The Fenix 6 series is a slate of more than a dozen different watch variants, with battery life extending upwards of 120 days. Yes, days. And GPS-on time for ultra-type scenarios at nearly 150 hours. Or in full expedition mode GPS-on time at 56 days. Yes, again, days. Obviously, there are some caveats to those numbers – but we’ll get to those. Oh, and did I mention there’s now solar charging of the unit? No, it’s not the panacea that your own solar farm might be – but it’s a start and hint at where Garmin is going. And the new PacePro feature will automatically create a course-elevation optimized race plan for your specific goal time.
I’ve been testing the Fenix 6 series in a variety of conditions from the city streets of NYC to the high alpine trails of the French Alps. Plus the beautiful windy flats of the Netherlands. I’ve got a pretty good idea on what works well, and what still needs some love. Don’t worry, I cover it all through the course of more than 11,000 words.
But if words aren’t really your thing, then I’ve got a nice tidy video that runs through the top 16 new features on the Fenix 6 series in one quick go. It’s as good as it gets for efficiency around here:
It’s no coincidence that in just a few hours one of the toughest trail running races on earth – UTMB – will begin in Chamonix, France. The journey will take competitors on a 171KM loop with literal mountains of elevation climb. Garmin specifically chose today, and in particular – their location of Chamonix to launch the Fenix 6 series. In recent years, trail running has largely been the domain of Suunto devices, primarily due to both longer battery life and frankly, stability. Sponsorships of elite trail runners also helped too.
But that tide is slowly shifting. I spent last week up in Chamonix as athletes from around the world were out doing their final training runs, and these days it’s more of a blend of watches on wrists than the Suunto domination of a few years ago. And there’s no doubt that the specs Garmin has thrown down with the Fenix 6 series will cause many heads there to turn.
The Garmin Fenix 6 is the base model of the range. The smartwatch is claimed to weigh 72g and the case measures 47mm in diameter.
Compared to the outgoing Fenix 5, the watch sees a decrease in thickness of 7 percent to 14.7mm, and an increase in screen size of 17 percent, up to 1.3in without increasing the overall size of the watch. This is accomplished by shrinking the bezels.
The watch has multi-GNSS support — meaning it can access multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).
It’s supposedly tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock and water resistance, and has a claimed battery life of up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, 36 hours in GPS mode and up to 48 days in the battery saver mode — though this mode comes at the expense of shutting off much of the watch’s smart functionality.
Like its predecessors, it has an altimeter, a barometer and a three-axis electronic compass.
It is also ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart enabled, so, for cyclists, it will connect with all your standard training tools, such as power meters, to record enhanced training and ride data.
The updated Garmin Elevate optical heart rate sensor also negates the need for any type of chest strap, and the built-in Pulse Ox sensor also enables a number of features, such as the ability to monitor altitude acclimation and sleep monitoring.
As mentioned, upgrading to the Pro version of the watch will get you WiFi connectivity, mapping and music playback on the watch.