Is there any way to find out if this new calculation will be backported to the Fenix 5+ (or 935 watches)? It doesn't appear to require any additional sensors or anything, but it would be great to have temperature taken into account when calculating VO2Max. It seems odd that it may come to the 945, but not the Fenix 5+, which should still be a more feature rich watch in my opinion. When the Galileo GPS rolled out they did backport that to the 935 so there is some precedent for it.
I really hope this new feature makes its way on our fenix 5 plus lineup. I see no point in putting 800 euros in a watch if it does not get software updates at least during the warranty time... But I am confident we will get it after the 945 launch.
I would really like to know one way or another. I really want to get the F5+ for the build quality and the sapphire screen, but hate to miss new features and of course the Marq is completely out of my price range.
Today's sale on the F5+ at Clevertraining leaves me feeling like they all know the 945 is about to jump it in features and they want to unload as many as they can. I don't see any other way to explain the $150 discount.
Well the 945 is supposed to be a lighter, cheaper 5+ and with the fenix 6 likely pushed back towards the end of 2019, early 2020, there seems to be no reason to cut off the new features especially given that it's less than 1 year old and the current flagship.
You see, poor software support will likely hurt current 5+ sales and likely wont trigger the sale of new products. I certainly wouldn't buy a new model that for the most part is the same hardware with some additional underlying code, as it represents a poor value. In order to justify a new watch they have to add new stuff that can't be done in software such as more advanced body sensors, LTE connectivity etc, just like they added Pay, Music and Maps to the 5+. This represents a worthy upgrade unlike the 945 or the Marq (unless you are coming from the 935 or Chronos).
Well, now you see my personal dilemma, I have the 935 and want the F5+ with the 'new features' that haven't been released yet (primarily the VO2Max stuff), but I have very little faith that they will be added at any point. The music and Garmin Pay that's being added to the 945 don't really matter to me it's just the new metrics.
Pavlinux : Are you just trolling or do you genuinely believe that?
Of course there's genetic limitations involved - but claiming that the most used metric to define a persons fitness level is useless is a bit far fetched.
Sure, once a person reaches his or hers potential (i.e. pro athletes), it will be hard to make significant increases to VO2max.
But for a untrained persons just picking up training, or happy amateurs like me, I believe most people are rather far from their genetic potential, and therefore the metric is not useless at all for tracking progress.
You're ignoring the fact that what the Firstbeat algorithms produce are Vo2Max estimations based on outdoor runs and adding the ability to take heat into account keeps the estimate from being affected by weather.
I've seen many times where my Vo2Max estimate drops by 2-3 points after the first couple of runs after the weather turns from spring to summer temps. I can run the same route at the same pace but my Vo2Max reading drops from 51 to 49 solely because it was hotter and my heart rate was higher not because my fitness level had dropped from one week to the next.
If I had done a proper Vo2Max test in lab conditions during the week when my estimate was 51 and again when it was 49 the reading would be the same both times because the lab would have the same environmental conditions. (I know that the lab test wouldn't have necessarily delivered the same Vo2Max number as the estimate though)
This is from my MARQ Expedition. I'm not sure if it actually changes the calculation or if it just tells me that i'm acclimated to this altitude. Given that i sleep at 5500 feet, it isn't really telling me anything i don't already know yet.
I haven't gotten a heat figure, but I suspect that is because i've haven't run in the heat of the day. As it gets hot here in Albuquerque, I'm more apt to run earlier or after dark to avoid the sun.
Just read DC Rainmaker's 945 review and it seems the new VO2 Max and training load features will not trickle down to the Fenix 5 Plus. Gotta say, this is pretty disappointing.
