As you can see from the image above I have owned a LOT of Garmins including: an ENDURO, Fenix 6 Solar, Fenix 6 Sapphire, etc. I still have a Fenix 6 Titanium in addition to a Venu 2.
Garmin’s battery life claims have always been artificial, non-realistic & SHORT-LIVED.
Ask anyone who has owned a Garmin for more than a few months.
Garmin’s battery life estimates are based on using the most boring of THEIR watch faces and not doing too much of anything on a given day. That is not realistic or representative.
Plus, the batteries, quite literally, in front of your eyes, start losing ‘juice’ the longer you have them.
So, PLEASE, take Garmin’s claims about Fenix 7 battery life with a HUGE grain of (Lithium) salts.
As the above image shows I have OWNED 14 Garmin smartwatches since June 2017. Yes, 14 in 4.5 years. SMILE.
I am currently wearing a Garmin, viz. a Venu 2 & it appears that I have been wearing that for an UNUSUALLY long 245 days. In 10 days it will break the record to become the smartwatch I have worn for the longest time. Notice I have never worn the same watch for a year. [But, prior to this smartwatch mania I did own a Rolex for 22 years. So, maybe I am compensating.]
You will also notice that as of 2018 I have owned/worn every model of Fenix that Garmin has unveiled including the MARQ & ENDURO.
I still have my Fenix 6 Titanium — though I have NOT worn it in over a year! I keep it as a back up.
Even 6 months ago I was quite anxious to see what the Fenix 7 will bring.
Over the last 2 weeks there have been the inevitable leaks. I try to keep tabs of them all. I have read all the ones that are germane & from credible sources.
So far, I have NOT read anything that has got me excited.
I have DONE Garmin Solar.
Garmin Solar is pretty damn useless in New Hampshire.
The supposed touchscreen is mildly interesting, BUT NOT unless it comes with a nice, big AMOLED screen as in the Venu 2.
As of now, I do NOT intend to get a Fenix 7.
Neither am I interested in the new ‘Venu 2 Pro‘ if the only new feature is voice commands. I very rarely use voice commands even with my Google Pixel 5. So, why would I want it on my wrist.
So, that is where we stand. But, that could change.
My current goal is to slowly transition to Google ‘Wear OS‘.
Most of, if not all of, Garmin’s IT systems & networks were down for at least 10-days in June 2020. Internally it must have taken them at least another 2-weeks to ensure that everything was back to being copasetic. So, the ransomware attack had to have cost Garmin at least a month of delays. Most likely they spent another month making sure that there systems were finally as secure as they should have been in the first place.
This might explain why we have not even heard any credible rumors of the Garmin Fenix 7. It certainly is due.
The ‘Enduro’ announced earlier this year was not really a feature update. Just provided longer battery life. The Fenix 6 Pro Solar also only extended battery life. So, the last feature upgrade, i.e., the announcement of the Fenix 6, was two years ago. So, it is not unreasonable to expect a Fenix 7 anytime now.
Yes, no doubt, Garmin wanted ‘Samsung’ to get their ‘Watch 4‘ release out of the way. Well, that has happened. Garmin again as an open runway.
I would hope to see an announcement by October 2021. If not something untowards has taken place within Garmin. As always I have my ear to the ground. I will keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.
