Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Review

Verdict

The Garmin Fenix 7 Professional is one other Garmin out of doors watch with huge options and a giant battery life, however there are few causes to seize it if you have already got the Fenix 7, or you possibly can choose up the non-Professional 7 for much less.

Introduction

The Garmin Fenix 7 Professional sees Garmin give its much-loved out of doors watch one other Professional improve after launching the Fenix 7 again in January 2022.

There’s {hardware} and software program enhancements onboard, together with giving all Fenix 7 Professional fashions the LED flashlight remedy and including improved coronary heart charge sensors and shows.

Garmin’s additionally enhancing options like its already spectacular mapping system, in addition to implementing extra metrics for individuals who desire a clearer sense if all their coaching is all paying off.

It prices lower than the Garmin Epix Professional that has launched alongside it, however remains to be an expensive watch to choose up on your out of doors escapades. So is it value going professional on the brand new Fenix? Right here’s our take.

Design and display

• LED flashlight on all Fenix 7 Professional fashions
• Improved show
• Upgraded coronary heart charge sensor 
• Waterproof as much as 100 metres

Just like the Fenix 7, the 7 Professional comes within the three similar case sizes and is offered in commonplace and sapphire editions with the latter getting you the next high quality bezel, Garmin’s Energy Glass lens for added photo voltaic charging and entry to preloaded Topo maps. I had the center 47mm model to check, however if you happen to had been to place the Garmin Fenix 7 and the 7 Professional side-by-side you’d simply mistake one for the opposite.

Garmin has made a number of adjustments to raised separate the Professional from non-Professional Fenix, although a few of these adjustments are extra apparent than the others.

Up entrance on the 47mm mannequin, Garmin has a 1.3-inch, 260 x 260 decision transflective reminiscence in pixel show matching the dimensions and backbone of the Fenix 7, although Garmin says the Professional has an improved transflective show. I’m not precisely certain the way it’s been improved and Garmin hasn’t shared a large amount of element on this both. 

Having used the Fenix 7 and the 7 Professional collectively, I can’t say I’ve seen an enormous distinction in how the outdated show and the brand new show behave when interacting with it, or the way it handles tougher visibility situations. It’s maybe a contact brighter and clearer, although I by no means felt that there was a lot improper with the 7’s show.

The opposite huge change lies round again with the optical coronary heart charge sensor, the place Garmin additionally says it’s made upgrades and you’ll clearly see issues have modified in that design and the structure of the sensor that delivers coronary heart charge and blood oxygen data. Garmin says it’s constructed its newest Elevate sensors alongside new algorithms to enhance monitoring accuracy particularly for a greater diversity of actions.

Garmin is now additionally including an LED flashlight on all Fenix fashions, the place it was beforehand solely accessible on the bigger Garmin Fenix 7X. Which means the 47mm and 42mm Fenix 7 packs that flashlight on the high of the watch case with the choice to maintain it on throughout monitoring and to set it to a number of modes the place it may possibly pulse or blink.

Outdoors of these adjustments the Fenix 7 Professional feels lots just like the Fenix 7 to put on. It’s bulkier than Garmin’s Forerunner watches, however the 47mm variant didn’t really feel heavy to put on on my considerably skinny wrists. The strap is comfy too, and is definitely detachable plus you’ve received a ten ATM waterproof score, which meant it was wonderful in our pool and open water swims.

Software program and smartwatch options

• Works with Android and iOS
• View and reply to notifications 
• Tweaked exercise menu UI

Garmin hasn’t sought to make wholesale adjustments to the software program expertise on and off the watch, or in the way it behaves whenever you’re not monitoring your out of doors pursuits.

It really works fairly persistently throughout Android and iOS with the Garmin Join app, and whereas it lacks the AMOLED show used on Garmin’s Epix and Venu sequence, in addition to the most recent Forerunner watches, you do nonetheless have a touchscreen that’s responsive and a person interface that’s pretty customisable. There’s an awesome quantity to tweak so if you happen to’re transferring up from an easier watch, there’s a particular studying curve to realizing precisely how a lot this watch is able to.

There are some small adjustments with the UI, primarily when coming into into the menus earlier than exercise monitoring the place Garmin has grouped collectively settings for coaching, navigation, knowledge screens, GPS mode and extra settings to attempt to simplify the method of tinkering precisely what it’s that you simply’re after. 

