Garmin officially launched the Fenix 9 on August, 25th – the next generation of its flagship multisport lineup, arriving in three versions right out of the gate. Due to limited initial supply, the watches should hit stores within a few weeks, so if you've been sitting there with your finger hovering over the “Buy” button, you can relax and breathe for now.
Garmin Fenix 9: Three Versions and How They Differ
•
Fenix 9 – polycarbonate case with a titanium bezel and
case back, same as the Fenix 8 and Fenix 8 Pro.
•
Fenix 9 Pro – a full titanium case.
•
Fenix 9 Pro inReach – adds satellite connectivity via
the Skylo network on top of LTE. Satellite coverage is identical to the Fenix 8
Pro – primarily North America and Europe, with modest overlap into surrounding
regions (see our inReach article for details).
Pro and InReach Pro versions have 3 colors of LED flashlight.
On top of that, every version splits further into a MIP display with solar charging or an AMOLED display reaching up to 3,000 nits.
Watches with built-in
communication are probably the best pick for anyone who travels a lot, or who
wants a backup channel for when their phone lets them down – a dead battery, a
broken screen, or simply being stuck in a remote mountain area with no signal
at all.
You can already order the Garmin
Fenix 9 through our partner, Runlab Kobras.
Garmin Fenix 9 Design
Design-wise, the new model is...
well, it's a Fenix. Anyone hoping for a revolution will be disappointed; anyone
hoping for a Fenix got exactly that. The line sticks to the same visual
language as the 8 – round case, titanium bezel, buttons on both sides, nothing
that'll catch your eye at first glance. The one visible change is a very slight
increase in case height across every version, a bit more pronounced on the
inReach model, where the new antenna needed the extra space.
One thing that will catch your
eye is the larger 1.5″ display on the 51mm AMOLED version of the Fenix.
Does the Fenix 9 Pro Really Have a Full Titanium Case?
Marketing claims the Pro and Pro
inReach versions have a fully titanium case. That's not quite accurate. Look at
the watch from the side and you'll spot a clearly visible polycarbonate strip
right below the bezel, plus another one between the case body and the case
back. On the black version it's barely noticeable; on the grey version that
sub-half-millimeter strip could easily be mistaken for a metallic reflection at
first glance. It isn't a reflection – it's a polycarbonate section of the case
that simply had to be “snuck in” somewhere.
What's New on the Garmin Fenix 9 Compared to the Fenix 8
Quite a few people complained
right after launch that there's no major upgrade over the previous generation.
For me, hardware differences are about the last thing I'd focus on. The
5th-generation optical sensor (Elevate Gen 5) is still very accurate and holds
up fine against the competition – in some tests it comes close to matching a
chest strap with ECG.
The biggest differences from
earlier Fenix generations show up in the software and app details. It's not one
single headline feature that'll blow everyone away – it's more like dozens,
maybe hundreds, of smaller improvements. A few worth mentioning:
•
smoother, newly rewritten map-rendering algorithms,
•
updated algorithms for rucking (walking with a weighted
load),
•
VO2 max estimation now available for indoor rowing too,
• and a new feature called Epic mode.
What Is Epic Mode on the Garmin Fenix 9?
Epic is essentially a summary
mode built for longer stretches of time – a training camp, for instance.
Instead of just individual activities logged the usual way, you also get an
overall picture of “how did my week go” – total distance covered, sessions completed,
and so on, all rolled up under one summary screen. In Epic mode the watch still
saves each individual activity separately as usual, but it also keeps
continuously tracking HRV, sleep, stress and other metrics in between
activities, even when you're not actively recording anything. Once the whole
block wraps up, Epic pulls all of that data together into a single combined
overview.
Endurance Prediction for Solo Athletes – Stamina with Pace Zones
Garmin has also upgraded the
feature aimed at athletes who train alone – it's called Stamina, a real-time
estimate of how much longer you can keep running within a given pace zone.
Garmin analyzes your own historical training data and shows, live, in a data
field on the watch face, roughly how far you can still go at that pace. The
calculation also factors in heat acclimation and a few other variables.
How Many Garmin Fenix 9 Versions and Sizes Are There?
Across all the sizes,
configurations and display types, Garmin has launched around 34 individual
models. Keeping track of it all is almost a superhuman task. Externally, the
models mostly differ just by the titanium casing, and the AMOLED version with a
51mm case gets a 1.5″ display – 0.1″ larger than the previous generation.
What you can't see from the
outside, but is there under the hood, is a noticeably higher battery capacity –
at least on the 51mm versions. I'm not entirely sure yet about battery capacity
on the smaller and mid-sized models; I'll update this once I've confirmed it.
Stay tuned to the blog – a full
review is coming once I've gathered more data. For now, all I can say is that
battery consumption during activity recording is... unreal.
Garmin Fenix 9 FAQ
How many versions of the
Garmin Fenix 9 are there?
Three main variants: the Fenix 9
with a polycarbonate case and titanium bezel/case back, the Fenix 9 Pro with a
full titanium case, and the Fenix 9 Pro inReach with LTE and Skylo satellite
communication. Across sizes and display types, that adds up to 34 individual
models.
Does the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro
really have a full titanium case?
Not entirely – even the Pro and
Pro inReach versions have a thin polycarbonate strip built into the case near
the bezel and case back, even though they look fully titanium from the outside.
What's the satellite coverage
on the Fenix 9 Pro inReach?
The same as on the Fenix 8 Pro –
primarily North America and Europe, with modest overlap into nearby regions
(see our inReach article for more).
What's new in the Garmin
Fenix 9 software?
The headline changes are
smoother map rendering, updated rucking algorithms, VO2 max estimation for
indoor rowing, a new summary-style Epic mode, and Stamina, a more accurate
real-time endurance prediction based on pace zones.