Garmin’s Global Product Lead tells us about the all-new Fenix focsed on the essentials
It speaks volumes that much of the attention surrounding Garmin’s Fenix 8 and Enduro 3 announcement has been drawn by the all-new, cheaper Fenix E model.
A new tier in the Fenix range, the E – which stands for ‘Essential’ – is an outdoor watch that, at $799, costs exactly that of an Apple Watch Ultra.
The Fenix E has a few key highlights; a single 47mm size (matching the size of the middle Fenix 8 model), a 1.3-inch AMOLED screen (as opposed to a 1.4-inch one), and a last-gen Elevate Gen 4 optical sensor setup (not the latest Gen 5 found in the Fenix 8 and Fenix 7 Pro/Epix Pro).
You don’t get a speaker and microphone here, or the new leak-proof buttons to make it suitable to support recreational diving. The popular flashlight that Garmin recently introduced is missing, too. It also packs 16GB of storage, as opposed to the larger 32GB featured on the same-sized Fenix 8.
So, you will be compromising having the latest hardware, but this does crucially run on the same code base as the pricier Fenix 8, which means it will benefit from the changes Garmin has made to the UI and features like mapping and navigation.
“The Apple Watch is a great product, and, yes, maybe it has influenced us a bit with the AMOLED, but that would have happened either way. I just see that there are a lot of people that value that type of display,” said Jon Hosler, Garmin’s Global Lead Product Manager.
“We know a lot of customers don’t need all of the Fenix features. People just want a really tough adventure, a watch that can track – but they also don’t want an old product that could possibly be discontinued. There’s just a risk in buying old products.”
“Fenix E is for that person trying to dip their toe into the Fenix world, and you maybe can’t spend $1,000 on a watch. It’s kind of like an Epix 2 that’s been given a new face but looks like it is a new product, and it can support the new code base, and will be around for a while.”
It’s never clear how long “a while” actually is, of course, but Hosler’s comments suggest that the E model will become part of the long-term Fenix furniture – and not just be a one-off.
In such a case, future Fenix E models would likely follow what we’ve seen here, where older hardware has been nudged down the product line and reborn with the latest software.
Killing off the Epix
The mention of the Epix is pertinent here, as that particular watch line is effectively replaced by the new Fenix 8 and Fenix E series.
“Epix is fading away, and I don’t know if we’ll ever bring that brand back again. It was a great test, in a way, just to see how popular AMOLED displays were becoming,” Hosler said.
The Epix (Gen 2) was Garmin’s first outdoor watch to feature an AMOLED screen, arriving before Apple’s first Watch Ultra adventure smartwatch that launched in the autumn of 2022.
With that technology now graduating and taking over the more established Fenix line, it’s clear that Epix has fulfilled its purpose and usefulness. The popularity of AMOLED displays has shown Garmin the way.
With the restructuring performed with the launch of the Fenix 8 and Fenix E, Garmin is also clearly looking to keep Apple’s Ultra, and the more recent arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, at bay. But it’s competition Hosler welcomes.
“They bring a lot of customers into the adventure watch area,” he said.
“That’s good because we still have plenty of advantages and differentiation and there are still many reasons why we are the better option.”
Hosler says Garmin isn’t expecting the Fenix E to get a lot of marketing attention, but it may get plenty of attention from outdoor fans who have been sizing up Apple or Samsung’s Ultra smartwatches.
Now, they have another option to consider for their hikes and trail running adventures.
