Fenix 7 Base vs 955, are you kidding me?

Probably not very popular, but I like the pricing. Get it early and pay too much. Get it later and get lots of discounts. Fair enough for me, never expected anything else. To me, just the appearance of the even pricier tactix models later on is unexpected. I don't know why they didn't start with these...

Paying more to get it first is part of the game and all customers know this. But customers don't expect to buy a Fenix and one month later find out that the mid/high range line was planned with higher specs. 

When the next gen comes (2024, 2025 or whatever), these same customers won't feel confident to buy the Fenix before all product line is launched so that they can properly compare between them all. Garmin will prob have to launch all the models within a shorter window, cos it messed with customers trust in 2022. 

Well I hope the multi-band at least is coming thru firmware update, assuming they all have the same chip. But they can't fix the 16gb.

I think the issue of customer trust is key here. We are here because we have bought and use Garmin products. Each of us expects and uses each of these in very different ways and therefore value different features differently. Our decision to buy at any stage is based on some expectation from Garmin. If or when those expectations change, our buying decisions will as well; and I am not just talking about saying I will go and buy brand X instead. For me, I expect for example that features will be added to a new watch because I have seen this pattern over the years; I expect a new watch will get those new features for maybe 18 months and thereafter some minor updates and certainly bug fixes for 3 years. I expect specialized features based on the market to which a watch is pitched. I never expected that a major feature for a running watch like GPS accuracy could be treated like this. Excluding it from an expensive new flagship and including it on a budget to low range model in the launch season of the flagship. That trust is blown until it is contradicted.

This would be a much simplistic convo with Garmin ported over the software update (new features).  I think a lot would be happier and scrap everything but the sapphire version.  Have your $600 Fr955 and your $900 sapphire version F7.  Price is justified then.  Offer a trade out for upgrade on F7 if you got bamboozled .  Or refund to get 955.  

The Fenix is a rugged outdoors watch meant for extreme sports and terrain that can almost last forever. The 7X Sapphire Solar is what just a small group really needs, and that is Garmin's prime customer for the Fenix. All other versions of the Fenix and also the Epix is for people that want a Fenix (like) watch. The Fenix 6 base version was also a less featured watch than the 945 and even the 745 had more features. So they duped everybody who bought the base version again. They should just make the Fenix with titanium and sapphire or sapphire solar lens. The 955 would then be the bestseller for people who don't need the Fenix build quality, but want it's premium features. I hope Garmin can and will update the base model watches with multi-band. But as reviews have shown, even without multi-band it is already al lot better than the Fenix 6.

RunningDad said:

The 7X Sapphire Solar is what just a small group really needs, and that is Garmin's prime customer for the Fenix. All other versions of the Fenix and also the Epix is for people that want a Fenix (like) watch. The Fenix 6 base version was also a less featured watch than the 945 and even the 745 had more features

Exactly!  Yet we still have this thread with people thinking a base Fenix is Garmin's "flagship" watch and they've been cheated.  

Exactly!  Yet we still have this thread with people thinking a base Fenix is Garmin's "flagship" watch and they've been cheated.

Right now a Fenix S~X standard or solar costs $700 to $900 and and the Epix standard costs $900. Yes, they are flagship-line models compared to $500/600 FR955 and specially compared to $350/$400 FR255, no matter what you say.

Yes, right now Garmin lineup is messy. It will make harder for the next potencial customers to decide between models. Many customers willing to buy a Fenix will see this and just go for the FR955, cos they won't feel like a good deal to pay $200 more for 16gb. Garmin will lose $200 from each one of these folks.

I will add my point of view...

The difference between map vs non map at time of F6 / FR945 is much more justifiable than multi vs non multi band gps for the f7-FR955 comparison, as the former is having or not having a function and can cope with needeng or not needing that function.

The latter is more like considering the same exact function BUT in latest&greatest version vs... Non latest&greatest.

Flagship is another way of saying latest&greatest, thus (in same generation of products, of course) makes no sense this is on forerunner and not on Fenix / EpixG2

If you add that the 16 vs 32 GB memory was clearly a market choise, not a technical or cost one (since at current lelev of technology there is basically no cost difference between a 16 and a 32 GB memory chip), then I absolutely agree the lineup is all messed up.

This could be due to physical availability of chips at the time of producing the watches, granted, and this could have delayed by one year or more the launch of the Fenix 7 (only justification I see), but the result is ultimately a screwed up lineup

With the introduction of running power on both the 955 and 255, they both needed an altimeter and accurate pace. Otherwise the metric might not work propperly on both. And Garmin wants to stay in the lead with all their watches. The price difference between the 955 and 255 is clearly the software-feathures and some hardware like the lack of a touchscreen. The 955 introduced a more smart training feathure, that will makes the 955 smarter then the 255. The Fenix line will most likely also get running power and the more smart software feathures. This could mean that the base fenix does have multi-channel, but it's lock out because Garmin wanted to sell as much sapphire models as they could before adding multi-channel and running power to "lesser" models. We'll have to wait and see what happens with software-updates for the fenix line.

I doubt they put different GPS hardware in the F7 base vs sapphire so a FW upgrade would likely be possible. It will never happen of course to keep the market "segmented" !

I for one went from X watches before -> FR935 -> Epix 2 -> Venu 2+Edge530 !
Odd "journey" but I just loved the OLED screen and found all the "metrics" apart from HR/Body Battery/VO2Max to be pretty useless. Not to mention the bulk/weight/price of course !