@@user-gi8gk6kr8e Don't get me wrong, I loved the Amoled screen but I was used to the MIP and I preferred to have that autonomy. I also didn't like having to turn my wrist to activate the screen. A matter of taste!
Had the Fenix 7 Pro 47, then Epix Pro 51 for 3 days and I went straight back to Fenix. Best watch ever! No need for AMOLED - it's only pretty colors thats it.... MIP is better battery, better visibility outside and true AOD not worrying about burn in or battery drain.
I have no idea who can possible use tactix 7 - AMOLED. Like... if you are in tactical situation, the last thing you want is to alert the whole forest just because you need to find out what time is it.
After watching many Epix vs Fenix review comparisons, most of which came out in favour of the Epix because of the AMOLED screen, I went my own with the MIP and Fenix 7 Pro, for many of the reasons you outlined. Glad to see this perspective/opinion getting out there. Let's hope Garmin don't drop the option. I also went with the bare titanium finish. Looks nicer in my opinion and won't get the scratches from the DLC coating in the same way I hope.
@@daveclark6314I have the same model as he is. Titanium surface is polished so you can easily “scratch” it, it looks that way but it’s not actually scratched, no real deep scratches and it’s easy to polish it and looks like never happened. Had light hits on walls and other metals, some harder and these scratches were all the same, only micro surface.
Been wearing the fenix 6 pro solar for the past three years and considering when to pull the trigger on an updated version. I agree with the MIP opinion for a sport watch and this is why I won't go for the Epix.
I am also a big always on without emitting light fan, i.e. transflective LCD. Im using the instinct 2x and it can really charge on solar. The perfect watch for me and i love it. Will sell my amoled galaxy watch which never served my use cases well. I dont need a second mini phone on my wrist, I want a MIP display. May be switch one day to fenix but i like that the instint is so light, great for wearign 24x7
I love this video and perspective. I have owned the Apple Watch Ultra as well as the Epix Pro. However there is something that made me go to the Fenix 7 Pro (I previously owned the Fenix 7). Although the AMOLED display is “prettier,” I love the look and “feeling” the MIP display provides. I look at too many screens throughout the day, so having my watch (as a sports watch) feels easier on the eyes and looks fantastic outdoors. I appreciate AMOLED is nicer and newer but there is just something that draws me back to the MIP display.
Let's face it, AMOLED in a watch like this is shit. Tried Epix and went back to Fenix 7. Garmin really pisses me off with their dozens of generic almost identical AMOLED watches. And I'll never forgive them Vivoactive 5 without MiP and going all out on AMOLED in FR series. Sales aren't everything, you need to take care of your loyal customers.
Great overview! First time viewer. MIP is absolutely amazing and my favorite Garmin option - which may be getting fewer and fewer it seems. Pictures of the upcoming Fenix 8 were posted on Reddit today. Lots of AMOLED as I'm sure we all knew or expected. It seems their MIP version might be called "Fenix E" and it also sounds like it may be including the previous Elevate 4 sensors for HR, etc. This makes me really sad. I was looking forward to this newest MIP option but I'll be far less interested if they have dumbed down the hardware for it.
@@CoryBurke Hey there ! Yeah as much as I love MIP I wouldn’t “upgrade” to a watch which similar features and sensors to go with screen preferences. Might be time to try Garmin Amoleds. Looks like that the direction every manufacturer is headed
Went from an awu to fenix. While i liked it and the MIP display, it was tough on overcast days and i felt like i was using the backlight a lot, so traded in on an epix.
MIP is the future. Not only provides a better looking natural paper color backround, and not a fake white digital backround, in addition it give the user the always natural ON display and extended battery. For me OLED is amazing, but not for a sport watch.
@@eduardlaurentiubaltatu4192yeah its clear Garmin is going OLED, MIP is for hardcore users, but most likes a prettier screen and they are more than happy putting up with charging once a week.
@@eduardlaurentiubaltatu4192 if that is true, then all the serious athletes, especially the ones love hiking will move to a company that will stay focus on the MIP display. They can change the majority of the people to what they think or to what they want to, but not the real athletes and the ones using the watch for its real purpose, outdoor activity in all weather conditions, and a real Always ON display. There is a huge difference in reality when you look at an MIP compared to an AMOLED. MIP looks natural, while AMODEL looks fake. The visibility under the sun on an MIP is the day and night comparing it to the AMOLED. I dont know what POLAR or GARMIN are thinking, but i believe they need to listen to all the users and focus on the purspose of these watches. If i wanted a nice Samsung or Apple watch i wouldn't even look at Polar, Garmin, Suundo etc.
