5X vs 5 Plus, advise please

Hi all,
I was about to pull the trigger on the 5X (dont mind the size) but a 5 plus has become available for $50 more. It doesnt have sapphire.
Any ex 5X users can chime in and compare the 2? Is battery similar between original 5x and 5+? Is map performance (just routing and pan/zoom) significant? This will be from hiking perspective only.
I'm bothered by the lack of sapphire, but i like the music feature. Wondering if the battery or performance could sway the decision.
Thank you.

0 josequesada over 6 years ago

i would like an answer too. i am in the same situation i want to pull the trigger but ?

0 Diggery over 6 years ago

There's a big thread on battery life for the 5 plus not meeting expectations, but even from the spec it's not as big as the 5x. With GPS and Music you only get a quoted 8 hours.

I have a 5 plus and love it. I wanted the smaller size than the x and maps, so it was the right choice for me. I didn't think I'd use Pay, but I have not used my wallet in 2 weeks now! Everything from a water during a run to a meal at a festival, or paying to hire a surf board before tracking a session! It's turned into a killer feature for me, from one I wasn't bothered about.

So far extremely happy with the watch despite a few niggles (battery life not confirmed yet, GPS track no where near my Edge 520).

0 Travis0wens over 6 years ago

I wouldn't base the decision on saphire. Check the threads and you will see plenty of satisfied non-saphire owners

0 Pseudo-fed over 6 years ago

5X will have better battery life and same size screen as the 5+. I have a F3 (same size as 5X without HR), F5, and F5+ titanium (had to have thet bezel and band). The F5+ is zippier in every way. Battery life on 5+ is less than on my 5, but comparable to my aged F3. I don't use music since I'm into Apple and run Apple Music on an Apple Watch sometimes when I run/ride. Garmin Pay just isn't there yet for most folks. Maps are nice, but really only need them for biking, where I have an Edge 520 +.

My F3 is not sapphire and is my "beater" Garmin. I wear it to defensive pistol matches, working around the house, etc. It is not sapphire and only has one very tiny hairline scratch on the screen after a couple years that I have to turn to angle to see. The stainless bezel however has all kinds of nicks. I would say the bezel on the F5+ is adequate to protect the screen unless you are really hard on watches. Don't know enough about your use case to determine whether relative battery life is a consideration, but I get several GPS activities and many days of smart watch use out of my F5+ (without music). I'm thrilled with it. Good luck.

0 MickN over 6 years ago

Thanks for the responses all. I ended up buying the 5X, wasnt an easy decision though. The fact that the Plus is supposed to be much quicker really made the decision hard.
What swayed me was battery life. And the buggy bluetooth signal for music on the plus (according to the forums). I'm in Australia so Garmin Pay would work just about anywhere but its not something i care much about. Though I'm sure like gravity-slave I probably would have loved it.
I'm not into multisport and quite frankly the watch is overkill, but boredom and too much dollars and not enough sense got the better of me. I go hiking, multi day, and GPX not always available so I figured the maps will be good. That is the only reason I got it, and the extra battery will come in handy.
Hopefully blowing the money will encourage me to take up more physical activity.
Thanks again.