That's my hope too. I don't normally mind investing some time as an early-adopting beta tester so will likely give it a go at shipping time to see how it compares.
I'll be also among the first few to buy the devices. I just make sure I buy it from somewhere where return policies are good. As I did with the Suunto Spartan Ultra. That would have been a disaster without the possibility to return.
Much easier to make the desicion keep it or not to keep with the first hand experience.
You know, about the only thing I feel I'm missing are some of the golfing features! I really wanted stats. So I'd love it for that, but no way will I pay that much.
Why remove WiFi from any of the models? That's terrible news. It's one of the prime features being able to sync to connect via WiFi instead of Bluetooth or wired.
It's interesting, it doesn't look like they added too much, unless you were looking for some very specific additions like bike shifting functionality, some possible bluetooth functionality, or mapping. I like that the HR is flush but it's hard to say if that will improve or reduce the reliability of reading of the users HR, it makes for a thinner profile but probably reduces contact with the user's wrist more often.
I can't even imagine how annoying the 5X would be on my wrist while running or biking, I haven't had a big "adventure" watch since my Suunto Advizor and the 5x is almost twice as heavy. It seems like the metal casing is costing them a lot of weight and probably not gaining much durability or water resistance. I'd love to get the mapping functionality just to have it to play with hiking etc., even though I'd imagine it's more hassle and gimmick than useful in most cases, but I'm really more intrigued by the smaller/lighter 5S. While Garmin's specs appear to indicate the Fenix 3HR and 5X are the same physical size, from the early looks it appears that the 3 HR is really the same as the 5, and the 5X is significantly larger and heavier than even the 3 HR.
I'm sure they will sell great, as Garmin has the best feature set and overall functionality, but I think Garmin is still going to be missing a huge market share not getting something out that's fully functional in an even smaller size and lighter weight. The screen resolution and colors are still way behind most other smartwatches (S3 is 360x360 and 16 million colors), but for an adventure watch that's not a huge deal. I do think the $700+ price point for anyone that wants wifi and a scratch resistant display is going to turn a lot of people off, but the Fenix 3 HR sells great and it's $550+ too so consumer will vote with their wallets.
24 hrs activity tracking on paper, that's better than Fenix 3. I will be watching out for the Fenix 5X, hopefully there will be some launch promotions. :)
