Received my Fenix 6 Sapphire Titanium yesterday, unfortunately I'll be sending it back due to a couple of issues (defective screen and OHR sensor), however thought I would post some comparison photos.
Background: 46 yr old male, 155 lbs/70kg. I bought my first Garmin watch (Vivoactive HR) in July 2016 to support my get-fit focus which was primarily elliptical and some weights in the gym. Overall good experience with the VAHR although I found the styling very dated. In March 2018 I decided to replace it and chose the Forerunner 645 over the VivoActive 3 as I wanted to have more than 1 button and there were some features of the F645 I preferred. The 645M also encouraged me to start jogging so I went from never having jogged to now running 6-7km every day and last weekend completed my first formally timed 5k run (Park Run) in 20:35. My 645M experience has overall been positive, yes I had a few resets/blue triangle of death in the early days with audio alerts but the 645M has been 95%+ a positive experience. I originally used Beats PowerX headphones and have just switched to Powerbeats Pro.
Initial thoughts:
- F6 is significantly larger/heavier than the 645M. It is something that shouldn't be too difficult to get used to but it is worth being aware of. I went for the 6 rather than the 6S as I wanted the bigger screen and better battery life
- The new widget view is good
- The default watch faces on the F6 don't particularly appeal to me and I wish they would allow Active Calories as a data point on the main watch face as that is my daily goal rather than steps etc
- F6 OHR issues where it decides to stop working - quite a few other people have the same issue if you look on the F6 forum
- Defective screen - when screen has white background it has a very noticeable black smear beneath the glass
- Sapphire screen much duller than non-graphite so may be worth going for non-sapphire and getting a screen protector
- F6 bluetooth connectivity to Powerbeats Pro headphones is better/stronger than the 645M
- No issues with connecting to Wahoo Tickr X HRM
- Can't test much from the Connect IQ store, e.g. running power with RD Pod as they have not been made compatible for the F6 yet.
- Repsiratory rate shows in Garmin Connect for the first activity I did
- GPS seemed ok from a quick walk, but have not extensively tested it yet.
This actual F6 will be being returned due to the defects, I will decide over weekend whether to get a replacement or wait for the 655 which will likely have the extra data metrics etc which is why I bought the F6, but for half the price. I was initially very excited with the F6, but the two issues experienced in first 24 hours have put a dampener on it - appreciate that is just bad luck.
Weight of 645M
Weight of Fenix 6 Titanium
Comparison side by side
with backlight on
regards
TheSalamander
