Fenix 7 Base vs 955, are you kidding me?

tsofron said:

You're literally blaming Garmin for your poor buying decision and with those arguments, actually a FR255 would have been enough for you. When you've bought the F7, you had the choice of buying the 32gb/multiband version but you preferred buying the entry level model. Also you could have waited a few more months as there were rumors that the next gen of Forerunners will be released.

Its not poor buying decision. Paying $200 more for sapphire and 32gb multiband is still not worth it in my opinion. It's still the same watch and software features (and same bugs). 

The poor marketing decision was Garmin not including 32gb/multi in all Fenix/Epix models. Solar and sapphire titanium are enough to justify charging more for these versions for whoever cares about that. No need to mess with basic specs like memory and GNSS. 

They may have got some short-term profit by pushing sapphire units into customers that had no need for sapphire and only bought it for the 32/multi. But in the long-term they lose a lote in customer satisfaction.

I see in this topic a lot of sapphire buyers are happy for their decision of paying more and are now defending Garmin marketing decision at all cost. Instead, sapphire buyers should be even more upset cos they had to pay even more for a feature that was coming even to the FR255.

9970217 said:

Instead, sapphire buyers should be even more upset cos they had to pay even more for a feature that was coming even to the FR255.

I’m not angry at all. I knew perfectly well what I was paying for. That all of the features end up in a plastic version of the watch doesn’t bother me at all.

The major selling point for a Fenix (to me) is that it looks nice as a real watch. The plastic ones don’t. And I’d argue that the basic Fenix 7 isn’t that pretty either.

I agree.

I didnt buy a F7X SS because it was an F7X SS, I bought it for the features that were important to me and that was the only model that had them. So I bought it, and apart from the bugs I am very happy with it as I was with the F6X S I had before it.

When a 64GB model comes out I will buy that and sell the F7 as long as the other features are still present.

johanwiren said:

The major selling point for a Fenix (to me) is that it looks nice as a real watch. The plastic ones don’t. And I’d argue that the basic Fenix 7 isn’t that pretty either.

Well, taste is a personal thing of course. You say you like more the look of the black watch (with a red/purple ring around the screen) vs the steel one, ok.
In the ideal world Garmin could make all colors available to all models. Well, that's not the case.

So in the actual scenario you could buy the Fenix solar, which is also black. But Garmin decided to make the solar version also only 16/single, impelling you to buy the sapphire. Maybe you don't like sapphire as ppl say its less visible and more reflective. I saw many ppl here saying that they didn't want sapphire but only got that for the multiband. They were upset for the lack of choice and are now even more upset cos its now clear that multiband was no premium feature on 2022 lineup.

Ah, Garmin also left a red button on the solar version, so if you buy it everyone will see from far distance and scream and laugh at you: "hahaha you are so poor you couldn't afford sapphire" lol. 

But let's get one thing clear again. The discussion here is not about sadness or frustration.

The main point in this topic is about Garmin marketing decisions in 2022 lineup. They clearly decided to position multiband as a premium feature when launched the Fenix and Epix line. Now they change this and put multiband as a regular feature. But Fenix and Epix line are still selling, they are still 2022 models and are still more expensive. 
Now they will probably have to update the line with "pro/plus" models or just make price cuts.

This is exactly the point... presenting on F7 lauch features as premium while they were actually already foreseen to be much more standard within the product time frame.

Again, the models launch timing may have been impacted by the general world situation (I actually am convinced that the Fenix 7 current line up should have been a 2021 - if not 2020 - watch, then Forerunner 955 a 2022 watch, then possibly some "pro" or in any case revamped F7 versions towards end of 2022 or in 2023, this would have all made sense).

@2572376 again the feature set is not the focal point, that can vary through models, timing of release is what made things strange, and sure Garmin is a profit company as all companies, but long term profit includes not pissing off your Customers. I understand not all are pissed off, but the ones that are are the proof that the strategy was not the best in any case! Even more important, a company should care even more, if possible, of the satisfaction of customers of the higher price products, as normally these are also the higher margin products...

Another details, understood that feature wise this is not a completely perfect comparison, but "marketing" wise it is... the fenix line up went UP in price from the previous generation, positioning the line at a more premium level, while the Forerunner 955 base model is priced less than the 945 at launch, which very clearly states a marketing strategy towards differentiation of the 2 lines of products. If this is not reflected on how people feel about their purchase, particularly the people that have put more money in it, that is a marketing failure. Again, if F7 was launched 1 to 1.5 years before FR955 it would be OK, the feeling would be "mine is no longer the most featured watch, technology progresses, nothing to do about that, but it's still nice looking and tough! You know what? I'll wait the next Fenix and get it!"

0.3 years is not enough for having this Customer reaction, you can get "this company screwed me after 3-4 months, you know what? let's see what the competitors have to offer".

955 went down in price because of competition with Coros. 955 is targeted towards real athletes - people who care more about the features than the look, and many of those athletes are flocking to Coros Pace and Coros Apex.

In contrast, Fenix buyers, in my observation, are mostly more casual users who care more about the look than the features. There are a few that truly care about the features and the extremely long battery life (e. g. ultrarunners like myself), but for the most part people who buy Fenix are people with disposable income rather than people who truly need all the features, and many Fenix users use it as a glorified Fitbit.

Personally, I'd rather prefer something like a new generation of Enduro with the new GPS chip and maps, and without most bells and whistles, even without the metal case, but Fenix 7X sapphire is really the only choice for the key features that I need. 

I agree, I use the F7 for naviagation and the battery life. Most of the features I dont care about, and if I have to pay extrea for that I dont care about that either.

I would rather less features but rock solid reliability.

However, the torch which I thought was just a gimmick, is really really awesome and so useful.

I think you are coming a bit to my point... Majority of buyers for the Fenix may not need all the functions, they may spend for the pleasure of spending and having something nice, I think this is at least partly true, and... As a company the commercial strategies should be carefully considering to avoid pissing off these kind of customers, which are the ones... Willing to spend!

In any case, competition is doing their job also on the high end materials and look side of things, if what stated for the forerunner was 100% true then also the price of the Fenix should have gone down, not up... Premium construction and materials, mapping features, even widget glances  are coming also from the competition, as of now....