The Garmin Fenix E offers the company's top flagship range for less money, but key sacrifices make its value proposition questionable.
On paper, the idea of a Fenix that promises Garmin's great sports and outdoor features for less money sounds like a winner. In testing, it performed well, but it's disappointing to see some of the features that were dropped — notably multiband GNSS, Elevate 5 and a Sapphire screen. For this reason, the Garmin Epix Pro and Forerunner 965 stack up favorably. The Fenix E feels like a problem middle child and it's hard to recommend given what else is available in Garmin's collection of outdoor watches.
Pros
- It has that signature Fenix look
- Packed with training features and insights
- Offers good overall battery life
Cons
- No multiband, flashlight or sapphire crystal
- Heart rate tracking accuracy during exercise
- Same-size Epix Pro offers more new Fenix features
The Fenix E is an all-new addition to Garmin’s flagship range — designed to offer a cheaper entry to the Fenix experience. E stands for “Essential” and is a stripped-back Fenix, that’s conveniently priced against the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
So, what are you missing out and is the Fenix E? And is this the right Garmin for you?
Here’s our take.
How we tested the Fenix E
We lived with the Fenix E for a month, testing it against the Fenix 8 52mm and an Apple Watch Ultra. We ran, swam, cycled and hiked with it — and used it for our regular training program.
Price and competition
Price is a big part of the Fenix E story. We’ll start by saying that this is not a budget watch, but if you compare it to the new Fenix 8, it’s kinder on your bank balance. The cheapest Fenix 8 model costs £949/$999 while the Fenix E costs £689.99/$799.99.
It should be noted that the Garmin Epix Pro 2 and Forerunner 965 feature many of the Fenix E’s missing features, for even less money.
While that price puts it below all of the new Fenix 8 models, it also puts it squarely up against the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (£799.99/$799.99). It also competes with the Polar Grit X2 Pro (£639/$750) while the likes of Suunto and Coros.
The Fenix E also comes in more than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra £599/$649, which also sits below all of those models mentioned — but is one just for Android users.
Design and display
- Same design and AMOLED display
- One 47mm case size and Gorilla Glass only
One thing you don’t have to worry about here is the Fenix E looking out of place in the Fenix family. It’s got that familiar design-dominating bezel, five physical buttons, and a 22mm silicone strap that uses Garmin’s QuickFit mechanism to make it nice and easy to switch up your strap options.
Those buttons aren’t the new inductive-style ones included on the Fenix 8, which makes the pricier Fenix suitable for recreational diving. If you’re not planning to go diving regularly, then the buttons here will do the job.
The first design omission to spy is the missing flashlight at the top of the watch case, which seemingly isn’t considered essential here. Unlike the Fenix 8, there’s only a stainless steel bezel to pick from and not the slightly nicer-looking titanium, but that’s not a dealbreaker in terms of the overall weight.
As mentioned, Garmin offers a single 47mm case size and only comes with the option of an AMOLED screen. It’s a strong quality 1.5-inch, 416 x 416 resolution touchscreen that is the same resolution and size as the screen featured on the 47mm AMOLED Fenix 8. It’s a nicely responsive touchscreen with no signs of lag and also supports Garmin’s new temporary touchscreen mode, which cleverly locks the screen after use.
Screen tech is downgraded to Gorilla Glass instead of Sapphire Glass, which is a clear cost-cutting decision. Especially when you cast your eye over at other outdoor watches that also pack that tougher scratch protection. I found that the Fenix 8 Gorilla Glass scratched pretty easily, so that’s certainly a consideration here.
It’s waterproof up to 100 meters depth, so while it’s not fit for diving, it’s one that can handle pool and open water swimming time.
In spite of those missing features wearing the Fenix E still feels very much like wearing a Fenix. It’s still a good-looking outdoor watch with a rugged edge to it, but I do think the loss of the flashlight along with the missing titanium bezel and sapphire glass means you get to live with a pretty tough Fenix.
