F7 Series - lack of Feature Update compared to FR x55/x65

1. I did not write that during such activities as hiking or running this group does not use maps. What I meant was that such a group does not need advanced statistics after the activity, they only want a tool that efficiently navigates them in the field, and after the trip they can see basic information with a summary.

2. Just because someone does not skydive, dive or jump into a volcano, does not mean that they cannot buy an expensive watch that will serve them well for hiking in the mountains.

3. I have always thought - confirmed by the opinions of friends and people from the Internet - that Garmin's flagship watches are great and reliable devices. Meanwhile, in the latest "stable" version, the group of people I wrote about in point 1: using the basic functionality of maps and courses - is not able to trust the watch because it restarts at random moments. Is this the quality of Garmin?

It's great that you share your point of view. You're right that on forums like this people rarely come with praise and are most often pissed off and come with problems. That's how it is unfortunately, and the praise for the company is financial results, which by the way look great at Garmin ;)

It seems to me that you do not understand the growing irritation of people. Because it is not about the bugs themselves. I have already written on the forum that they are and will be - such is the fate of software regardless of the industry.

The point is that most of these bugs were reported in the Beta Program, tickets were even created for some of them, files were collected for analysis from users, etc. And after that, without a word of explanation, Garmin releases a version with these bugs.

But that is not all. Because the stable version was released, everything that was done in the Beta Program - I mean collecting feedback from users - was wasted, and now when contacting Garmin support you have to document everything from scratch.

And why is there so much anger? Because people who participate in the Beta Program and devote their time to testing unstable software are blatantly ignored. It's not that these people criticize and get angry for no reason. They get pissed because they like Garmin watches, but if the software fails at every turn - despite their best efforts to avoid problems - it's hard to stay calm.

Sorry, I noticed that this has become a little off-topic, deviating from the topic.

Garmin Rumors - https://garminrumors.com/has-garmin-abandoned-the-fenix-7-pro-after-just-1-5-years/

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What’s Next? The Call to Action

This situation has seemingly sparked a movement among Garmin users calling for more transparency and fair update policies. The primary requests include:

• Consistent software support for flagship devices for a reasonable timeframe.
• Feature parity between flagship and mid-tier devices where hardware allows.
• A clear roadmap from Garmin on long-term software updates

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Timeline of Updates and Comparisons

• Forerunner 255
  • Released: June 1, 2022
  • Price: $349 (non-music) / $399 (music)
  • Receiving more updates than Fenix 7 Pro
• Fenix 7 Pro (and Epix Pro)
  • Released: May 31, 2023
  • Price: $799 – $999
  • Moved to “maintenance mode” after just 18 months

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Q1 2025 Software Update

This omission frustrated users, as many of these features are software-based and not hardware-dependent, meaning they could have been added to the Fenix 7 series without issue. Many users questioned why mid-tier and older Forerunner models received more meaningful software improvements than Garmin’s premium flagship line, which cost significantly more.

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The Community’s Reaction

• “We paid premium prices for what? A watch that gets fewer updates than a mid-tier model?”
• “Garmin’s software updates for the Fenix 7 introduce more bugs than fixes.”
• “If they do this to the Fenix 7 Pro, how long before the Fenix 8 gets the same treatment?”

socorsu said:

“If they do this to the Fenix 7 Pro, how long before the Fenix 8 gets the same treatment?”

Likely 6 months following the release of the 8 Pro or 9.

It's been said countless times on this forums, but let's go through it one last time.. Garmin make money on hardware sales, NOT SERVICE SUBSCRIPTIONS LIKE APPLE DO (at least not yet). Their business model is based on baking a given set of features into a watch and then essentially maintaining those features via updates through the model's usable life.

New features will almost always only ever end up on the current model watch because theyre trying to tempt you into an upgrade. It's the only time they make money after all. If new features do happen to make it down to lower models then they're almost always trivial (new sports profiles) and won't threaten the desirable feature set of the new model.

If Garmin ported all features into the prior models to maintain feature parity then there would be no incentive to upgrade. We'd all expect the buy a watch once every 5 years and demand Garmin continues throwing millions of engineering dollars in giving us new features without being paid for it. It's not hard to understand surely..

