850 Battery Life - OUCH!

Clearing up some old rides (circa 2013) in my RWGPS recently I noticed some recorded on my Edge 200 (about the size of a postage stamp)  that lasted slightly more than 12 hours, more recently I have managed to squeeze 45 hours from my 530 and in the last 3 years have enjoyed my 1040 which gives me (still) 85-95 hours (with a bit of aggressive manual  battery saving settings). I am very unlikely to want any of the new x50 devices if 12-24 hours is all they have to offer.

There is no official confirmation of continued support for the Edge 840 or 1040; on Garmin’s comparison pages, only the 1040 Solar appears alongside newer models. 

I switched to another brand after the Edge 820 because re-routing was too slow. After 7.5 years, I’m ready to return to Garmin, but I’m not represented in any AMOLED or Edge 1050 sales data.

I’ve been waiting for the Edge 850, yet the battery life is disappointing, and there’s no clear information about long-term support plans for older models.

I have to reconsider returning to the Garmin ecosystem because of concerns about head unit reliability.

Let’s talk the numbers in a while

It's not removed but you need to search for it. Garmin will sell those products for a premium price long after they've retired them from any updates. They're still selling the 530 for $299.99: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/621224/pn/010-02060-00/ , which is simply incredible to me. 

Not in Europe, where I am. My country's official Garmin distributor pulled the 830 a year and a half ago from their site, and it has not been available any longer since then. They still have the 840 in stock, but once that's gone, who knows.

The 1040 is the only x40 series device that is still listed in the current Edge range on the Garmin site (both US and EU).

steveadorjan said:

still listed in the current Edge range on the Garmin site

Yes (currently) for the 1040 Solar but the 1040 standard can only be "found" in the "Previous Models" section together with the OLD 540 / 840.

Oh, I didn't even check that. But in any case, I strongly suspect that once existing stock of the x40 sells out, it won't be available in Europe any longer

On the US webpage, although the 530 still comes up as $299.99, there has not been an "Add to Cart" button for some time.  I seriously doubt you can still purchase a brand new 530 from Garmin.  With the removal of the 840 from the main page I think it can be considered as going away as well.

The specs for the 850 have a "See Details" link for what they describe as "Demanding Use" for the 12 hours of life, and they do show a lot going on as far as following a course, number of messages per hour, etc.  As long as they're being honest, then there should be more than 12 hours for "semi-demanding use".

The battery life is enough for me, I rarely have more than four hour rides and charge my 530 before every ride anyway to preserve it.  These batteries provide the most years of life if they are kept away from fully charged or discharged, but adhering to this practice further diminishes available capacity for any one use.

For myself, I do value the screen clarity more than battery life, but that's just my usage case.  I can see how many would want more battery for extreme days.  An external battery pack is a solution.  Finally, not yet mentioned in this thread, the screen is also slightly larger for the 850 than the 530/830 and 540/840 (2.7" vs 2.6" diagonal).

It's not likely Garmin is making the 530 anymore.

There isn't really much reason to get the 530 over the 540 (other than price) and still making/selling the 530 would eat into the sales of the 540 (it would make no business sense).

The Edge 1040 Solar is still listed on the main page.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/cycling-bike-computers-bike-radar-power-meter-headlights/

Maybe, Garmin is keeping this version for people who want a long-running model.

Cranky K. said:

The battery life is enough for me, I rarely have more than four hour rides and charge my 530 before every ride anyway to preserve it.  These batteries provide the most years of life if they are kept away from fully charged or discharged, but adhering to this practice further diminishes available capacity for any one use.

The battery life is going to be enough for a large majority of users. The battery life probably needs to last for a century (the longest many people would ride and, typically, not even that often).

The number of people who need multiday capacify are likely a very small fraction.

Cranky K. said:

I can see how many would want more battery for extreme days.  An external battery pack is a solution.

It's not a large percentage of the total number. These people might be stuck using an external battery. (You don't need the expensive one from Garmin.)