Garmin Fenix 7 vs. 7X vs. 7S: Full Comparison & Verdict 2024

Garmin Fenix 7 Review

The Garmin’s latest top-of-the-line Fenix 7 track-it-all adventure smartwatch introduces a number of new features, better GPS, longer battery life and improved tech – as well as a touchscreen to go with its buttons.

Starting at $699.99, it can hit $999.99 if you pick the largest, most fancy version. The Fenix 7 comes in a range of sizes, weights, materials and with an optional solar-charging system, all of which have full mapping.

The new model looks like a refinement rather than a revolution away from previous Fenix designs. The 7S is the smallest, sleekest version with a 42mm case and 1.2in screen, although it is still obviously a sports watch. The standard 7 and supersized 7X are larger, chunkier beasts but are still light and comfortable to wear.

The new touchscreen makes the Fenix feel slicker and more modern. You can tap and hold on widgets on the watch face to jump straight to things such as a graph of your heart rate, battery power settings or notifications, or swipe through menus, screens and maps. For daily smartwatch functions it works very well.

But touchscreens are unreliable during activities, don’t work well in the wet nor with gloves. Garmin has kept its excellent five-button control system and disables touch when you start most activities, to prevent accidental pauses of runs or similar.

Because of the smart way Garmin has integrated the touch system with buttons, everything can be controlled via either method or both at the same time. It is genuinely great.

The transflective colour LCD screen looks the same as its predecessor – clear and easy to read in direct sunlight, with a backlight for the night. But the power-efficient technology doesn’t look as slick as OLED screens.

What We Like

What We Don't Like

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Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Specs Comparison

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Price

The Garmin Fenix 7, Garmin Fenix 7S, and Garmin Fenix 7X are the three new smartwatch models available in non-solar, solar, and sapphire solar models. Prices for each model are as follows:

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Design

The Garmin Fenix series has always been known for its rugged design, and the Fenix 7 improves on that with its tough housing and metal-reinforced lugs. All the models have cases made of the regular fiber-polymer material. However, while the Standard and Solar models have stainless steel bezel, stainless steel rear cover with Corning Gorilla Glass DX protecting the display, the Sapphire Solar models have titanium bezel, titanium rear cover and Sapphire glass. Titanium and sapphire are among the materials used in the new flagship smartwatches, along with silicone straps. 

The Sapphire models also weigh a little less than their Standard and Solar counterparts. All the models are rated 10ATM, so you can actually wear this to the pool ocean, shower and otherwise (diving from a very tall height might subject these devices to intense pressure).

In addition, the Garmin Fenix 7 series smartwatch comes with a touchscreen and five buttons. The wearables also have multi-LED flashlights.

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Display

The display on all Fenix 7 series is powered by the regular transflective memory-in-pixel display. It’s quite colorful at 283 PPI, and it’s also very bright to read. Garmin Fenix 7 smartwatches come in 42mm, 47mm, and 51mm case sizes, and a (280 x 280 pixels) color display. 

• Garmin Fenix 7: 1.3-inch display

• Garmin Fenix 7S: 1.2-inch display

• Garmin Fenix 7X: 1.4-inch display

Furthermore, Navigation has been enhanced as for the first time, all models are touchscreen. This is in addition to 5 physical buttons that make it easy to access the new revamped interface. There are lots of watch faces to choose from on the Garmin Connect app which is now available on the watch.

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Activity Tracking

Like their respective predecessors, the Fenix 7 series are fully equipped to track your daily activities. Each model is equipped with a heart rate sensor, Spo2, barometric altimeter, gyroscope, accelerometer and thermometer sensors. This enables these watches to track your sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen, calories, steps, floors climbed and many more.

The Health Snapshot feature that’s lets you log a short session of your heart rate, blood oxygen, respiration and stress is also available. Onscreen animated workout modes are also available as well as incidental fall detection that lets the watch call preset emergency contacts when it detects a hard fall and your phone is nearby.

Another fine feature is the preloaded maps. All Fenix 7 watches come preloaded with SkiView to visualise run names and difficulty ratings for 2000+ ski resorts across the globe. The Solar and Solar Sapphire models come with TopoActive maps downloadable worldwide (not just region specific, as has been the case in previous watches). That latter point will be a big draw for world adventurers looking for topographic maps.

