I know that I don't have a Fenix 7 to compare with, but here are the photos of :
- Fenix 6X solar (non sapphire, that's a power glass first generation)
- Suunto 9 Baro (sapphire, touch screen)
- Coros Vertix 1 (sapphire, touch screen)
- Coros Vertix 2 (sapphire, touch screen)
- Polar Grit X (non sapphire I think, touch screen)
Please note that it was shot at constant speed / aperture / ISO, to make sure the camera is NOT changing the exposure settings. If you don't do go full manual, your mobile/camera will adjust the exposure to have a "normal" brightness, so the comparison would be completely wrong. Here, it's really under the same conditions. Of course, our eye is ALSO doing ajustements, but still, it's much much closer to the perception I have of those watches in real life.
I bought the Fenix 6X solar to avoid the sapphire / touchscreen displays, because it has much less glare and reflections. I prefer to keep the back light off, to save battery (and also it often makes the color ugly on those watches...). Even the Polar, without sapphire, is still more difficult to read (touch screen maybe ?). The Suunto and Coros have a lot of reflection too with the sapphire glass. It makes them difficult to read sometimes under some conditions (in a forest with bright sun, when you mix it with the shadows of the branches / leaves). So I didn't buy a Fenix 7 yet, I'm a bit turned off by what I saw here, and the fact that you HAVE to choose sapphire if you want dual band... Great move here Garmin :-(
I have a video of all the watches (with also another reflection from the overcast sky), I can edit it to show the differences if you want.
Who can give me a Fenix 7 sapphire for comparison ? :-P It looks quite similar to the other brands. Sapphire seems to become the only possible choice for high end watches, sadly. I wish we had at least the choice (Garmin offers the choice, but then you have to sacrifice a few other functionalities....). Garmin isn't really doing worse than the others though, as we can see here. It's just the current trend.
Garmin FENIX 6X SOLAR
Coros VERTIX 1
Suunto 9 BARO
Polar GRIT X
Coros VERTIX 2
