Fenix 8

Most don't get this, indeed. Or rather, they would subconsciously like to be the audience -- and most aren't.

So you mean that a lot of people should not buy the Marq? Who exactly?

I urgently need to explore the Swiss Smartwatch market, is well hidden I must say…

I retract my comment about going back to an Epix

ok, we got this covered in the minutes

'In the minutes'

RE Swiss smartwatches: Totally. And yeah, they are under the radar. From what I read, their usual clientele acquires watches of $5K minimum, so a $1K looks uninteresting. But they are not! I got hooked and now I own several. I couldn't be happier with them.

You'll have to do your research, but if I am to be somewhat trusted, it boils down to:

For sport/casual: Alpina AlpinerX Alive.

For casual/elegant: Tissot T-Touch Connected.

For dressy/elegant: Frederique Constant Alive Gents.

If money is *really* not a problem: Breitling Exospace B55.

I do not mention the TAG Heuer Connected. Why? Because the current versions (E3 and E4) are made in China.

Only the E2 was made in Switzerland (and I own all the models ;) ).

Good luck getting into the rabbit hole!

Thanks, they look nice but do they offer the same functionality as Garmin or do you use a Garmin for sports? If so I prefer to stick with my Swiss mechanicals.

Soit, curious to see next week what the Fenix 8 brings. From a durability aspect, I would expect that Garmin makes new functions/software available to Marq gen 2 as much as possible, especially to the carbon version. Even willing to pay a fee for new functions if older hardware can handle it, or upgrade the internals for a fee. I would even pay fto obtain the elevate 5 sensor on my carbon once ECG is available in EU (this omission is one of the biggest mistakes of Garmin, ever) 

Given the positive reports of the Elevate 5 sensor, it irks me that the MARQ2 doesn't have it -- but I understand, given when it was released (which raises the question of the very nature of the combo of luxury and technology: how much are we willing to give up for the aesthetic and differentiating factor). With the Carbon, it might have been a *** up (the Venue 3 already had it!) -- as if people were not going to notice...

It totally is. In May 2023 the Fenix 7 pro / Epix 2 pro were introduced with the elevate 5 sensor. That is 5 months before the intro of the carbon versions (October 2023), an eternity in tech terms. There was no reason for Garmin to use the old tech in the new models of the “luxury line. By doing so they totally undermine the image they want to create with the Marq line.

The Venue 3 was released August 2023 -- and it already had the Elevate 5. People begun to report the difference soon after.

OK, but the Fenix 7/Epix 2 PRO models were available even sooner (May 2023) so that gave Garmin more than sufficient time to install it in the Marq 2 Carbon models which then, at introduction, be state of the art. To me ECG is an essential feature (it should be for every endurance athlete BTW), the fact that it still does not work in the EU (on the Fenix Pro line) is (also) incomprehensible. What does Garmin do wrong that Apple does right?

aleksiz said:

the fact that it still does not work in the EU (on the Fenix Pro line) is (also) incomprehensible.

What can Garmin do if the approval process with the authorities takes so long?