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A general conversation about the future of MIP for our watches..

7828711
over 1 year ago

Just got the 955 Solar.  Love it.  That said, I see Garmin has made great strides in the AMOLED offerings.  I would love to get ahold of their K1 annual reporting to see how they are affecting sales from a financial standpoint, but I am sure it's great for Garmin as many just want the pretty look on the screen (totally get that).   Personally, I was tempted by the Epix myself but living in Maimi, FL where I have bright, non-stop sun every day the MIP display is just amazing.  I love that it "feels" more like a regular watch vs a typical "smart watch" in that sense.  

Anyway, the question I have (which I know none of you can answer, lol) is do we think that Garmin will continue to offer MIP's in the future?  I saw one post on Reddit where someone thought that maybe phasing them out.  That would make me sad (and others I am sure).  But, I can't help but see a pattern in their product offerings that appear to support both types moving forward.:

The base, you have the 45 / 55 (which I am sure may be consolidated to just the 55 in the future).  This of course is MIP screen.

Then, I feel like the 245 will stop and the 255 is really that replacement (also MIP).   The 265 is the dedicated AMOLED version.

Same with the 955 / 955 Solar.  MIP, but the 965 AMOLED version.

Then with the Fenix.  You now have all MIP and all solar.    The AMOLED version would of course be the Epix line.

In fact, the only real place where I don't see an option anymore is on the Marq line.  Now all AMOLED.  Also the other lines like the Venue etc (II dont even pay attention to them, not my style) seem to be going all AMOLED.

What are your thoughts?  Again, this is not a knock against the AMOLED watches.  I am sure they are great, just truly wondering how Garmin will move forward.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    I'm with you on the watch faces, hence why I decided on an IQ one. The 965 sizing is actually deceiving as although it's a tad bigger its also thinner and sits better on my wrist as a result.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to S.M.R.

    This is the one I am using currently, very modifiable (there is a small payment for it - Epix 2 Pro2 MB (ManuelB)). I have AOD off and am used to it now.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    I think many images of 965 watch faces are somewhat deceiving, as many photos want to emphasize the brightness of amoled colours, so they choose one of the more "colourful" faces. There are built-in faces that are more subtle.

    But amoled affects also how watch faces consume battery, if you don't use always on display. MIP faces are always active and have to constantly redraw themselves 24/7, even if the display itself doesn't consume much energy. Amoled faces have to be redrawn only when you look at them. I guess that's why 965 (with larger screen and higher resolution) battery is cited to last 23 days without always-on, whereas 955 is 15 (20 days with solar). I would assume CIQ faces don't have so much battery impact with 965 (without always-on).

    I personally don't think that amoled is about "bling bling". It's about better contrast, better low light visibility, wider colour gamut, and better display and colour resolution. If those are important to you (for me they are, because of maps), then amoled is the way to go. If not, then MIP is as good (and has better always-on with less battery impact).

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Personally I upgraded to 955 from 935 (had 3 units changing every 2 years) just because they switched to amoled - I treated that as a signal they are going to the wrong direction. 

    For me function only matters and if I liked nice screens, I'd go Apple watch. So I do hope they will have some option for MIPs, but it looks that not only general customer likes fancy screens, but most Garmin users do - just read answers in this thread. So it looks that risk to loose core customer base is justified, although I think it is still a mistake, Garmin won't be an apple watch or Samsung Android watch even with fancy screen. So it might be a mistake for them. 

    For me having anything that drains battery more is wierd, having to turn your wrist to see something is wierd, but most people seem to have different opinion. 

    Maybe they'll leave mip+solar as a battery-saver option (I'm not happy with that either because non solar has much better contrast), that does make sense. But they have a patent for amoled-solar as far as I know

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I moved from AMOLED to MIP because it's a lot better for my use. For sure, if they no longer offer a model with MIP, I will move to another brand since if I was looking for an AMOLED screen, I would choose a WearOS or iOS as OS.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to G141592653589793238

    I have friends that moved from earlier Garmins (946) to 965 and are happy. 

    So it looks like two of us are a minority is users. Unfortunately marketing does its job

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Just wanted to give an update... (going to start a new topic as well with more detail).  But, after a week with the 955 Solar (and I did love it), I noticed some weird things that put me off (keep in mind I have experience with several other Garmin watches since 2019).  The issue was I had battery drain that was too much based on expectations (and I had all the settings correct etc).  The first few days were okay, then I saw it really start to consume more for no reason at all (10% in a day, where I was basically doing nothing).   Then, one of the buttons seemed to mushy.  This brought back memories of the 245 that I used to have and had to go through 3 rounds of replacements to get one "right".   At the same time, of course I am looking at the AMOLED and I know its the future for Garmin.. so, I went back to the Garmin store last night and ended up leaving with the new Epix 47mm Pro Sapphire.  I figured, *** if I don't love it I can always go back in a week or so with no issues from Garmin.   So, here I am with it.  Going to start a new post to go over what I think and some other interesting things that I can see now that I was not able to gather from all of the YouTube videos out there.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Bitti

    Yes, I go for MIP just because of always-on. And in low-light conditions, my background lighting pops up. No need for that in daytime, because I think it is clear enough. But I am not against amoled, I just mention my preference for MIP. I hope the real runner watches keep MIP.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7828711

    Good luck to you. Hope you find a satisfying experience, whether it is FR955 or Epix. I do not mind, as long as you are happy with it :-)

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    A few weeks ago I switched to the MIP display of the Fenix 7, I had a bad experience with the AMOLED, a Huawei kept for three years and burn-in and then a Venu 2 kept for 2 and a half years already with the burn-in problem ( display without AOD) and with a dark background. The visibility was pleasant, both during the day and in the evening but if after a short time (and I want to keep these watches a lot) there is the risk of ruining the display, I prefer the MIP, it looks good and consumes little.