Note that size/case-wise, Epix is identical in size to the middle Fenix 7 unit (Fenix 7, not Fenix 7S or 7X):

That’s because pre-loading all the maps per region would add too many SKUs for Garmin to deal with, primarily on the Fenix side, but they’re carrying it over here too.Īnyway, here’s what’s new in Epix. Instead, you simply connect to WiFi and download what you need for your region. North America, Europe, etc…) – whereas the base & base solar units do not. The difference is that only the Sapphire/Titanium units have the maps pre-downloaded for your region (e.g. In any case, all units get all software features, and all units get mapping.

Given the Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar has it at the same price. While Garmin is free to go with the $899 pricing (it’s equivalent to the Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar), however, I think it’s a bit cheap of them not to include at least multi-band GPS at that price point, if not also the full 32GB of storage. There is no solar or flashlight edition/options in the Epix series. – Garmin Epix Sapphire in White or Black Titanium ($999): Base + multi-band GPS, 32GB storage with pre-loaded maps, Sapphire glass, titanium bezel – Garmin Epix base ($899): Music, Garmin Pay, WiFi, downloadable maps, 16GB storage, AMOLED touchscreen, plus all software features Just like the Fenix 7, they denote whether or not a watch gets not only the sapphire display, but also the expanded storage and multi-band GPS. Starting with the number of models here, there are two different ones: Non-Sapphire and Sapphire. The only differences in software are those related specifically to power savings for the AMOLED display. As such, this portion of the review will be almost identical to that of the Fenix 7 series in terms of new features, since the two watches have almost identical software features. After all, am I comparing it to the Gen1 brick from 7 years ago? Or am I comparing it to its realistic older sibling, the Fenix 6 series? In this case, since none of you want to see a list 918 features long of all the things Garmin has added in 7 years to all their watches (such as an optical HR sensor), I’m going with a comparison to the Fenix 6 series. What’s new:Ĭreating a ‘What’s New’ category for the Epix Gen 2 is arguably kinda tricky. If you found this review useful, you can use the links at the bottom, or consider becoming a DCR Supporter which makes the site ad-free, while also getting access to a mostly weekly video series behind the scenes of the DCR Cave. Once this unit goes back, I’ll go out and get my own for any future testing needs.

And as regular readers know, if something is crap, I’m gonna tell it brutally like it is – no matter the brand. This review is not sponsored (nor does any company get to preview anything I review), and I don’t take any advertiser money from any companies I review. All of it in an effort to find out where this watch works well, and where its caveats are.Īs usual, this watch is a media loaner, and it’ll go back to Garmin shortly. Everything from high mountain hiking to ocean swimming, snow-covered escapes, and city testing. I’ve been using the Epix now for quite some time, putting it through both daily 24×7 usage as well as workouts and other athletic adventures. In other words, for most people, you’re not sacrificing much for a dramatically better display. But the key thing to know is that even though it has an AMOLED display, it still manages 6 days in always-on display mode – which reaches upwards of 16 days in gesture mode. There are, of course, differences in battery life too, which we’ll get into. That’s mainly because solar frankly wouldn’t do much here for this display, and the flashlight isn’t quite in the Epix cards for the time being. For example, the Epix includes the aforementioned higher resolution and more vivid AMOLED display, but it lacks solar panels or the Fenix 7X flashlight. If you haven’t seen my also-just-released Fenix 7 In-Depth Review, the key thing to know here is that Epix contains every software feature of the Fenix 7, but differs at the hardware level. In order to save digital typing waste, I’m just going to call it the shortened Epix as well. Now, Garmin officially calls it just ‘Epix’, though you’ll see the 2nd gen bits here and there. No, this isn’t your grandfather’s Epix from 2015, but rather, this is Garmin’s new 2nd gen Epix that effectively takes an Epix and elevates it with a full AMOLED color touchscreen display.

Garmin express fails to install