Garmin Fenix 7 – What To Expect

It’s only a few days away now, here’s all we know and what to expect from the Garmin Fenix 7.

 

You are as impatient as me so here are some photos and factettes to tease, titillate and entertain you and hopefully keep you happy until the actual release/announcement dates.  This is pretty much the full list of what we know with a few inclusions of other certainties. Most of this information is independently corroborated by completely different original sources, I have not seen any original sources of images, although some claiming to be real are linked to below.

If anyone tells you the Fenix 7 doesn’t exist then just smile at them, it never pays to get angry. There are literally hundreds (maybe thousands) of people in the Garmin supply chain who know about these watches. HUNDREDS of people! Oh, and I have real pictures of Fenix 7X and Epix 2 that are not marketing shots from Garmin ;-), I just can’t share them right now.

 

Updated: 17 Jan 2022

If you have any intel or thoughts to add…you know what to do

Must Review: Garmin Fenix 7 Review & Thoughts

The most important questions first.

Q: When is the Garmin Fenix 7 due to be released?

A: Almost certainly the Garmin Fenix 7 will be released (announced and available to ship) on Tuesday 18th January 2022. There will be an announcement around 4PM CET, however, in the past watches have been made available to buy on Garmin.com at the start of the release day in each country.

Q: How Much is the Garmin Fenix 7

A: There are numerous models and the prices vary a lot. As a generalisation, it is about Eu/$/£50 more for the Fenix 7 equivalent of the Fenix 6 at rrp. The prices get higher for higher quality materials like titanium, larger sizes like 7X, better lenses with Sapphire coating, better screen resolution from AMOLED and for Solar models. Fenix 7 and 7S are both priced in the UK at £599 whereas the Epix Gen 2 AMOLED is priced at £799 – you spend $/£1000 or more with the various options. Ignoring Solar/AMOLED and battery life, the features on all models are effectively the same and there’s not that much more added compared to Fenix 6 features..

 

• All Fenix 7 non-Solar models have touchscreens and buttons
  • There is, for sure, 7, 7S, 7X and a solar+sapphire version
  • There might be no PRO models. I have had PRO models confirmed and denied. PRO could mean SOLAR to some people or it could mean to them the PRO features that are on the F6 PRO. I think there are no pro options for the F7 and that we will LATER see a 7+ with LTE and, possibly, a voice assistant/mic/speakers.
• Bezel options are: Stainless steel, titanium and DLC (Diamon-like Coating)
• There are two types of lug/case. The 7S has no visible bolts on the lugs.
• It’s now certain that Tue 18th will be the announcement date probably Tuesday 18th @4PM CET 😉 or an hour later.
• Gadgets & Wearables (and others) give these Euro prices though there appear to be mistakes (I’ve only seen UK prices from my sources)

	Fenix 7	Fenix 6
Standard Edition	699 Euro	549 Euro
Standard Edition (pro and sapphire)	n/a	649 Euro
Standard Edition (solar)	799 Euro	699 Euro
Standard Edition (pro-solar)	n/a	799 Euro
s-model	699 Euro	549 Euro
s-model (pro and sapphire)	n/a	649 Euro
s-model (solar)	799 Euro	699 Euro
s-model (pro-solar)	n/a	799 Euro
x-model	799 Euro	n/a
x-model (pro and sapphire) ?????	n/a	699 Euro
x-model (solar)	899 Euro	n/a
x-model (pro-solar) ?????	n/a	899 Euro
* Epix 2 – 899 Euro

• Garmin now highlights compliance with Military standard MIL-STD-810G. But this already exists on Fenix 6 and Instinct (Credit: Brian Reiter & @Mike, for additional Info)
• Global TopoActive maps can be downloaded by WiFi. Sapphire Solar models come with maps pre-loaded
  • This implies that WiFi is on all Fenix 7 Models
  • This implies that, perhaps, Sapphire+Solar (or Sapphire-only or Solar-only) come with larger storage. This might in some way be linked to the changed definition for a PRO model.
• New Health Monitoring Activity: “using data for the watch’s various body status sensors, this feature helps track your wellness and biometric status at a glance“. So this is a funny one. a NEW HEALTH MONITORING ACTIVITY is specifically claimed here by Garmin. But the best guess we have so far for that is the wellness screen seen on the Venu.
• CIQ System 5 allows Stress Data, VO2max and Body Battery to be incorporated into widgets, I’ve heard rumours of people who’ve seen something like this on F7.
• Multi-Band Frequency support is added. I assume this is dual-frequency based on other tech already implemented by Garmin (I could be wrong). However, Garmin’s wording possibly could mean Multi-Constellation in the sense of GPS+Glonass+GALILEO/BEIDOU ie three constellations (credit: Lukoviczki Andras) [Garmin also points out that their previous Sapphire versions for the Military used this multi-band tech, I didn’t know if this meant the Tactix or the regular F6 Sapphire with military-only firmware. On a positive note, at least it’s been tested.] Note: Coros has tri-constellation + dual-frequency via Airoha (MediaTek).
  
