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Sapphire vs non-sapphire reflections

Konvas
over 2 years ago

In 6-series there is a huge difference in screen reflections and readability between sapphire(=much worse) and cheaper glass. But the Power Sapphire is genuine new so we need a comparison of reflection on 7-series solar sapphire vs solar non-sapphire. Is there any side-by-side photo of this?

Its a deal breaker for me, I prefer better display readability rather than more resistant sapphire & bigger storage & multiband...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to KrapfenKringel

    Yeah, I can see what you mean about the light source and that’s why I added the picture below. With both in the same light, the 7’s blacks aren’t as black (it’s bluish), the screen is less clear, and there’s way more glare. It really just feels like a big downgrade in day to day use after being used to my Fenix 6 screen. Again, not sure if I got a bad unit or the displays on the 7 just aren’t as good as the 6. Happy to take more pics or a video if anyone has questions about the screens. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to tmac3life

    Same with my 7s, the display itself is better than my 6s Pro with backlash display. It is crisper and looks cooler, not so warm, even better blacks. But it looks like on my 6s Pro there are maybe 1-3 layers and here are 5-10 layers on top of the display itself. Glare and reflections are the same here which is why I don't believe it is a faulty device. 

    I would love to see some pics with backlight off of a normal 7, 7 solar and 7 Solar sapphire. When I see my normal 7s I would imagine esp the 7SS to be almost unreadable to be honest.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    No matter which one I choose (sapphire or not) I will use a glass screen protector anyway. Does anybody know what the effect is on the reflections of the sapphire version?

    I use a fenix 6x pro now, I want to buy, but I'm in doubt because the Europe map combined with a couple of frikart maps might not fit on 16GB

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 6679671

    Thanks, that's the picture I wanted to see, I'll keep mu F6 Sapphire. Glad I didn't spent 1k in vain.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to KrapfenKringel

    Nice watch face. Could you share which one this is, please? :-)

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I just received my Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire. The readability of the display is a catastrophe. Close to fully unusuable. Both inside and outside. I compared it to a Fenix 6x Pro which has almost no reflection at all. The 7X goes back. I was really shocked about the low visual quality. This is really unusuable. I will try the 7X non-sapphire but my fear is that the (useless) touch display gimmick is half of the problem, so exchaning the watch will not really be a solution. This is really a pitty because Garmin fixed the annoying GPS quality issue of the 6X - which is also the reason why just sticking to the 6X is also not an option...

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Gabriel_Seiberth

    The problem with the poor contrast of 7X sapphire screen can be addressed by enabling backlight on hand gesture. That's what I've done and I am mostly happy with the result.

    That however leads to an increased battery usage and in some cases wasting the battery needlessly when turning the backlight on on gesture, for example when in a bright sun.

    That is why the next important improvement that Garmin must implement is to enable automatic management of backlight brightness, which can be done using input from the solar battery. Everyone should submit that as an idea to Garmin. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Gabriel_Seiberth

    I think you will be very disappointed with the non-sapphire screen too. The touch layer makes the screen readability much worse. Here are my comparison pictures of the 7 vs the 6 non-sapphire versions: https://imgur.com/a/To0RBMj

    I kept the 7 because of the gps accuracy but I miss the screen on the 6.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to tmac3life

    I am also very dissatisfied with the Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar DLC purchase. This is how it compares with my old Forerunner 935. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7489209

    Sadly this is pretty normal Garmin quality now. If you look closer to your FR935, you can see that the glas has a decent antireflective coating. Therefore its screen is crispy and crystal clear in comparison to non-coated Sapphire or glas.

    But that is history. Even the FR955 has a/r coating, but it is by far not as effective as that one with FR935 or FR945.

    One of Garmins most expensive flagship, the F7xSS, is not provided with an a/r coating or even a domed lens, which would make the mirroring much less annoying. Many OEMs (e.g. Citizen) selling less expensive watches with Sapphire lens can do, but Garmin can't.