Past that it’s a lot the identical as what we received on the Fenix 7 and that features its smartwatch options. It nonetheless presents a great way to view notifications whereas the touchscreen elevates the usefulness of getting music participant and music controls, and if in case you have a supported financial institution then you definitely do nonetheless have Garmin Pay on board. It’s the very best sports activities watch that behaves like a smartwatch and whereas it’s not fairly akin to the Apple Watch Collection 8, it ought to nonetheless serve those that yearn for a mixture of the 2 type components fairly effectively.

Health monitoring 

• Upgraded HR sensor
• Endurance and Hill scores
• Extra preloaded actions

Like earlier Fenix Professional fashions, the Fenix 7 version is about providing you with all the pieces accessible on the non-Professional Fenix that launched earlier than it, and that core sports activities and exercise monitoring expertise may be very related because of this.

Whether or not you’re utilizing it for runs, swims, hikes or lengthy walks, there’s an unlimited array of metrics, evaluation, correct GPS efficiency because of Garmin’s multi frequency positioning and wealthy mapping help, plus you are feeling such as you’re sporting a watch that’s constructed to deal with extra rugged use.

One space that Garmin has sought to enhance nonetheless is its mapping, including options like reduction shading to ship extra detailed maps, in addition to an Up Forward characteristic to let runners learn about upcoming factors of curiosity and checkpoints. There’s additionally now a cut up display mode to view knowledge and maps on the identical display, and there are actually climate overlays, although that’s not accessible throughout monitoring. Garmin already has arguably the very best mapping help on a watch and these extras solely serve to make it an excellent nicer expertise total. It ought to be famous although that these new options and others added to the Professional will come to the usual Fenix 7 as effectively.

We’re additionally getting new Endurance and Hill scores, which attempt to take present metrics like VO2 Max and take a look at your quick and long-term exercise historical past that can assist you higher perceive if you happen to’re effectively geared up to deal with hill-laden routes and races or can preserve efficiency over a sustained interval.

What it looks like Garmin is doing with these scores is to simplify the way it communicates the effectiveness of your coaching, lots prefer it did with its Coaching Readiness rating, which is underpinned by a bunch of different items of information. They don’t really feel like groundbreaking insights however they do handle to current knowledge in a much more digestible method.

A few of that knowledge is pushed by your coronary heart charge and Garmin has included a brand new coronary heart charge sensor right here, which I’ve discovered has been fairly stable on the entire. It managed to deal with excessive depth exercise fairly effectively when up towards Garmin’s personal HRM Professional Plus coronary heart charge monitor chest strap, but it surely nonetheless had the odd excessive coronary heart charge spike that didn’t persuade me that it solved the issues that wrist-based coronary heart charge screens often undergo from.

General, the Fenix 7 Professional is each bit nearly as good a look ahead to the outside because the Fenix 7, however whenever you consider that a lot of the software program options will roll again to the unique watch, that leaves simply the flashlight and coronary heart charge sensor as the largest good points right here.

Battery life 

• As much as 22 days in smartwatch mode
• As much as 23 hours in high GPS mode
• As much as 70 days in expedition mode

One of many greatest the explanation why you’d seize a Fenix smartwatch is for the battery life, and the Professional delivers the identical form of huge battery numbers because the Fenix 7.

The 47mm model ought to last as long as 18-days in smartwatch mode or 22-days whenever you’ve uncovered the Energy Glass lens to sufficient daylight to profit from these additional photo voltaic charging chops.

Change to the highest multi-band monitoring mode and also you’re getting the identical 23-hours (26-hours with photo voltaic) because the Sapphire photo voltaic version Fenix 7. You continue to have an Expedition mode that will get you wherever from 40-74 days.

Having used the Fenix 7, I can inform you that battery efficiency is just about the identical. You’ll be able to completely get a few weeks out of the 7 Professional with notifications enabled, steady monitoring of coronary heart charge and utilizing the multi-band mode.

Garmin nonetheless contains its battery saver mode, the place you possibly can customise what options are disabled or disconnected. Switching energy modes and the extent of GPS accuracy throughout monitoring will work to push issues even additional, making it higher fitted to multi-day use.

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