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Fenix 7x Pro 51mm SS

3012440
over 1 year ago

Have been trying various watches having gone all in on an AWU (somewhat regrettable) and then  switching back to Garmin. I’ve tried the Epix Pro 51mm but just can’t get to like the screen. I can’t quite explain it but I’ve always had MIPS and the AOD nature of it just makes the ‘glance experience’ easier with no significant impact on battery life.

I do wonder what the Fenix 7x SS 51mm vs 7x pro 51mm battery life is and would be grateful for a view on that experience if anyone has it? Also is the MiP upgrade on the pro noticeable, and finally do the watches share the same chipset?

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I have all of them. AWU, 7X, 7X Pro, Epix Pro 51mm, Enduro 2, and Epix 47mm. Epix Pro 51mm has stellar battery life. Real 11 days of AOD with many hours of GPS usage. The only real downside would be slight (very minor) brightness when in full sunlight. It is perfectly visible in full sun but could be improved so it doesn’t dim at all (I know that this will kill the battery and probably burn the screen. Also, it is bright but not quite at the level of AWU. Problem with AWU is that on the beach or pool when diving mode activated it burns thru battery like crazy. I get only 12-18 hours instead of 48+ hours. Epix Pro is always consistent 10-11 days even in full sunlight so that’s incredible. Now MIP screens - 7X Pro 51mm has exact same MIP display without the backlight on (to my eyes). But when you activate the backlight improvement is significant compared to old MIP in 7X and others. The problem is that with backlight activated all day at 40% the battery is not even close to claimed 27 days. It’s closer to max 14 days so that sucks. But new backlight is so good that it almost (I say almost) looks like AMOLED with less resolution and muted colors. Backlight is that much improved. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to akiakic

    Thanks for the insight. Yeah I actually saw a YouTube video earlier where the 7x pro battery life was rated much less than advertised. However, this was in context of the backlight always being on as per your view. However I take it you can still set it to only come on at night and tilt to wake etc? I also believe it can use the solar panels to auto adjust for ambient light? I take it this will bring it closer to 27~ days?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 3012440

    Yes, if only activated at night it would be closer to 24 days. I think to reach full 27 days it would mean zero backlight. Auto adjust on Pro is not that great. It didn’t work well in my testing. Maybe firmware update will improve on that. I felt that Epix Pro gets exactly what was promised even with a lot of GPS and AOD. Full 10 days minimum. I was really impressed how they were able to achieve that. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to akiakic

    Also, I ran 100% brightness on Enduro 2 on my left wrist and Epix Pro 51 on my right wrist for 72 hours with same activities and battery on Epix was 70% and Enduro 2 was 73%. Both started at 100% battery. Basically, backlight is a killer for battery on MIP screens. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to akiakic

    Thanks, great comparison test. I got the Fenix 7x pro but now feel it’s one extreme to the other in terms of brightness and visibility between that and the Epix pro! It really is a win for the Epix in non direct and not so sunny days and neither are definitively bad at all but I think I’m going to revert to the Epix…