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Is Fenix 7 faster?

loneshark64
over 2 years ago

I had Fenix 5 and currently have 6 Pro. It is all banged up and I am thinking of getting a 7x. I cant find any processor specs other than the GPS chip and suspect that the processor is going to be about the same. For the sportswatch stuff thats fine but I use Bluchart maps on my watch and they are very slow to load. The land based maps are also slower than I would like.

Honestly I don't care about touch screen, I am used to the buttons. I am not a high level athlete so I don't need all the bells and whistles calculations most of which are not accurate anyway. I don’t expect much real use case difference from solar. But I do want the best GPS capability I can get and that means mapping that performs. 

In all the reviews I have read and watched the 6/7 comparison is all about touch screen and battery life. There is no mention anywhere of clock speed or real world performance improvement. I will probably buy a 7x and an Epix 2 regardless because this is a sickness and a bad addiction but I will kind of feel ripped pff if the chip and performance are basically the same as the 6 I bought 3 years ago.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Just took my old F6 out of the box to compare. The F6 is minimal slower when zooming out of the standard map. If that speed would be the only reason that matters for me I would not consider the upgrade worth it. It still might use less power while processing a little faster.

    If there is any CPU Test comparison app it could run it on the F5/6/7 and post the scores.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to loneshark64

    I made a video, also a thing that might be an influence, my 7 is the X version (but then you are too thinking about the X version), 5 and 6 are not, so the 7 has a slightly higher resolution.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    There is a CIQ app that can be used to measure processor speed on various devices.

    https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/7d836871-cf67-4963-b56b-1d81a7808ba0#0


    Some users have already found:

    Fenix 7 Solar Sapphire: CPU 9.4 / 58.8 Pips / Connect IQ 4.0.6 (software 7.20)
    Epix Sapphire: CPU 9.4 / 62.5 Pips / Connect IQ 4.0.6 (software 7.20)

    Fenix 6X: SW 20.30 / Connect IQ 3.2.8 / CPU 4.0 / 27.8 Pips

    Please have a look at this thread for further informations

    https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-7-series/282894/benchmark-the-fenix-7/1360705#1360705

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to loneshark64

    Yes when scrolling it can almost keep up rendering the map, while the 6 is scrolling through an empty screen at some point and needs a stop to catch up. This makes searching something specific by scrolling more convenient on the 7X.

    BTW before my I got the 7X my thoughts on touch were "I don't care but I take it", but I really got to like it, so much faster to use the device with touch. For example I can just open the ring menu an then touch what I want, no need to cycle through anymore.

    My main reason to upgrade however turned out to be a complete failure. I wanted the new IQ system that combines widgets and apps to use the more powerful widget-apps during activities. Turns out that's not possible, there is an unfixed bug since the release of all these 2022 watches, that when you open a widget-app in fullscreen GPS gets disabled systemwide. So that's something only my older F5 and F6 can do.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Yes, as others have mentioned it's a lot faster than the F6.  The F7 has roughly twice the CPU speed (at least in a benchmark) and still gets about the same battery life as the F6 did.  I compared them side by side and was impressed with the snappiness of the interface on the F7, while the F6 lagged in comparison.  Combined with the touch screen, using the maps is also a big improvement on the 7.  Heavily-detailed 3rd-party topo maps load up quickly and are very responsive in use.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Here is a video comparing route calculation speeds of Garmin Fenix 5X and Garmin Fenix 6X Pro.

    www.youtube.com/watch

    And here is a video comparing route calculation speeds of Garmin Fenix 6X Pro and Garmin Fenix 7X Solar.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GIqNgkENtg

    As you can see Garmin Fenix 7X series is faster than previous models. It has NXP IMX RT500 crossover processor with ARM Cortex M33 CPU that can run at 200 MHz. Additionally it has Cadence® Xtensa® Fusion F1 DSP for some DSP jobs. Add the 2D GPU to that. On the Fenix 6X Pro, there is Freescale/NXP Keenetis MK28 chip with an ARM Cortex M4 CPU in it. Previous Fenix'es had ARM Cortex M4 too, but maybe a little slower.

    Here is a read to see what's inside the Fenix 7X Solar:

    http://www.f-blog.info/garmin-fenix-7x-solar-teardown-non-destructive/

    And this one is for Fenix 6X Pro:

    www.f-blog.info/.../

    And this one is for Fenix 5X:

    www.f-blog.info/.../

    And I have a link for Fenix 3, too:

    www.f-blog.info/.../

    Sorry, Fenix 3 is my first Garmin watch after my Vivosmart. I don't have teardowns of previous Fenix'es. :D

    BTW, I don't like the broken CIQ implementation of Fenix 7 series. Looking at a widget can break my run easily. I need to get out of the activity and resume again... 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to sis651
    sis651 said:
    broken CIQ implementation

    I hope you sent Garmin a mail (or phone call) that you would like that fixed.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to sis651
    sis651 said:
    BTW, I don't like the broken CIQ implementation of Fenix 7 series. Looking at a widget can break my run easily. I need to get out of the activity and resume again... 

    Could you please specify reproducibly what is not working in the CIQ implementation?