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

Fenix 7 Series - New Beta 21.xx is a good example

announcement 27 march ---> 30 Bug Reports ---> many with crash ---> no Ticket Created

---------

Forerunner x65/x55 - New Beta 23.xx

announcement 26 march ---> already 27 Ticket Created

---------

Fenix 8 Series - New Beta 13.xx

announcement 27 march ---> already 11 Ticket Created

I think you are mistaken because you ass-u-me way too much aboput people you don't even barely know. I think you are in the third group of Garmin user who are mostly smug and borderline arrogant due to the fact that they think too much of themself while accepting Garmin's questionable treatment of their loyal customer base. You are welcome!

Garmin never communicate officially maybe because Pro, Tactix and MARQ models are always sold on their website.

---

• F7X Pro --> 900€ (https://www.garmin.com/fr-FR/p/866230/pn/010-02778-11)
• Epix Pro --> 1150€ (https://www.garmin.com/fr-FR/p/884088/pn/010-02804-30)
• Tactix 7 --> 1300€ (https://www.garmin.com/fr-FR/p/1297277/pn/010-02931-01)
• Marq Commander --> 3250€ (https://www.garmin.com/fr-FR/p/1765781/pn/010-03393-31)

clonetrooper said:

I think you are mistaken because you ass-u-me way too much aboput people you don't even barely know

One second later...

clonetrooper said:

you are in the third group of Garmin user who are mostly smug and borderline arrogant

Bravo 

Finally Forerunner x65/x55 silently received Breathing Variations Support

https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/forerunner-965/f/community-discussion/407970/breathing-variations-page-in-the-sleep-widget

it's part of the next 2025-Q2 quarter new feature.

And few other things in the latest beta. No words. 

You gave enough insight of who you think you are/are not by dividing us all up into 2 random groups....you are mostly welcome!

If you remove the emotional aspect and look at it purely from a business perspective, the Forerunner 55 and 65 are still being sold (still revenue makers) and might be dropping behind their competition in terms of features and value in that market category. There might be some weak sales there that they're also looking to address. Garmin will have also ensured that the new features won't cannibalize sales of the 2xx series.

The Fenix 7 on the other hand is no longer actively being sold (doesn't generate any revenue for Garmin), hence any large feature drop may start cannibalising sales of the Fenix 8 as people look towards the second hand market for a 7, or just keep hanging onto their existing devices for longer - it's certainly what I'm doing.

I'm not saying that its ethical or decent treatment of existing customers to have all of these uncertainties around which devices continue to get features and for how long, but it is a decent business strategy. All of this makes sense when you realise that Garmin treat watches as appliances with a mostly fixed feature set, right up until the point where they need a market realignment or a boost in sales, at which point you might see either a feature drop or a price reduction.

As I've mentioned before though, we might start seeing the older devices like the Fenix 7 continue to get updates if additional revenue from the user is being generated elsewhere - e.g. Connect+. At that point, the aim is mostly to keep the user in the Garmin ecosystem and using subscription services rather than being on a constant upgrade treadmill every 2 years. This is the Apple approach and it's quite lucrative.

My own take is that my watch still has all of its features that it had at launch. It still satisfies absolutely every one of my training needs. It's still helping me run ultras, get my multi-day hikes done and is giving great insights into my sleeping and HRV. Yes, I've seen it being passed over for some trivial features like meditation and some jump rope activity if I remember correctly, but these are all minor garnishings that Garmin use to try and differentiate the newest device from the old ones. It's not really anything that has a meaningful impact in my training or my day-to-day.

But once again I understand that you guys are upset and I fully sympathise with you, particularly if you come from Apple where even 5 plus-year-old devices keep getting new features. Just keep in mind that they have a different business model over there where the Apple watch locks in a user to the iPhone ecosystem.

Yah, that's disappointing. I'm really hoping we end up seeing 43/47/51mm sizes in the Enduro 4 when it's eventually released. I'm worried that Fenix might drop MIP altogether once microLED is cheap enough to produce.