Me A Coffee ❤️ Alternatively please buy the reviewed product from my partners. Thank you! FTC: Affiliate Disclosure: Links pay commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

4 thoughts on “Garmin Edge 1030 Plus | Opinion | 830/1030 Comparison | Specs

  1. Anyone else hoping that this is a week where Garmin introduces a bunch of new stuff every day? Since am not interested in replacing my 830 anytime soon. I do like what Garmin seems to be doing with software though – more improvements keep coming especially the settings transfer.

    1. yes there is other stuff there that will trickle across to the fenix/945 too. very exciting stuff…if it works. Am getting more details this/next week on that hopefully.

  2. I changed from garmin to Wahoo ROAM. I am very happy. Garmin has a lot to improve for me to come back.

  3. No data or max. 2 data on the map is not serious as a GPS computer. On Wahoo I have a map and speed, Cad, HR, AVG, Distance, and Turn to Turn. And on Garmin, speed and Cad. POVERTY.

Comments are closed.

wp_footer()