Garmin Enduro 4 inbound? – Speculation
Garmin Enduro 4 inbound? – SpeculationAlthough the Garmin Enduro 4 is not due for release, Garmin is about to add new features related to Ultra Running. Often, new features accompany the release of a new watch. The relevant new watch for these new features would be an Enduro, but we already have Enduro 3. So what’s cooking?
Existing Garmin Fenix & Enduro Models (2020–2025)
Here’s a quick recap of the Fenix/Enduro chronology to date. The Enduro model is released no later than 6 months after a new Fenix. Its raison d’être is uber battery life, and that means a MIP display and solar charging. However, it also means a super-large case format, which is ideal for maximally sized maps but less convenient for smaller wrists.
| Release Date | Model Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 8, 2020 | Fenix 6 Solar | Added solar charging to Fenix 6 lineup |
| Feb 16, 2021 | Enduro | Ultra-endurance version of Fenix 6 |
| Jan 18, 2022 | Fenix 7 / 7S / 7X | Full redesign, touchscreen added |
Aug 9, 2022 | Enduro 2 | Based on Fenix 7X, solar + flashlight |
| May 31, 2023 | Fenix 7 Pro series | Upgraded sensors, flashlight on all |
| Aug 27, 2024 | Fenix 8 | New Gen, lighter design, AMOLED |
| Aug 27, 2024 | Fenix E | Cheaper version of Fenix 8 |
| Aug 27, 2024 | Enduro 3 | Endurance-focused variant of Fenix 8, Less smart. solar/MIP display. Uber battery |
Some of you might immediately shout for the Instinct 3X – but we effectively already have that with the larger-sized Instinct. I don’t think that’s an option.
Take Out
This is speculation rather than a leak.
Enduro is more of a traditional Fenix, focusing more on sports and less on smarts when compared to its more expensive Fenix 8 51mm Solar sibling. It has a distinct purpose and place. Garmin may be expanding the Enduro range to include new, smaller sizes.
What do you think?
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Don’t get my hopes up 😀
A smaller Enduro 3 would be my dream watch since I never used the speaker / mic on the Venu 3 and would gladly switch back to a MIP screen. Especially with the latest improvements to clarity and almost unnoticeable solar integration.
The solar integration IS actually unnoticeable as it doesn’t cover the screen anymore 😉
My prediction is Enduro 3 LTE. Ultrarunning in the woods is one area you want connections and don’t always want to carry your phone. The larger size makes it easier to squeeze the components into it.
LTE would have to follow Fenix 8 Pro (LTE) which won’t be until sep25-jan26 time frame (est.)
Smaller Enduro would basically mean extending the Enduro name into a full range of “MIP Fenixes”. If they ever plan an either removing solar from the MIP holdouts or adding solar to OLED, it would surely be a good idea to have the MIP variant under a separate name and not just under some qualifier.
kinda almost like epix and fenix!!!
there are lots of good ideas. Garmin has kinda dug itself into a messy hole and cant help but keep using the shovel
Exactly like Epix and Fenix, only that the Fenix name keeps getting used for whatever is the currently dominant screen tech.
What remains open is the styling: so far Enduro have been Fenix with a touch of Forerunner (those color rings!) whereas Fenixes have been less playful. But as a future MIP holdout, Enduro would hopefully become the understated one.
Or the epix 3 is coming out which is a thicker venu x1 with the missing bits like dual band and as you say, about the enduro 3, has the real estate for nav.
I reckon that’s next in Garmins insane sku lineup
interesting idea but i think epix is dead. just my 2c
What about Forerunner 975 (MIP?)
I’m anxiously waiting for this and think it’s frankly strange there is no MIPs option right now for the most current 900 level forerunner.
i hadn’t thought of that but somethign along those lines is a distinct possibility. perhaps even more likely.
975mip is essentially what a smaller enduro 3 would be in any case.
the new ultra features would also fit the forerunner series, which is why your suggestion would work plus with the advantage of a precedent with the 955/955 solar.
the Con against your theory is that these are Ultra features and Enduro is the ultra watch.
But this would piss of a lot of people who bought the 970 (me included) since there was no MIP alternative available. They could have at least announce it even if the delivery date was some weeks away.
Now with the 970 available it will be hard to justify the higher prices for a new Enduro series watch.
Imagine praising MIP and lack of speaker / mic to justify the higher price while removing / adding those things from the Forerunner series. This sounds like a marketing nightmare.
I hope I’m wrong though.
garmin is releasing a lot of stuff.
there’s always going to be something 6-9 months away that has some better characteristic than the one you just bought
Don’t hold your breath. Outside of Fenix and Enduro, MIP is dead. The *65 Forerunner line had already been AMOLED-only, why would you expect Garmin to make a U-turn with the successor? I just hope that there’s still some MIP option (or equivalent) when my 7Pro is eventually due for replacement (not any time soon, hopefully), ideally something not quite as huge as present day Enduro.
In the end I think that MIP display watches are in a similar pickle as smaller-than-phablet smartphones:
There absolutely are people who’d prefer to buy a MIP watch or a pocketable phone, but they tend to be people with a bit of buying restraint. The type who’d rather use a device for four years instead of getting a kick out of being at the forefront of the successor treadmill, the type who’d rather get an outgoing device for a little cheaper than lining up in the store queue on release day. Then when companies do experiments like offering multiple sizes (or a choice of screen techs like in Fenix 8) they will see a wild difference in release month sales and extrapolate that the difference in demand will stay that way, even if the flashy variant is wildly overrepresented in first month days due to the bias of update treadmill buyers.
generally agreed
some people really want/need uber long battery life, which they get from MIP
I’m an avid hiker and ultra runner and I love the battery life and readability in direct sunlight that comes with a MIPS display. I’ve got money, and I’m prepared to drop cash on a new watch every 3 or so years so long as the features are compelling.
I suspect that there is enough of a fitness/adventurer crowd who are like me to justify the existence of the enduro line with a MIPS display for some time yet.
I’m a MIPS fan, and I was disappointed that there wasn’t a 42/43mm MIPS option with the F8, but realistically, I think that the AMOLED screens are just going to keep getting so good that there won’t be a case for MIPS anymore. When Garmin first resurrected the EPIX, there were very good reasons to prefer the Fenix. The list is shorter now: Bright sunlight visibility isn’t an issue anymore on Garmin’s newest AMOLED screens. They hands down are more visible than MIPS screens now. They’re also getting very impressive always-on battery life, equal to prior generation MIPS Fenix. And they’re better at dimming in normal use so that they’re visible without looking like a beacon.
They will probably skip the 4 and go straight to 5, for the same reason they did it with the fenix.
It’d be great to see smaller variants though.
I guess among Garmin’s customers the older amateurs have a relative high share if see the most expensive watches.
So I think sooner or later Garmin will launch either bigger variants or the same sized watches, but with bigger screens.
Eyesight does not improve by age, does it?
indeed!
this must be one reason why the larger font options have been recently added