Garmin recently announced the fēnix 6 series, the next generation of its flagship GPS multisport smartwatch lineup. Made for the face of adventure, the fēnix 6 collection includes Power Manager for longer battery life, allows runners to compensate for elevation changes with new PacePro technology and introduces the largest round display from Garmin. The innovative Body Battery energy monitoring feature also makes its debut in a fēnix series to help users manage their workout schedules, rest times and sleep.
“We understand the need for more power for longer usage of our multisport products and we are thrilled to introduce new innovative features to enhance the power management of the fēnix 6X Pro Solar edition, giving users all of the features they’ve come to expect from the fēnix lineup with increased battery life and larger displays,” said Engelhard (Al) Sundoro, Managing Director, South Asia and India. “We’ve built the fēnix 6 to redefine expectations, with enhanced features and design elements to appeal to adventurers of every kind, in any environment.”
The new customisable Power Manager allows the user to see and control how various settings and sensors impact battery life. For more confidence before a trip or activity, battery remaining can be represented in hours and days to help determine whether the adventure can last until the next charge. Users can adjust their battery saving modes which disables certain features to extend battery life on the fly. These watches are packed with easy-to-access features including built-in activity profiles, VO2 max estimates and training status with adjustments for heat and altitude.
The fēnix 6 and fēnix 6X multisport GPS watches are constructed for a trimmer, more comfortable fit on the wrist, while increasing the display size to 1.3’’ and 1.4’’ respectively from the existing fēnix 5 Plus series. In addition to bigger display sizes, Garmin has introduced new QuickFitTM nylon bands and silicone colors. Sapphire editions add the quality and durability of a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and other high-performance premium materials.
The fēnix 6 series introduces a first-of-its-kind PacePro feature, which keeps a runner’s pacing strategy on track with grade-adjusted guidance as they run a course. Runners can create plans directly from the watch or ahead of time on Garmin Connect or Garmin Connect Mobile. While running the course, users will be able to see their target split pace, the actual split pace, distance to the next split, and how much time they are ahead/behind on their target, right on the watch face.
Fit for performance, the fēnix 6X, and fēnix 6X Pro Solar features a rugged, sophisticated design with a large 1.4” sunlight-readable display, which is 36 percent bigger than previous fēnix 5X models. As the first Garmin GPS watch to include a solar charging function within the Power Manager feature, the fēnix 6X Pro Solar edition is designed with Power GlassTM, a transparent solar charging lens that uses the sun’s energy to extend battery life. Because of its unique solar charging technology, users will have more on-wrist time to enjoy their activities, training features, color mapping, music streaming and much more. Users can quickly check the latest solar input right on the wrist, so they know in real-time how much solar energy the Power Glass has been exposed to. The battery performance on the fēnix 6X Pro Solar in smartwatch mode is 21 days plus an additional three days when utilizing the solar charging capabilities.
Out of the box, the fēnix series includes topographic maps for outdoor adventures, ski maps for over 2,000 ski resorts worldwide, and 41,000 golf courses. Featuring on-device music storage of up to 2,000 songs, allowing users to sync playlists from several of the most popular music services2, no phone required. It’s easy to stay connected with the fēnix 6 series that allows users to receive alerts on the wrist for incoming calls, texts, emails and more by enabling smart notifications.
All models include enhanced wrist-based heart rate for all-day stress tracking, underwater wrist-based heart rate for swimming and Pulse Ox5 blood oxygen saturation to support advanced sleep monitoring and altitude acclimation. Plus, the innovative Body Battery energy monitoring feature lets users see their body’s energy levels at any given moment, which can help with scheduling workouts, rest times and sleep. Using a combination of data gathered from stress, heart rate variability, sleep and activity, a higher Body Battery indicates the time is optimal to be active whereas a lower number suggests rest is in order. Body Battery assists users in making sense of patterns, demonstrating how behaviors and activities of the past few days influence how one feels at a given moment.