Key stats compared
Product name | Garmin Fenix 8 | Garmin Fenix E |
Price | From £949/$999 | £689/$799 |
Display | AMOLED or Solar | AMOLED |
Case size | 43mm/47mm/51mm (no 43mm solar) | 47mm |
Waterproof rating | 10ATM/40m dive-proof | 10 ATM |
Screen size | 1.4inch, 454 x 454 (47mm AMOLED) | 1.3-inch, 416 x 416 |
Multiband/Sat IQ mode | Yes | No |
Heart rate sensor | Gen 5 Elevate | Gen 4 Elevate |
Topographic maps | Yes (sapphire editions only) | Yes (downloadable) |
Flashlight | Yes | No |
Speaker and microphone | Yes | No |
Battery life
- Lasts a week with AOD turned on
- Good GPS tracking battery life
A Fenix is not a Fenix if you don’t have the kind of battery life for a multi-day trek.
The good news is that the Fenix E puts in a good battery performance. Even if you veer on the heavy usage side, it’s a watch that can handle a week in between charges. Garmin states you can get up to 16 days in smartwatch mode, which drops to six days when you keep the AMOLED screen on at all times.
There’s also a battery-saver mode that’ll get you to 21 days. When it’s time to track outside, GPS battery life ranges from 32 hours in its most accurate GPS mode and up to 14 days in Garmin’s Expedition GPS mode.
I used the Fenix E initially with the raise to wake support and then switched to having the screen set to always-on. I used the most accurate GPS mode available and used features like notifications, weather updates, maps and music. I found that daily battery drop was around 10-15% on lighter days and closer to 20% on heavier usage days that included some outdoor workout tracking. This is a watch you’re not going to need to charge every couple of days that’s for sure, but it’s also not the best battery life you can get on a Fenix. It’s pretty much the same battery life you’ll enjoy on the 47mm Epix Pro.
When it’s time to put the GPS to use, it doesn’t have Garmin’s latest multiband GNSS mode, which does drain more battery than its other GPS modes in return for noticeably improved outdoor tracking accuracy. Instead, you’re looking at its All Systems mode, which should give you up to 32 hours or 24 hours with the screen set to always-on. For over an hour of tracking in that best GPS mode, the average battery drop-off with raise to wake in use was 3%, which seems to add up with those promised numbers.
Training features
- All the Fenix metrics on board
- Incredible breadth of training features
The Fenix E covers all the same core workout modes as the Fenix 8 and has all of the training modes and insights to delve into too, so you’re not making huge sacrifices in this particular department.
You can create and sync running training plans from Garmin Coach or follow a new strength training one instead with animations guiding you on the watch to perform the correct technique for exercises. The execution of those features are generally good, with some back and forth between the app and watch required to get things working.
Runners can build interval training sessions and there’s a multisport mode for triathletes with automatic transitions supported when you switch over from your swim to your cycle. You can also get competitive with Strava or Garmin’s Live segments when you’re trying to break the monotony of your training.
The best of Garmin’s insights are here too. There’s the HRV status metric to better understand your recovery from tough workouts. It also packs the useful Training Readiness score, which will take a raft of different metrics and advise if you’re in good shape to train.
I’ve been wearing the Fenix E with a smart ring and another Garmin that offers the Training Readiness scores, and all three told largely the same story.
Digging into insights post-workout on the Fenix 8 and the Fenix E, most metrics were in sync. However, the questionably useful stamina metric saw a disparity between the two. I’d always take these insights as guidance more than definitive advice because there have been days where I’ve been fine to work out when it’s actually been suggested that I take a rest day.
Upping the ante over the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra are in-depth outdoor metrics, such as Endurance Scores, Hill Scores, and heat and altitude acclimation data. This offers data on your stamina for longer training sessions, or whether you’re getting enough hill work. These metrics can again offer simplified guidance on whether you’re building that base.
Mapping and navigation
- Great mapping and navigation
Something that Garmin does see as essential is the ability to view maps on the Fenix E. You can view road and trail maps as well as ones for ski resorts, although you’ll need to download them first. The first way to do that is to grab the charging cable, plug it into your computer, and use the Garmin Express desktop application to load on maps. You can also do it on the watch over Wi-Fi.
