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LTE on a Fenix?

K2
over 3 years ago

I saw this question asked recently, and it got me thinking. Is this a useful feature? Would I pay an extra $50-100 for it (and what about the data plan cost)?

As for myself, I certainly wouldn't care to be Apple-Watching it and holding up the watch to my face as I go for a run. And I could care less about real-time syncs to Garmin Connect while my phone or wifi is out of range. And I definitely do not want to see ANY kind of battery life hit for having LTE...

...but...

One of the reasons I got a Fenix is so I don't have to carry my phone on runs for me, it does my GPS run tracking and plays my music, plus a lot more. But now I don't have an emergency contact system anymore, and as I'm running farther longer, I'm often thinking if my wife will have enough information to find me if I pass out or bite it or whatever. And if I start traveling again and run in a new location, I might end up having to take my phone for emergencies anyways.

So, what if the Fenix 7 had LTE? I don't need a speaker or a mic, I don't need it to take calls, I don't need to get my regular notifications, and I certainly don't need it to be always on. But it would be great if it was integrated into some of the safety features on the current Fenix line, like emailing/calling your emergency contact with GPS location if your watch stops moving during a workout or experiences a high impact (that would even be helpful if you lose your watch). You could also have a duress mode where you could constantly send GPS updates to a preset email or contact 911 for you if you activate it with a hotkey. Or you could send preset, one-off SMS/emails if you need. Fine, it can even be active for that Live Track feature if you want.

The point is, if the LTE feature is emergency-only or limited functionality, it doesn't need to be a battery hog, and it'd still be useful enough for me to pay a premium, and even a reasonable monthly fee when I know I'll need it. And it would free me completely from carrying a phone around, because I know if anything happens, I'll be able to get critical information to someone straight from my watch.

That little bit of peace of mind might even be enough for me to straight up upgrade from the F6.

Thoughts?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Bodya

    Same. I don't always carry my InReach Mini (in fact, I never do when I'm just around town), but it always goes with me when I'm out of town and especially up in the mountains. It is infinitely better than LTE, insofar as it works everywhere on the entire planet's surface, while LTE mostly only works in urban settings.

    I carry nothing (no phone, no inreach) when I'm out running around town. If I have an emergency, it's not hard to flag down a passerby. If someone needs to reach me, it can wait. Remember, we all survived without cell phones before 1998 or so - we can survive without them for 90 minutes while we go for a run.

    It really makes me laugh when I see people saying they NEEEEEED to be able to get reached by people if they're out running, or they NEEEEEED to be able to reach someone else while they're running. My oh my, how in the world did anyone survive running before cell phones?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to C.sco

    :-) Running before cellphones! Bittersweet memories of carrying a pager, and a memorized map of all the payphones in town. When pager went off.. mid-run sprint to payphone!

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to C.sco

    Taking the flip side, I have a lot of female colleagues who would never go for an evening or dawn run without their phone in hand. I think a lot of us have the luxury of not having to worry much about personal safety, but that's not everyone's perspective. 

    Even if just for peace of mind, much of the answer to what we do differently now with cell phones is that the world has opened up a bit wider and more people can do what a lot of us take for granted.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to C.sco
    1. ^^^ This is so True. Well put C.sco
  • 0 over 3 years ago

    For me it would depend a lot on what features it supported, what the hit to the battery was, and what the plan/cost was. If Garmin could get the carriers to allow it as an add on to my existing cellular plan that would certainly push me towards it, especially if it could mirror my number the way the Apple Watch can. If I have to pay for a completely separate plan I would be less interested.

    I disagree though on not needing full calling functionality. One of the main reasons I would even consider this would be if it could replace carrying my phone. I don't usually carry my phone on runs but on bike rides I do since I tend to be much further out. On the bike it's possible to have a mechanical failure that while not an emergency still means I need a ride. The ability to have a brief conversation using the watch to explain what happened and where I am vs sending a text would be useful to me. If I still have to carry my phone I don't see the point then.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I would'nt - in my case where I run / cycle in the English Lake District, often you don't get a mobile signal anyway.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to mjulianb_

    And the last line of my post (which was omitted) in the extract said

    Dr Phil said:
    But of course YMMV and your experience change the equation.

    I buy product based on my experience not that of others. Nowhere have I suggested, stated, or said there is not a risk. Of course there is a risk. However, in my experience I see no need to mitigate a risk that for me at least has not changed to an incident.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to K2

    the issue is that with the esim you cant make use m2m sims which means you are on a plan.  my work sims are 0.5 euro per month plus eur6 per megabyte.

    it would take about 24hours continuous to do about a 1mb of data.  so 3-4  euros per month.

    you can get most of this with a simple gsm tracker and keep your F6  the trackers run for 24 hours and update every minutes and are small enough to be neglible and can have panic buttons.

    it would have to be a very low price for a garmin subscription

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to C.sco

    My wife works for a hospital, so yes, she NEEEEEDS to be able to be contacted.  As Twinaxx pointed out, she carried a pager prior to cell phones.  Jobs change and so have working environments since then.  Prior to that those people were unable to enjoy the outdoors as technology has allowed us today.  You gotta think outside the box and not just how it affects you. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to who knows
    who knows said:
    My wife works for a hospital, so yes, she NEEEEEDS to be able to be contacted.

    And her hospital is fine with her using a Garmin fitness tracker as her only means of being reached?