birds of Fire: A guide to the Garmin Fenix 6 multisport watch series

The sixth "Phoenix" in the basic configuration is the least charged version of premium smartwatches from Garmin, which, however, does not prevent it from being ranked among the flagships.

The watch retained the features of the appearance of the 5 Plus generation, while at the same time increasing the screen size diagonally by reducing the width of the bezel. From now on, their display is stretched from edge to edge by 1.3 inches and shows a picture in a resolution of 260x260 pixels. There are 6 fields available for displaying information on the screen. The overall size of the “body” of the wearable device along the bezel is 47 mm.

As usual, the model collects the maximum package of information about the user's activity during training. The watch recognizes many types of sports activities, registers the heart rate (including when swimming), and measures the level of blood oxygen saturation. Running enthusiasts will appreciate the new PacePro option, which allows you to plan your workout ahead of time and adjust it on the fly based on the situation to increase efficiency.

The all-protected watch case was “stuffed” with an advanced electronic “stuffing”: here you have an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a barometer, an altimeter, an electronic compass, and a GPS module. The icing on the cake is the NFC chip for contactless payment in the Garmin Pay system. Only a Wi-Fi adapter, a built-in audio player and support for topographic maps are not “in the database” - this prerogative was left to the models of the sixth series with an additional Pro prefix.

The sixth-generation Phoenix in S size is the most compact version of Garmin's top-of-the-line 2019 smartwatch. The proverb speaks most succinctly about the watch "Small, but daring". And that's why.

The model is assembled in a 42 mm case and is armed with a transflective screen with a diagonal of 1.2 inches at the head of the front panel. The “body” of the watch is protected in accordance with the requirements of the American military standard MIL-STD-810G, resistant to temperature and shock loads, withstands diving to a depth of up to 100 m. By the way, from now on the gadget keeps track of the heart rate when swimming, which became possible thanks the updated Garmin Elevate optical heart rate sensor.

Indications of the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle are used by the clock to assess the state of the body, its level of stress and the quality of sleep of the "carrier". In the role of a multisport device, Garmin Fenix 6S independently determines the type of training, evaluates the load and calculates the recovery time, “writes” indicators of the effectiveness of sports activities into the memory of the Garmin Connect application. From the innovations of the model, a tandem of Pace Pro and Climb Pro functions was “brought up”: the first informs about the features of the terrain on the jogging route, and the second serves as a “smart” pace planner for passing the running distance online.

The “clean” version of the Garmin Fenix 6S does not have a regular audio player, it lacks support for maps and a Wi-Fi adapter in the “underhood” part. All this can be seen on board the Pro and Sapphire watch configurations. As for autonomy, the gadget works properly in continuous GPS monitoring for 25 hours. In smartwatch mode, the model can stay afloat for 7-9 days.

In the sixth tribe of multisport watches Garmin Fenix there was a split: the models of the series were divided into versions according to the size of the case and the degree of functional charge. The prefix Pro has grown to the naming of the most advanced representatives of the series.

Against the background of the classics of the genre of the sixth “Phoenixes”, the Pro-modification of the watch stands out in a number of ways. Firstly, it was "brought" support for color topographic maps of the area(maps of the region where the watch was bought were loaded into the gadget's memory). Secondly, the wearable device has a built-in music player with 32 GB of memory for storing audio tracks, which makes the watch more independent from a smartphone. And thirdly, among the wireless modules on board the model, there was a Wi-Fi adapter.

The front panel of the smartwatch is covered with protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. This is another advantageous difference between the Pro-version of the watch and the “bare base”. The rest of the device is identical to the Garmin Fenix 6 : the watch is equipped with a 1.3-inch round transflective screen, a full package of sensors for recording user's physical activity parameters and monitoring key health indicators, a GPS module, etc.

From hours Garmin MARQ Expedition Price from 60 000 up to 75 000 ₴ useful option of long trips migrated to the model under consideration. Its meaning lies in the recording of a GPS track of a hiking trip at long intervals, which allows you to “squeeze” up to 56 days of battery life out of hours. In general, the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro work without a break for 10 hours in a row in the "GPS + music" mode and two weeks without recharging in the smart device mode without active loads.

The sapphire configuration of the sixth "Garmin" with an "X" incremental index is practically the crown of the evolution of multisport watches under the sign of the American company Garmin. Above it in the hierarchy of "Phoenixes" is only the model Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar Price from 19 999 up to 37 522 ₴.

The watch has the largest dimensions in the class - 51x51x14.9 mm. In addition, the weight of the wearable gadget has crept up close to the 100-gram mark. With such data, the device looks much more appropriate on a male hand than on a fragile female wrist. The watch case boasts impact-resistant manufacturing with a claimed IP68 waterproof rating. An additional link to protect the “facade” from scratches is a sapphire crystal on top of the electronic dial.

The screen of the model is built using transflective technology and is characterized by a resolution of 280x280 pixels with a diagonal of 1.4 inches. To display data on the watch display, 8 fields are provided. Also Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire broadcasts on the screen topographic maps of the area, an extended set of information about sports and the state of health of the user, time, date and notifications from the associated smartphone. A separate menu item in the smartwatch is an audio player that works without any connection to mobile gadgets from the outside.

The watch automatically determines the type of training, type of load, recovery time, anaerobic threshold, VO2max and other indicators of the effectiveness of sports. In addition , the model was equipped with a high-precision GPS module, an NFC chip for contactless payment for purchases in the Garmin Pay system, a newfangled pulse oximeter and a Wi-Fi wireless adapter. Finally, the gadget demonstrates longevity on a single battery charge - up to 21 days in normal mode, 15 hours when playing music with active GPS tracking and 80 days in a row in Battery Saver mode.

Among the many configurations of the sixth iteration of the “Firebird” from Garmin, the 6X Pro Solar model has a place at the top of the podium. This is the most advanced of all versions of the Phoenixes, the main highlight of which is the Power Glass solar battery.

A photocell that absorbs solar energy is placed in a transparent lens over the display of a wearable device. Using solar charging for about 3 hours a day, the battery life of smartwatches can be increased by about three days - from 21 days "according to the passport" to 24 days in fact. The display of the model is “built” using transflective technology and contains 8 fields for displaying various indicators, which significantly improves the information content of the data feed.

The watch is charged to collect the maximum amount of information about the activity of the "carrier" during sports and monitor the state of his health. So, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar measure the pulse (including under water), determine the level of stress, assess the degree of blood oxygen saturation, monitor the quality of sleep. Data from the watch is collected together in the Garmin Connect functional application, where detailed activity graphs are built, the total load is shown broken down by heart rate zones, etc.

In addition , the smartwatch got hold of a GPS module, support for color topographic maps, an NFC chip for contactless payments, and a built-in music storage for 2000 songs. However, you can download playlists from Spotify, iHeartRadio, Deezer, or Amazon Prime Music to your watch using a Wi-Fi wireless adapter. The only “but” is the non-sour price tag for the product. Not everyone will be willing to shell out $1,000 for a watch at launch.