When you do you have a pretty familiar mapping experience to look forward to. You can use a mix of the buttons and touchscreen to navigate and while it’s a little laggy loading and moving from one section of a map to another, the level of detail you can enjoy is great. You can add themes to maps, display contour lines, and turn on the most popular routes and the experience of using maps will feel very familiar to anyone who’s used an AMOLED Garmin watch with mapping support.
On the navigation front, you have support for point-to-point navigation and the handy back-to-start and trackback modes. Garmin also includes its great ClimbPro Ascent planner to make sure you’re well prepared for hillier terrain and will even throw out storm alerts to make sure you take cover in good time.
Basically, if you want the kind of good mapping support we’ve come to associate with the Fenix line, you can also include the Fenix E for being a useful watch to explore new terrain.
GPS and heart rate accuracy
- Heart rate accuracy prone to flaws
- No multi-band GNSS
Garmin decides another area it’s not going to give you its very best is with the GPS and heart rate sensor setups you’ll find here. On the GPS front, it maxes out with its All System support as opposed to its more advanced multiband GPS mode.
It’s also using Gen 4 Elevate heart rate sensor instead of its Gen 5 one, which supports its new ECG measurements. However, that support isn’t live in all countries just yet — and not here in the UK.
As expected, the GPS accuracy on the whole is solid but having used it alongside one of Garmin’s multiband-packing Fenix 8 and using it against the excellent dual-band mode on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, there are some differences in GPS tracking performance. Distance tracking was never far off, and metrics like pacing were generally good too. A closer look at the GPS tracks (below) and the Fenix E, while generally solid, has some expected wobbly moments.
If you crave the very best accuracy, for activities like runs, you’ll be a tad disappointed multi-band didn’t make the cut — especially at this price. If you’re mainly planning to take it for big hikes or treks where accuracy isn’t as important to you as having a battery that goes long, then the Fenix E should do the job.
Heart rate tracking is much as I expected too. The heart rate monitoring performance on the Fenix 8 and its Gen 5 Elevate sensor was solid on the whole, but not without its off moments. With the Fenix E, I’d say it’s a similar story. The screens below show data from a steady-paced longer run and the graphs alone tell you something isn’t quite right. Then you see the maximum heart rate reading compared to what a heart rate monitor chest strap captured and you can see the problem.
You can pair up external heart rate sensors and that’s what I’d be choosing to do if I was relying on the Fenix E to capture good heart rate data during training to fuel its heart rate-fuelled training insights.
The continuous heart rate monitoring is certainly good enough, but that’s simply not matched when you push that optical heart rate sensor a little harder.
Smartwatch features
- Solid smartwatch features
- Offline music and Spotify
At its core the Fenix E behaves much like the latest Fenix and other AMOLED Garmins like its Epix range, which is effectively replaced by the new Fenix line.
It runs on the same new software as the Fenix 8 and that means some shuffling around with the user interface.
You can press the bottom right button to open up shortcut access to features like music, steps or metrics like Training Readiness if you don’t want to scroll through a list of Glances (widgets). Garmin also brings smartwatch modes and menus into the workout tracking screen. Garmin has sought to consolidate and create more of a smartwatch experience with these changes, but I’m not convinced the changes have made it easier to navigate around screens and menus.
Garmin’s notification support while not as slick as an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or a Samsung Galaxy Watch is currently the best you’ll find on a sports watch with an AMOLED screen. Notifications are easy to read and while you’ll need to scroll to read entirely through messages, viewing notifications is a strong point for Garmin.
The Fenix E also supports offline syncing from most music apps, including Spotify.
You do have Garmin Pay at your disposal but when you compare it what true smartwatches offer in payment support, it’s simply not as slick. T
he touchscreen is a good match for using the music controls and it also makes access the Connect IQ Store directly from the watch a more manageable thing to do.
You do miss out on the new voice-enabled features that Garmin added to the Fenix 8, which lets you make calls, access watch features with your voice, and record voice notes. I can’t say I missed those features, but I can see how they would appeal to some.
Is the Fenix E the best smartwatch? No it’s not, but it does things better than its sports watch rivals and is ahead on that front if not so much on par with what Apple, Samsung and Google particularly offer here