Review - Garmin Fenix 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition
The fēnix® 7 range of watches were first released in January 2022, bringing a touch screen, better battery life and new upgraded features & sensors.
In this article we look at the NEW fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Edition that have just been released.
We are going to look at what is new within this range and what are the main differences of the NEW fēnix® 7 Pro - Sapphire Edition watches over the fēnix® 7 Sapphire watch.
We still have the same 3 x watch sizes as the none pro fēnix® 7 Models
fēnix® 7s Pro – Sapphire Solar (42 x 42 x 14.1mm), suitable for wrist size 108 – 182mm, Sapphire Titanium Version Weighing 58g
fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar (47 x 47 x 14.5mm), suitable for wrist size 125 – 208mm, Sapphire Titanium Version Weighing 73g)
fēnix® 7x Pro – Sapphire Solar - 51mm (51 x 51 x 14.9mm), suitable for wrist size 127 – 210mm, Sapphire Titanium Version Weighing 89g
NEW COLOUR ADDED
As well as the Soft Gold with Light Sand Band & Carbon Grey DLC Titanium with Black Band, we have a new colour available in the 47mm & 51mm size options of Titanium with Fog Gray/Ember Orange Band
fēnix® 7s Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 42mm
Available in either Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band or Soft Gold with Light Sand Band.
fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 47mm
Available in either Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band or Titanium with Fog Gray/Ember Orange Band
fēnix® 7x Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 51mm
Available in either Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band or Titanium with Fog Gray/Ember Orange Band
NEW STYLE POWER GLASS SAPPHIRE SCREEN / BATTERY LIFE
All of the new fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Series watches have the same great battery life as per with the previous Solar Sapphire versions but do have an upgraded Sapphire power glass solar screen with an updated MIP Display as per the information below:
New Pixel Design: Redesigned the display at the pixel level to achieve better display balance in all lighting conditions; improving indoor readability with higher contrast, increased colour saturation and luminance. Garmin says these changes “improve the indoor light experience without sacrificing performance in outdoors.”
New Backlight Design: Increased brightness, dimness (can go dimmer in certain conditions), and power efficiency of the backlight. We are also now utilizing the solar panel itself as an ambient light sensor. Garmin says these “improve usability and power efficiency and automatically adapts the backlight to different lighting conditions.”
fēnix® 7s Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 42mm
Smartwatch: Up to 11 days/14 days with solar*
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 38 days/87 days with solar*
GPS Only: Up to 37 hours/46 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems: Up to 26 hours/30 hours with solar*
All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 15 hours/16 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems Music: Up to 7 hours
Max Battery GPS: Up to 90 hours/ 162 hours with solar**
Expedition GPS: Up to 26 days/ 43 days with solar*
*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
**Solar charging, assuming use in 50,000 lux conditions
fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 47mm
Smartwatch: Up to 18 days/22 days with solar*
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 57 days/173 days with solar*
GPS Only: Up to 57 hours/73 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems: Up to 40 hours/48 hours with solar*
All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 23 hours/26 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems Music: Up to 10 hours
Max Battery GPS: Up to 136 hours/ 289 hours with solar**
Expedition GPS: Up to 40 days/ 74 days with solar*
*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
**Solar charging, assuming use in 50,000 lux conditions
fēnix® 7x Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition 51mm
Smartwatch: Up to 28 days/37 days with solar*
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 90 days/1+year days with solar*
GPS Only: Up to 89 hours/122 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems: Up to 63 hours/77 hours with solar*
All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 36 hours/41 hours with solar**
All Satellite Systems Music: Up to 16 hours
Max Battery GPS: Up to 213 hours/ 578 hours with solar**
Expedition GPS: Up to 62 days/ 139 days with solar*
*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
**Solar charging, assuming use in 50,000 lux conditions
NEW USB C to WATCH CHARGING CABLE
Supplied with a USB C to Watch Charging Cable – Charging time with the fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar series is still around 2 hrs.
We supply you with a USB C Female to USB A Male Adapter (So that you can use the Garmin Charging Cable with a USB A plug)
Built-in LED FLASHLIGHT
Quick access, multi-LED flashlight for hands-free illumination
All models now have the built-in flashlight that was only available on the Fenix 7x model, we found this a great edition when you need some light quickly without having to search around for your torch, a light that is always on your wrist with quick access from a short-cut button.
There are four levels of brightness from the white LED light, with also a softer red light to avoid compromising your night vision and an eye-catching strobe mode adding additional safety.
NEW Gen 5 Elevate Heart rate sensor
We have not yet put the new Gen 5 Elevate Heart rate sensor through it’s paces, but we know Garmin are always looking to improve on accuracy and performance of sensors.
We can see from the new design that the sensor now has more LEDs, from what we understand they are designed to better handle different workout types where your wrist may be bent in many varied positions, the new size and shaping of the sensor is also designed to handle inbound light leakage better improving on accuracy of readings.
The above covered the NEW hardware features for the Garmin fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Series watches, there are also some additional key features with regards to the metrics you watch can display & activities that can be recorded as follows:
NEW HILL SCORE
This feature measures your capability for running uphill and evaluates your progress over time based on your VO2 max and training history. It measures your running strength on steep ascents and running endurance on long ascents and provides a score based on your performance over time.
NEW ENDURANCE SCORE
This feature measures your ability to sustain prolonged efforts and combines training data from all your athletic pursuits to help you understand how training impacts your overall endurance. This dynamic measurement uses your VO2 max, short term/long-term training loads and other factors to gauge your fitness progress beyond just VO2 max.
NEW JET LAG ADVISER
Help to minimise the effects of jet lag with guidance on light exposure, sleep schedule and exercise.
NEW WRIST BASED RUNNING POWER
See how much power you are applying to the trail or road so you can manage effort and fine-tune training – get running power now without an accessory right on your wrist.
TRACK MORE ACTIVITIES
Use preloaded activity profiles to get data and insight from your active pursuits. You can now track more activities like team sports such as:
Basketball, Volleyball, Field Hockey,Ice Hockey, Football/Soccer, American Football, Lacrosse, Rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, Cricket, Softball Baseball, Ice Skating, Inline Skating, Archery, Overland, Whitewater, Kayak, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Snorkel, BMX, Motocross, Table Tennis Squash, Racquetball, Badminton, Platform Tennis
We are looking forward to getting out and testing the NEW fēnix® 7 Pro – Sapphire Solar Edition Watches – Please look out for our Walk & Talk Videos as we get out and about with the new watches.
We discussed the launch on our last podcast number 84 – More info here