• Real-time settings sync. Read this quote from Garmin closely, “Configure all device settings from your watch or phone”. That is a LOT of settings that Garmin appear to have made available on the Garmin Connect App. That’s a massive and fundamental technical change to the app and device communication and a significant improvement to all-around usability. Obviously when you are in the middle of nowhere and your phone is in the car then you will benefit from accessing the settings in the existing manner. Even better the settings on the phone can be grouped how you want them or hidden if you don’t need them.
• Garmin CIQ Store on the watch….yep. You can change individual CIQ app settings on the watch too.
• Then we have the ‘Visual Race Predictor’ – Currently we have the Race Time Predictor on our watches, where your performances are estimated over standard running distances. The new VISUAL version of Race Predictor might add a time component to the predictions which track how you improve toward those times ie toward race day. (IDK, I’m guessing there on the detail of how it works)
• The circular, Solar charging strip has about 3x the area of the one on Fenix 6 Solar. I would expect a significant improvement in solar performance as a result; also factor in materials improvements and software improvements to perhaps give more than 3x the existing generation capacity.
• Real-Time Stamina (Firstbeat) – Garmin’s marketing spiel is that this real-time metric can help you avoid overexerting yourself at the start of your bike/run activities. I’m assuming this would be something like W’bal, ie at any given time you have a given ability for work that is fuelled by anaerobic energy systems. So Stamina could be a measure based on that. However, I would have thought that the usefulness of such a real-time measure would more precisely depend on your target race distance/effort level. For an Ironman, it would be lower than such a level (lower than Lt2). Perhaps this is copying the (excellent) concepts relied on by Xert? If so this again would suggest that native Running Power is close as its calculations use similar concepts.

• New SKIVIEW maps area added. >2,000 resorts with the individual pistes by name and by difficulty.
• Up Ahead Feature – Get “at-a-glance awareness for selected POI checkpoints ahead“. Make of that what you will.
• No mention is made of the recently registered Garmin optical band that we thought might be like WHOOP 4.
• The flashlight! I almost forgot that the Fenix 7X has a built-in LED flashlight ! It really is white facing forwards and red when facing backwards. Anyway, there IS an LED on the 7X and I have a picture of a real F7X showing the LED (I cant share it right now):

• New ELEVATE Gen 4 sensor for optical HR, EKG/ECG and SpO2 (I’m assuming the EKG/ECG reading is physically taken by holding the power button and touching the new red bit around it)
• The processing/memory/architecture is improved. This will be at least as good as on the Enduro ie better than on F6.
• Screens are the same size/resolution but are using new tech with the touchscreen. The good news here is that hopefully all Fenix 6 and/or Enduro CIQ apps will work from day one on Fenix 7 (sideloading might be required). Though having said that Garmin only published the Venu 2+ CIQ specs the day after launch so I would imagine that is the same for F7/Epix2.
• Music, Maps, Payments, Wi-Fi. Yes, yes yes, yes. seemingly on every model
• Zero AMOLED. AMOLED is on the Epix Gen 2. Which is essentially an expensive Fenix 7 with a very pretty screen and shorter battery life.
• Battery – battery performance seems about 30% better than F6.

Fenix ​​7 (solar option available)	Fenix ​​7X Solar	Fenix ​​7S (solar option)	Epix 2
1.3″, Transflexive MIP LCD Touch, 260x260px, Power Glass on Solar	1.4″, Transflexive MIP LCD, 280x280px, Power Glass on Solar	1.2″, Transflexive MIP LCD Touch, 240x240px, reinforced glass	1.3″, AMOLED Touch, 454x454px
Watch Mode: up to 18 days (22 with solar) F6Solar is 14 days (16 with Solar)	Watch Mode: up to 28 days, 37 days with solar	Watch Mode: up to 11 days (14 with solar)	Watch Mode: up to 16 days
GPS: 57 hours (73 hours with solar) F6Solar is 36 hours (40 hours with solar)	GPS: 89 hours, 122 hours with solar	GPS: 37 hours (46 hours with solar)	GPS: up to 42 hours
Expedition GPS: up to 40 days (74 with solar)   F6Solar is 28 days (36 with Solar)	Expedition GPS: 62 days, 139 with solar	Expedition GPS: 26 days (43 with solar)	Not Available

• ‘Companion’ Models
  • Epix Gen 2 is certain to support CIQ Level 5 which contains AMOLED functionality and I would imagine the Fenix 7 also supports it..
  • MARQ Gen 2. Zero intel but it might come at the same time
  • Instinct 2 – looks likely to be released at the same time.
  • Forerunner 955 exists but will be released later in the first half of the year, perhaps along with a 255/655?
• I have seen zero intel on LTE capability nor on microphone/speaker abilities. I doubt these are included although I note inclusion on Venu 2+  model. I would anticipate a Fenix 7+ series having LTE as the headline hardware-enabled feature.
• Running power – not included at this stage.
• There is no STRYD-like footpod for running power to release with the Fenix 7. More footpod info in the Stryd Review.
• One source also claims there will be a charging BAND. Presumably, one that has a battery in it? (Don’t hope too much on that one, an outside possibility would be a solar charging band but again this is highly unlikely)
• It’s coming. 100% For Sure. 7, 7S and Epix Gen 2 are definitely in January…maybe more products in Jan like Instinct 2 and Marq 2 #MassiveLaunch(es). (Venu 2 Plus is Jan 4th – see below) Pro, Pro Solar, Sapphire Solar versions were also confirmed for launch at the same time (January, BUT only by one source – though likely getting the PRO message confused with F6’s PRO features. I suspect PRO feature on all models ie no PRO model!!)
• Finally, it looks like this (images not hosted on this site nor anything to do with this site in any way)

 

 

Images: Not hosted on this site. Linked to Winfuture directly

What’s missing (not leaked):

There is no mention of any kind of WHOOP band. Nor is there any mention of running power (Forerunner 955) or LTE.

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https://the5krunner.com/2022/04/29/garmin-epix-2-review/ ‎

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Last Updated on 25 January 2026 by the5krunner