Garmin has launched a huge update for its Fenix 7, Epix and Instinct ranges – and added a host of new features.
The company launched a bunch of new improvements with the Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 back in June, and now these are rolling out across the range.
The new features rolling out are:
- SatIQ: A battery saving feature for watches that use multiband GNSS, that downgrades the accuracy when mutiband is struggling for signal.
- Heart rate variability (HRV) status: Garmin’s version of Whoop and other’s training readiness features, the HRV status checks your heart rate variability for signs of fatigue, overtraining or stress. It’s displayed as a widget on the device itself.
- Race widget: One for fans of races, the widget counts down to your next race and adapts the training suggestions to help you towards your intended time goal.
- Updated training status: More insights into training load, volume and the effect of training on your body.
There's also a new stocks widget that can keep track of your investments.
As mentioned, the update is landing on Epix 2, Fenix 7 series and Instinct 2. And these features are already live across Forerunner 255 and 955 already.
There’s no official word on Enduro, but these features are already in beta, so we’re assuming that will be some weeks behind.
In our review of the Forerunner 255 and 955, we enjoyed the addition of the HRV Status tool – which offers some daily insights regardless of whether you trained or not.
However, it’s averaged over a week, which we found less useful than Whoop, which is assessed daily so you can see a clear impact of things like sleep, alcohol intake and training.
But it's good news for users of Garmin’s top smartwatches that the devices are now in line with the new Forerunners.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.