When someone asks us about buying a smartwatch, we always come back with; “how much do you want to spend on our wrist wear?”. Most smartwatches should not set you back more than MYR 1,500 at this point. You can even get a Samsung Galaxy Watch4 for less than MYR 1,000 even. So why did we ask for your budget? Not really to see how rich you are, we want to know how serious you are in going for a smartwatch.
In that sense, if you have about MYR 5,000 to play with in your smart wearable wrist wear, we will always say; “go for something like a Garmin”. Garmin smartwatches and trackers have always been some of the highest regarded wearable in our books. They are built to the highest and most premium standards, and they have always been somewhat timeless. There are new ones on the block, and if you are in the market for a smartwatch at MYR 5,000, we think you should pay attention.
The Flagship – Garmin’s New fēnix 7 Series
Garmin’s flagship smartwatch has always been a little odd. They always offer coloured displays underneath premium materials and build quality that would put even Samsung to shame. They also offer battery life that is the envy of every wearable out in the market. But they do not offer touch screen capabilities. There is also a good reason for that, but we will not get too much into it because the new fēnix 7 does feature a touch sensitive display for the first time ever in their flagship line-up.
There are a whole slew of improvements made on the watch too that makes this fēnix 7 the best fēnix smartwatch there ever was. Its battery life has been improved by 300%, according to Garmin. Its solar charging capabilities has also been improved by 200%. All these improvements allow the fēnix 7X to last up to 24 days in UltraTrac mode, important when you are on an expedition.
The fēnix 7 series have always been made to be used in the great outdoors. In the great outdoors though is also where mishaps can happen. You might get stranded or lost, or even injured. The fēnix 7 series comes packing an improved multiband GNSS to allow for ultra-accurate tracking even if you are covered by the thick canopies of the forest. If not, the built-in flashlight of the fēnix 7X series can act as a morse code SOS signal display, other than lighting your way through the thick of the jungle or the dark of night.
Of course, you may not be always placed in such extreme conditions. You might want to just go for a simple jog, be it day and night. When you are feeling a little less adventurous, maybe the gym is a good idea. The fēnix 7 series comes packing with more than 40 built-in exercise modes. It now cleverly analyses and keeps track of your Real-Time Stamina when you go for a run, for you to monitor your best pace for the run. There is also an Up Ahead feature on the fēnix 7 watch via the Garmin Connect App to create routes and create checkpoints along the route. This might be useful in organised marathons. For night runs, the flashlight from the fēnix 7X will keep your path lit and light up red according to your arm swing for safety purposes.
The New Standard in Sports Monitoring – The Garmin epix with AMOLED Display
There is also a first for Garmin here. This is the first Garmin outdoor smartwatch to offer the brilliance of AMOLED displays. It sits under a scratch resistant sapphire crystal, and you can opt for a lightweight and durable titanium alloy case for it. It is made to endure as much as the fēnix 7 series, if not more.
Like the fēnix 7 series, there are more than 40 sports modes on the epix. You can take it to the gym for a HIIT session, or strength training, or even go for a jog, and the Garmin epix will keep up with the right modes automatically. It is made for golf and skiing too. Within the watch is maps of over 42,000 gold courses around the world. It also packs 2,200 maps of ski resorts globally.
Its battery life may not be as impressive as the fēnix 7 series. With regular functions it will last up to 16 days, which is still an impressive number for modern smartwatches. Considering that this does not even have solar charging built into the case, it is also mighty impressive. If you need to go for longer excursions though, you can get the battery to be extended to 21 days with its clever Power Manager function. That is also while you are being GPS tracked.
Prices and Availability
The Garmin fēnix 7 series come in three display sizes and a slew of flavours for your picking. There is a 1.2-inch fēnix 7S variant, a 1.3-inch fēnix 7 variant, and the premium 1.4-inch fēnix 7X variant. You can opt for regular steel or titanium cases for your fēnix 7 smartwatch. All the fēnix 7 watches come equipped with sapphire glass to protect its display. The fēnix 7S, and fēnix 7 starts at MYR 3,270 while the fēnix 7X starts at MYR 4,670.
The Garmin epix comes in three flavours for your picking. All of them measures 45mm in diameter though, so size choices here. You can opt for a regular steel casing at MYR 4,199. The titanium casing variant retails for MYR 4,670 but comes in two colour choices. You can opt for a Black Titanium variant paired toa a black silicone band, or a White Titanium paired to a white silicone band.
Both the Garmin fēnix 7 series and Garmin epix smartwatches are now available on Shopee, Lazada, AECO e-store, and all Garmin’s authorised retailers. You can find out more about the new Garmin watches on their website.