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New to Epix (from F6) - BIG disappointment (AOD is a big failure)

Jeremy
over 2 years ago

Hello to all,

Am the unhappy new owner of an Epix, and was until recently the happy user of a Fenix 6. This isn't really a question as I have checked this subject at length but is to make my point to @GARMIN if they ever read posts from this Forum.

So as it turns out Epix (supposedly the best sports watch on the market) cannot keep its screen on the brightest mode always on display (AOD for the Epix users) during activities... depending on the options available, it will either dim to an unreadable low light screen or go completely black and activate if you press a button or make a big gesture to put the watch in front of your face similar to checking the time of the day.

After a week of using Epix, I can now say for sure that the gesture mode is completely inadequate during runs: the watch dims instantly as the watch goes down and the 8 seconds of brightness are significanlty shortened (or maybe you're supposed to keep your wrist in front of your eyes while sprinting) - leaving you with a nanosecond to get the information you're looking for, which in any event you won't have since the gesture mode does not anticipate (no AI on Epix yet) and activates the screen right when the arm is going down if you're running at speed... and if gesture is not activated you only have the unreadable dimmed scren or you are forced to press the light button which in any event will go dim if the watch ever makes the down movement. Hilarious right? I can picture Mr Bean training for a marathon with Epix...

And I can also say that AOD is very misleading to say the least as in reality it's always on dimmed display rather than always on display (dim screen by default and bright screen when either pressing the light button or gesturing like crazy...). 

So, folks, how are you supposed to run tempos when you need your watch to tell you if you are in or out of the tempo thresholds and you cannot even see what's on the screen!! The only answers I have found so far are either to bother a big chunk and go Mr Bean or more simply not to use Epix.

Which makes Epix disapointedly unusable for runners. It was so simple GARMIN, [KEY MESSAGE FOR GARMIN:] you just have to enable the option always on the brightest display during activities with no dimming nor gesture pollution. 

The fix is easy and should have been implemented when the whatch went out. Big screw up and I am really surpised that no review mentions this as a massive turn off.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to jaamgans

    No, I don't see any difference in activity (both from a week of use and just now in this test)...  See for yourself... Here is another video showing how this works on my watch... 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to talamera1

    Did you see the videos I just posted?  Is your like this, or not?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    your video is exactly as it should be. Mein it isn‘t.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    7828711: Your simulated bike activity looks the way I want it to. Are you sure that this also works in actual cycling? It could be the case that a different, less sensitive setting is activated when actually cycling. Which software version do you have?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to talamera1

    Confirmed.  It's the same when outside on the bike.   It's running v13.22.   

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to talamera1

    Now I have version 14.24, but that didn't bring any improvement.
    Regarding the video by DCRainmaker: It depends a lot on how horizontally the arm is held. In the video it's quite horizontal, so the arm movement works well. But when I'm sitting on my bike, my arm is a little steeper and that ultimately makes the difference between whether the display gets brighter and stays bright when I move my arm, or doesn't react at all. Or if it does, it goes off immediately. The steepness of the arm position is therefore crucial.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to talamera1

    I see what you mean.  Sitting here at the desk..  when arm is on the desk, VERY easy to trigger the screen.  If I put my arm down and rest hand on lap, not so easy.

    I did notice, that (and you can try this).  When it's not easy in the more downward position, if I quickly *** my wrist to the left first (just a quick jab) and then turn slightly back towards me, it then triggers.  It's pretty easy to do and maybe a little trick when the arm is in this type of position. 

    So, I guess it just all depends.  Like you saw in my case, on my bike, it works fine.  But, if my arm was any lower, it would be a problem for sure. (or would have to raise arm up every time I wanted to see it).

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    OK. Thanks for the tip. Will test that tomorrow on the bike under real conditions. Nevertheless, I believe that a better solution is needed here. Just like on the video by DCRainmaker. But it doesn't matter what the position of the arm is. Of course, an Edge on a bike is better, but I've said goodbye to it since owning a Fenix 6S. All metrics were clearly visible enough for me, even if I have to admit that the map display was pretty bad when navigating. I actually expected a lot more from the Epix, since the display has a high resolution and can therefore display the maps much better than the Fenix 6S. For this reason, the Epix 2 Pro represents a really significant improvement, but of course only if the display is bright enough and stays that way at times, which is always absolutely necessary outdoors in the sun. If Garmin one day manages to do it as you can see in the video, I would be quite satisfied with the watch. Unfortunately, that is definitely not the case at the moment.