If you want an old device that always gets new features then what you're effectively asking Garmin to do is implement a subscription model where we pay $14.99 a month in order to keep all features unlocked and updated. It's the only way they'd make money. Do you want this? Think seriously about it.

So here's my advice. Buy the watch that meets your current fitness/adventure needs and use it without the expectation it'll get updated with new features. If you are someone that always wants the newest features, then prepare yourself to be buying a new watch every year.

Apple Watch are not locked with any subscriptions service.

My Apple Watch SE (2) is working fine since years, and the OS is upgraded across all the AW line each year. Yes, with some features not available, but the new OS branch is here. Which simplify the maintenance for this company.

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Again we are not requesting new watch generation features, but same generation and/or same hardware platform OS , like FRx55/x65 are (so features here).

No need to do more assumptions than that.

gaterobs said:

But Garmin transferred some of the features from the Fenix ​​8 to the Forerunner 255s, which are a year older and more than twice as cheap as the Fenix ​​7

I'm not product manager but I hang around enough of them to get a gist of how they strategize, so here's what I think is going on. 

Garmin may have had a lot of 255 stock to move. To do this you can do one of two things - drop the price to make it and its current feature set more appealing, or keep the price as it is and give it some new features. My guess is they've opted to do the latter. 

Keep in mind that they would likely not do this if the features were potentially going to cannibalise 265 sales in any way. This is probably why you sometimes see trivial features added the devices like the 7 and 7 Pro.

gaterobs said:

So why doesn't Garmin add the same features to the Fenix ​​7

Because Fenix 8 sales figures are strong and they want to really incentivise us to buy that model instead of giving a way a freebie on a model they're not actively trying to move any more.

gaterobs said:

Basically, since the premiere of the Fenix ​​8, the Fenix ​​7s have been getting nothing but bugs, even in the stable version of the software

That's a whole different issue and frankly it's pretty unjustifiable on Garmin's part. The 7 has been the buggiest model I've had from Garmin since I can't recall. Oddly, the first year and a half of ownership was great and then it all inexplicably went pear shaped.

gaterobs said:

So we don't get the features, but also the beta testers and their feedback are ignored and the software of the Fenix ​​7s is getting worse and worse and the watch is slowly becoming unusable

Agreed. Inexcusable, but a different issue to what's being asked for in this thread.

2529455 said:

Because Fenix 8 sales figures are strong and they want to really incentivise us to buy that model instead of giving a way a freebie on a model they're not actively trying to move any more.

I generally agree with what you're saying. But from the perspective of a Fenix ​​7 owner, someone might ask themselves: why did they pay extra for Fenix ​​if Forerunner would meet 90% of their needs and would be supported longer, even with new features.

I have the impression that people who have been using Garmin for many years are like: "So what's so strange about that?".

Epix Pro is my first Garmin device and I'll be honest, when I bought it I thought it was similar to flagship electronics in general (e.g. smartphones): a flagship product is treated with updates better than older and cheaper mid-range devices.

Garmin brutally brought me back down to earth. Now I know that the rule: "buy a watch that meets your expectations at the time of purchase" is 100% true when it comes to Garmin and you can't expect anything - at most regression and bugs. But you're right, this is not the place for this conversation ;)

gaterobs said:

Forerunner would meet 90% of their needs and would be supported longer, even with new features.

Yes, I have the same debate with myself. The Forerunner 955 basically covers off most if not all of the Fenix 7's features. The only thing keeping me from moving over is that I'd damage the crown and likely smash the screen on rocks or the boat. Well, that and the Fenix looks like an expensive watch (which is probably why most of us are buying it).

Edit: I've just noticed that the 965 has a titanium bezel. That makes the choice to stay with the Fenix even harder

2529455 said:

Well, that and the Fenix looks like an expensive watch (which is probably why most of us are buying it).

That's right. On the wrist, it looks more like a real watch than a "fancy" smartwatch - it's just a universal accessory that almost always looks good (my subjective opinion). The look also makes it seem more durable.

2529455 said:

I've just noticed that the 965 has a titanium bezel.

I never checked it, but I thought the case was some metal that wasn't titanium. So... it looks like the 500€ price difference between the Forurunner 965 and the Fenix ​​is ​​the flashlight and a bit more titanium