I had different versions of Instincts for the last 4-5 years. When you first start to use it, it is shocking, how much contrast there is on that black&white MIP display. I would be really curious, if Garmin could do a watch with MIP display, that has less colors than the Fenix/FR watches, but preserves most of the "contrastiness" of the Instinct watches. Solar probably doesn't help that, and also, F7 has I think 64 colors, so there isn't much room to reduce. Still, it would be nice to see, if they could make it, but probably there aren't many people who would appreciate this direction of development 😀
I think it is the combination of sapphire and photovoltaic layer. My guess is that gorilla glass without solar is much more readable. For F7 47mm the difference is like 10-20% so probably not worth it. It is a shame that the titanium version is always with both Sapphire+Solar and for me the weight of the steel is too much.
My main gripe with this Fenix model is mapping. Sapphire is already decently reflective, but with the added solar panel it is even more so. That makes trail detail hard to read on the regular without contorting your wrist to the right angle. As opposed to a MIP without solar, or something like the Epix.
You really should give a physics lecture on close loop time versus linear time because you were so monochrome it put me to sleep but, thank you for your video. I found it somewhat informative.
MIP gives you info when u need it. AMOLED is too bright on a watch and burns your eyes over time. MIP is classy looking with its always visible display. AMOLED looks like another gaudy toy gadget with limited on time. If you need to stare at your watch so long that requires AMOLED, just use your phone with a bigger brighter display and burn your eyes out and mess up your sleep cycle that way.
Hi everyone! I chose between 7pro and 7X pro and I need your advice I have narrow wrist(17cm), so isn’t 7x pro too big for comfortable wearing? On the other side is the screen size of 7pro enough for comfortable use. What size do you recommend to get?
I have a fenix 6 that I’ve had a long time and like. Looking at the fenix 7 to replace but … can’t help thinking, the 7 has been out for awhile when will a fenix 8 be coming? I’d hate to buy a 7 and have an 8 come out 6 mos later.
Yeah… who knows if a new one is right around the corner.. if I were you I’d wait… whether it’s 6mos or more you know you can upgrade once it gets an update and the Fenix 6 doesn’t change to much from the 7 so you’ll know the jump from 6-8 was worth it. Cheers !
I did not mean battery consuming, I meant light emitting. The red light is definitely not as bright as the lowest white LED. For this, I refer to it as the lowest setting.
@@brogolli Yes the larger the model the more battery life it has! FYI there is a lot of speculation that a new Fenix will be out in the next couple months… if you want to wait. I currently have no info on it but fall is a good time for releases.
I am checking out the Garmin watch line, been wearing the 1st apple watch ultra model for three years now, had a bad fall from a motobike and an ebike and it did assist on calling for help the glass were tough and the case scratches can be easily removed using 1000 grid sandpaper , I wish Garmin can add some emergency tracker in near future as I love to own one or two Garmin watches
I rock it both ways to be honest! I’ve noticed that when it’s towards me it gets caught on next to nothing as opposed to when it’s away. But I still wear it both ways.
Yeah pudgy it’s a great watch if you are into MIP or the epix if you want to go AMOLED. They have sales all the time on these and would buy one then. Sometimes like Black Friday it was down all the way at $650 which is still a lot of money but saves you a bunch too! Cheers ! Also synchs seamlessly with my kickr so no need to worry about ecosystems there.
@@JoshRomeroYT I love the MIP setup my Rival has and I work as a bike mechanic on the side so I can get one at cost. With that said, super good info for those not in that position.
I wish I had the amoled, personally. I have the 7x 51mm, and I feel like I would enjoy it more with a more vibrant screen. I never let the battery get below like 60% anyways.
Sadly it looks like Garmin will switch completely to amoled. Polar and Suunto have done the same with their top models. I guess they all want me to save money in the future. Now 2 years after epix was released mote and more people mention display burn in if they had the watch always on. Its unusable on a bike with dimming after seconds!! I do wonder if we will loose the mip displays completely. Even dcrainmaker campaigns for amoled like a braindead. It will ruin the sports watches market for me.
The washed out colors of the Fenix are definitely more annoying especially when you use maps than the Epix. Once the ambient light is low, MIP screen totally suck!
Zero reason to ever buy a Fenix. The Garmin Enduro 2 *IS* a Fenix but with a much better battery. I can not understand why so many talk about the Fenix and make videos about the Fenix. The Fenix shouldn’t even exist in the Garmin watch lineup. Why sale an Enduro 2 with a smaller battery option? Makes zero sense
It starts to make sense when you look at the prices and see that’s the equivalent Fénix 7 X you can find it nowadays way below 600 euros while the enduro 2 I can’t find it below the 800. For 200 euros, I wouldn’t mind to charge the fenix a little bit more often.. 😅
@@emanC94 the battery is significantly better on enduro 2 enabling totally different uses and applications like longer activity and races. For example multi day or overnight trips or ultra marathon distance races…. Simply “charging a Fenix more often” is not possible during many events and activity… for 200$ you can get a far superior battery and your going to have the watch for a long time. Spend the 200 and get enduro 2
@@teeramate nah the enduro 2 is same size as the larger Fenix and this size watch is fine on a small to medium wrist. These watches are all purpose built with functionality in mind. You want the most functionality and battery life.
