Some of the best Garmin watch faces are the ones that manage to present your stats and data in a really nice, clean manner. Otron definitely fits that bill. To be super clear here – while the hardware is capable of it (whereas the previous Epix/Fenix 7 didn’t have the hardware inside), Garmin, from an FDA compliance standpoint, legally cannot discuss any ECG plans on the Epix/Fenix 7, until the device is certified. Thus , if or when ECG gets lit up remains an unknown. Obviously, as Garmin has said previously on-record, they want to expand ECG access as much as possible. And given this unit has the hardware, it’s the certification aspect which remains outstanding.

Best Garmin watch faces 2023: Our top picks to download Best Garmin watch faces 2023: Our top picks to download

It's pretty evident that the FR965 struggled to register those seven different intervals as clearly as the chest strap and Epix Pro in the example below, even if the average HR isn't terribly far off. It's always a bit annoying when you see a watch face crop up on another Garmin and you scroll through to find out you don't have it in yours. In itself, this is a little odd, because the new world of Unified Training Status should mean that it's ready from the get-go, as we've been logging data on Garmin watches for years. Just as Apple has moved into Garmin territory with the Watch Ultra, the best Garmin watches have similarly adopted smartwatch features to make them better all-rounders –and the Garmin Epix 2 Pro could be its most powerful so far. We're still fleshing out our full verdict on the just-released Epix Pro 2, but, having spent countless hours testing the Epix 2, we're in a great position to outline what's changed with the design, features, and pricing.This is a notable change in Garmin’s approach. Up till now, Garmin mostly only created sport/profiles when they had specific data metrics for each sport (e.g., stroke rate while kayaking, or run length for water skiing). But that got to be more and more annoying when you wanted to simply use sport profiles for categorization purposes. It led me to use the cross-country skiing profile for outdoors ice skating this past winter, and others to use gym mode for basketball, and so on. All the while their competitors like Suunto and Polar offered tons of sports modes, albeit without the sport-specific data. I’ll cover actual battery burn/usage a bit more down in the accuracy sections. With that, let’s talk about the flashlight. The Flashlight: Arguably the most important difference between these two watch generations is the price you'll pay.

Epix Pro (Gen 2) review: overwhelmingly good | Digital Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) review: overwhelmingly good | Digital

The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro have very similar builds and come in three sizes, which is new for the Epix line. Having three different case sizes (42 mm, 47 mm and 51 mm) allows people to enjoy the best Garmin adventure watch experience regardless of their wrist sizes. The revamped user experience is Garmin’s best so far – menus and button/screen presses improved, and many settings are offloaded to the smartphone app Much has been made of AMOLED displays over the last 18 months since the first-gen Epix units came out. A lot of that noise is from folks that have used older AMOLED/LCD panels – even from just a few years ago. Whereas newer AMOLED displays are easy to see/use in the sun – and excel even better in darker/dimmer conditions. Even when on Garmin’s default lower-brightness levels (which is how I use it). It’s simply not true that these AMOLED displays are hard to see in the sun. They simply aren’t. Here’s the AMOLED-based Epix Pro side by side with the Fenix 7 Pro (MIP-based display): Finally, another major update over their predecessors is the addition of the Elevate Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor. The new bio-sensor is said to feature an improved optical layout with more "spatially diverse" sensors for better accuracy. The algorithm has been tweaked, too, to provide better estimations. There is a sad truth every outdoors person must face, which is that eventually, you have to move on from your #vanlife and get a real job. Even sponsored athletes get creaky or tear a rotator cuff eventually. You have to pay for your kids’ ski lessons somehow.Finally, it’s worth noting that the charging speed has been significantly increased. You can add 10% battery in just 5 minutes, more than enough for just about any couple-hour GPS-enabled workout. Or, you can now charge to full in about an hour. Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. We should also note that both standard and sapphire glass display coverings are available whether you desire the Epix 2 or Epix Pro 2, and a slightly more expensive edition (essentially featuring a high-quality band) is also an option, too.

Garmin could soon challenge the Apple Watch Ultra with the

Remember that the base level Epix 2 did not have multi-constellation and dual-band GNSS/GPS reception, just the former. All 3 of the new Epix 2 Pro models will get the full monty of GNSS awesomeness. Also included in the leak was what's suspected to be the Garmin Approach S70 - something that another leak suggests could be joined by a couple more Garmin golf announcements for 2023. Both watches have impressive battery life (not as impressive as the Enduro 2, but still) and will last for weeks between charges. Even the smallest models will outlast most multisport watches made only just a few years ago, thanks to the algorithm updates and features such as SatIQ, which automatically switches between different satellite modes to conserve power without sacrificing accuracy.As noted, you can enable/disable the touchscreen options in the system menu if you want. By default, the touchscreen is disabled for sport modes, but you can enable it across the board or on a per-sport profile basis. Or even just for maps only. Seamlessly built into the top of the Epix Pro's case, this works exactly as it does on the Fenix 7X - and, now, all editions of the Fenix 7 Pro range. For me, the very few edge cases where AMOLED is worse are far outweighed by all the cases where it’s far better – especially in dim lighting conditions (like indoors, or the entire time period of October to April in Amsterdam, where I live). Still, if you’ve tried current-gen AMOLED displays and it’s not your cup of tea, the Fenix 7 Pro is the exact same watch feature-wise with a MIP display instead.