The Fenix 7 also offers Real-Time Stamina, which is designed to track exertion levels during running or cycling. There's also a Visual Race Predictor feature to help assess your overall running training. Then Recovery Time Advisor can take into account training intensity across any discipline and advise on rest required.

Sounds like an all-around big update to the Fenix series then. Garmin also introduce an Epix 'Gen 2' model, complete with an AMOLED display, skewed towards a more lifestyle customer - an outdoorsy alternative to, say, the Apple Watch Series 7, if you will.

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Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Media Storage

All Standard and Solar units come with 16GB storage capacity, while Sapphire Solar models come with 32GB storage. You can add your personal music as well as download your playlists from supported services such as Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music. Then pair your Bluetooth headphone to listen to music offline.

• Base model: 16GB

• Solar and Sapphire Solar models: 32GB

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Smartwatch Features

Garmin is talking more about its watches as smartwatches and while the Fenix 7 is certainly no Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, they're offering the kind of features that do give you that feeling of something that can be useful in between hikes and trail runs.

For starters, you've got the added touchscreen functionality, which immediately makes interacting with the interface nicer and as we mentioned, it elevates features like the music controls and expanding notifications.

We used it paired to an Android phone, which gets you a little more smartwatch. You've got notifications, but you can respond to select ones with customised or default responses, which you can't do when it's paired with an iPhone.

You can see when notifications are coming through during tracking time, or you can turn it off during that time. The notification support for us worked just fine. They're well optimised to the screen and it's easy to dismiss them as well when you're done reading them.

The Fenix 7 has storage for music, or you can listen to podcasts and audiobooks using your phone’s default media player. Additionally, the Garmin Fenix 7 series lets you stream music from Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer. With the Connect IQ Store On Device, users can search for and download new apps directly from the watch over Wi-Fi.

If you’re on the go, Garmin Pay lets you make contactless payments in stores and pay for public transportation. 

The Fenix 7 does not have the built-in microphone found on Garmin’s Venu 2 Plus, a device that lets you receive phone calls and use your phone’s voice assistant right from your wrist. 

The new Garmin Fenix 7 series smartwatches offer Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ Connectivity.

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Notifications and Payment

All models in the Fenix 7 series will allow you to manage notifications received on your phone when it’s nearby. Once notifications is enabled on the Garmin Connect app, you get a vibration when there is a new SMS, Calls, WhatsApp, Gmail notification, or notifications from other apps installed on your phone. You have the option to reply to notifications with preset quick replies (Android only).

Each of the units also supports Garmin Pay – a non-contactless payment system that lets you make payments directly from any of these units with your debit card. Garmin Pay doesn't feel as slick as the payment support you can enhoy on an Apple Watch, but once you get through that setup, it does give you another reason to leave your wallet or purse behind.

Garmin Fenix 7S vs. 7 vs. 7X: Battery Life

There is a difference is in battery life. the Fenix 7s boasts 37 hours GPS that extends up to 46 with solar, the Fenix 7 is 57 hours GPS 73 hours with solar, and the Fenix 7x is 89 hours GPS only and that goes up to 122 hours with solar. 

Verdict 

The Garmin Fenix 7 Series is the company’s latest and greatest GPS smartwatch. It offers many features and specs, making it a powerful tool for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. The watches are also very stylish, making them perfect for everyday use.

While they come at a higher price point than some other models on the market, they are well worth the investment. Each unit in the Fenix 7 series is well designed with top-notch materials as well as equipped with lots of features.

The right model for you depends on your size and budget. 

• The Garmin fenix 7S series is for a smaller wrist and is the most lightweight among all of them (best recommended for women and individuals with a smaller wrist); The standard fenix 7 is a classy model that is a bit bigger and heavier than the 7S series; The largest fenix 7X is made for a bigger wrist. The watch is heavier and does not have a standard version with Gorilla Glass.

• If you have a bigger budget, you can go for the Solar models which offer longer battery life than their Standard models.

• And if you want more durable materials, more preloaded maps (you can always download maps with other models), 32GB storage and multi-band GPS for increased location tracking accuracy, then the Sapphire Solar models are no doubt the very best in the Fenix 7 series.

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