Hello everyone,
So I just got my Fenix 7 base model (my first Fenix ever) and here are my impressions:
Choosing between Fenix and Epix:
It was ultimately easy for me. I have returned or sold 4-5 OLED smartwatches over time due to (besides short battery life) how the OLED screen behaves on a smartwatch, my Vivoactive 4 won every comparison for 2 years. I didn't want to make that mistake again.
Having to choose between a black screen 99% of the time with an annoying, delayed raise-to-wake gesture, and something glowing on your wrist all the time which gets annoying in like 3 days, the transreflective screen is a good compromise until some better display tech is developed for smartwatches. However, OLED is not that tech in my opinion. A watch needs a passive screen, you can't have a light glowing on your wrist all the time.
If I were Garmin I would heavily invest in making passive screens better, more reflective and with higher resolution. But given how the consumers and reviewers are in awe about OLED and view it as the holy grail, I doubt this will be the case.
Choosing between base model and Sapphire:
For me it wasn't about the price. It was about design and indoor visibility. I love the stainless steel look, it's a bit flashier than the other models and I would have chosen it anyway instead of black. And since I spend most of the time indoors, I needed the best screen visibility I could get from a passive screen so sapphire would not have been ideal. I also don't like the solar charging ring, it kind of makes the design too busy and disconnected. But I love how it looks on the Enduro though.
The display: coming from a Vivoactive 4 (which I was "forced" to buy instead of Fenix 6 because I needed a touchscreen), I'm happy to report that the F7 screen brightness is identical so no worries that the display is dimmer like I have read on forums. I did check out the F7 Sapphire in a store and yes, the display is maybe a bit dimmer (like 10-20%) but it mostly looks like a different, "brown-ish" shade rather than actually being dimmer. However, I spend 80% of my time indoors so I needed as much reflectivity as possible.
Tip: use a white background. The watch may not look as cool as with black background, but the visibiliy will greatly improve indoors without backlight.
The buttons: I read some worrying things about the F7 buttons and unfortunately mine does have one button (the back button) that feels different than the other four, it's more silent and has a shorter travel. However, I noticed that if I press it at a slight angle it can start behaving like the others for some time, then it goes back to that feeling. But it does click, feels solid and I think that it isn't worth returning the watch and taking another gamble.
The functionality: This smartwatch is much more complex than the Vivoactive 4, and yet it's incredibly easy to get around the hunderds of menu items. I am very surprised now Garmin managed to make so much features, so accessible. I mostly do bodybuilding as a sport, and unfortunately any smartwatch has real issues properly tracking weight training. But I did notice improvements with the F7 over VA4: it detects rest periods much faster. However, it really over-counts the reps, I read that it learns if I do enough corrections so maybe it will improve over time. Plus, the firmware will probably improve on this too.
Conclusion: I love the Fenix 7, it does feel like an upgrade over the VA4, both design-wise and functionality-wise ! :)
PS: Picture attached :)
