Bugs / Differences after a week ownership of the FR965 compared to the epix Gen 2

I was wrong about the notifications, they can be swiped away when they appear, but still not from the list view. But then open one and it can be swiped away, I don`t recall how it behaved before?

I have swayed back to the 965 over the last few days and took the Epix Sapphire back today. Still a huge fan of the Epix though, but the majority of the things it did better were just convenience items. Like double press access to the flashlight, the flashlight retaining settings, hot key for sleep, swipe left to display notifications from the list, etc. However, for me, the Epix did provide slightly better GPS tracks than the 965 on all plus multi-band mode. But it was not enough to sway me back to the Epix. The 965 is still very young and I am hoping with time, maybe it will gain some additional functionality as well and pull the convenience closer inline with the Epix. If not, it is what it is.

I’m not a huge fan of the new UI the 965 sports, as far as appearance. It works basically the same ways though as the 955 and Epix does. So it really just looks different, more colorful and more animated I guess. The two biggest factors for me to keep the 965 over the Epix was 1) the $400 cheaper cost and 2) the screen size. I did not think the bigger screen made a huge difference at first but after using it more, it did prove to be significant enough for me. 

SA

I may have missed this, but did you ever compare the always-on display of both watches in full sun while doing activities? I've been surprised (and disappointed) at how dim the 965's always-on display is in bright sun. It's significantly dimmer than my old Apple Watch 7 sapphire.

I am not sure if this was directed to me, but I will give my thoughts just in case. I did not compare the AOD, I don’t do a lot of running, nor fast running when I do run, so the gesture mode works good for me with mostly hiking and kayaking activities. But, I will say in full sun the Epix and 965 were pretty equal in brightness. I sometimes had to tilt my wrist different on the Epix to get rid of the higher glare amount though to get a better view of the screen. That due to the sapphire screen. I use mid brightness during activities on my 965 and it seems fine. I have it set to 8 seconds. 

SA

Thanks for the feedback. I was wondering the Epix AOD behavior was more refined given that's it's been in production for more than a year.

Gesturing works "ok" for me, but I'd prefer an option to crank up AOD during outdoor activities regardless of the hit battery life takes.  

No problem!

I may go to the gorge after a while and do an activity, if not I will tomorrow for sure and will try the AOD and see how it does in an activity. I’ll give you my opinion aafter. Been pondering trying it out in general use as well. If I can get 4 or 5 days in AOD with about 5 hours GPS use I might make that move. Been using it in gesture mode, and that works fine for my use case but wouldn’t mind trying the AOD. 
SA

Great, thanks 

I wonder if you have a fault.
Mine is so bright I have it on the lowest setting.

Mine is bright after gesturing, but dim when on AOD. 

Adding my 2 cents after 1 day with the 965. Coming from from a Fenix 6 Pro Sapphire after 3.5 years. And also having recently tested the Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar. Also have a 245 here in the house.

- THE WEIGHT! omg what a difference a few grams make

EDIT: the view mm height difference are really noticable (e.g. shirt cuffs...)

- touchscreen is a huge difference for maps

- screen size makes a huge difference, but frankly the much larger screen to bezel ratio makes it look a lost more smartphone-ish :-(

- buttons feel very tactile, not too different from Fenix 6

- dome shape of the glass will make it impossible to fit a glass screen protector. I dont know how scratch resistant the glass is, but the whole ahape just seems screaming for scratches (think scrape your watch into a wall accidentially as I did many times with my fenix 6 in 24/7 wear). I would certainly not dare to wear this rock climbing (as done hundreds of times with my fenix)

-Titanium lunette makes a big optical updgrade and easier to dress up the watch with more premium watch bands for work wear

- the UI does indeed appear a bit gimmicky 

- initial setup and firmware update vie Garmin Express took over 3 hrs (not including the required Europe map update). Its 2023, Garmin :)

- screen was well visible in April full sun. I was actually surprised. But yes it does require gestures

-it will be easy to get used to these gestures, lag is neglectable

- BUT I am not sure if I can get used to wearing a decive on my wrist that actively emits light. Using it and even juat looking at the time actully feels like "screen time" which in a world full of screens and smartphone addiction actually does feel weird. I was super surprised by this effect

Lets see how this turns out after a night wear :-)

Of note: while the Fenix 7 interface, look, touch screen etc was just super nice, the Sapphire Solar combo is a no go for me. Mostly for the solar ring visibility, distraction and how it does destroy the premium look of the watch. But also the combo is noticably darker then the 6 sapphire. Yoh can realize that even when not having them side by side. The 7 is perfectly readable. But also clearly darker.