MIP for me. I don't need another LED device staring at my face. Loved the MIP
MIP forever! I switched from an Epix to a Fenix, just to have a better always on-experience. I love MIP. 😊
+1 couldn't deal with AMOLED. Even AOD, surprisingly missed my F7 Pro.
Why you didnt like amoled on epix?
@@user-gi8gk6kr8e Don't get me wrong, I loved the Amoled screen but I was used to the MIP and I preferred to have that autonomy. I also didn't like having to turn my wrist to activate the screen. A matter of taste!
@@user-gi8gk6kr8e AMOLED is fine, it’s just that I don’t like it for always-on displays. It emits light and drains the battery faster.
Had the Fenix 7 Pro 47, then Epix Pro 51 for 3 days and I went straight back to Fenix. Best watch ever! No need for AMOLED - it's only pretty colors thats it.... MIP is better battery, better visibility outside and true AOD not worrying about burn in or battery drain.
I’ve been using the Garmin Tactix 7 Pro for 1 year now and love it.
I have no idea who can possible use tactix 7 - AMOLED. Like... if you are in tactical situation, the last thing you want is to alert the whole forest just because you need to find out what time is it.
After watching many Epix vs Fenix review comparisons, most of which came out in favour of the Epix because of the AMOLED screen, I went my own with the MIP and Fenix 7 Pro, for many of the reasons you outlined. Glad to see this perspective/opinion getting out there. Let's hope Garmin don't drop the option. I also went with the bare titanium finish. Looks nicer in my opinion and won't get the scratches from the DLC coating in the same way I hope.
how has your bare Titanium bezel held up?
@@daveclark6314I have the same model as he is. Titanium surface is polished so you can easily “scratch” it, it looks that way but it’s not actually scratched, no real deep scratches and it’s easy to polish it and looks like never happened. Had light hits on walls and other metals, some harder and these scratches were all the same, only micro surface.
@@daveclark6314One friend of mine has model with DLC, every scratch on coating stays forever unless you want to remove black coating.
I bought the 7 pro solar sapphire because of this video. Love me the MIP.
Got my Fenix 7 Pro Solar in December as a from me, to me Christmas prezzy... Love it!
Been wearing the fenix 6 pro solar for the past three years and considering when to pull the trigger on an updated version. I agree with the MIP opinion for a sport watch and this is why I won't go for the Epix.
FYI you’ll lose a little of the clarity of the 6 when you go to the 7. Even without the sapphire version, adding the touchscreen layer adds some glare
I am also a big always on without emitting light fan, i.e. transflective LCD. Im using the instinct 2x and it can really charge on solar. The perfect watch for me and i love it. Will sell my amoled galaxy watch which never served my use cases well. I dont need a second mini phone on my wrist, I want a MIP display. May be switch one day to fenix but i like that the instint is so light, great for wearign 24x7
I love this video and perspective. I have owned the Apple Watch Ultra as well as the Epix Pro. However there is something that made me go to the Fenix 7 Pro (I previously owned the Fenix 7). Although the AMOLED display is “prettier,” I love the look and “feeling” the MIP display provides. I look at too many screens throughout the day, so having my watch (as a sports watch) feels easier on the eyes and looks fantastic outdoors. I appreciate AMOLED is nicer and newer but there is just something that draws me back to the MIP display.
Let's face it, AMOLED in a watch like this is shit. Tried Epix and went back to Fenix 7. Garmin really pisses me off with their dozens of generic almost identical AMOLED watches. And I'll never forgive them Vivoactive 5 without MiP and going all out on AMOLED in FR series. Sales aren't everything, you need to take care of your loyal customers.
Totally agree. Im considering getting myself an extra 955 now so I can continue enjoying MIP for longer.
the next fenix 8, will be amoled.
Great overview! First time viewer. MIP is absolutely amazing and my favorite Garmin option - which may be getting fewer and fewer it seems. Pictures of the upcoming Fenix 8 were posted on Reddit today. Lots of AMOLED as I'm sure we all knew or expected. It seems their MIP version might be called "Fenix E" and it also sounds like it may be including the previous Elevate 4 sensors for HR, etc. This makes me really sad. I was looking forward to this newest MIP option but I'll be far less interested if they have dumbed down the hardware for it.
@@CoryBurke Hey there ! Yeah as much as I love MIP I wouldn’t “upgrade” to a watch which similar features and sensors to go with screen preferences. Might be time to try Garmin Amoleds. Looks like that the direction every manufacturer is headed
Went from an awu to fenix. While i liked it and the MIP display, it was tough on overcast days and i felt like i was using the backlight a lot, so traded in on an epix.
Love the vid! We need more Bullitt content!
they really improved display from 7 to 7 pro. If there will be same progression in 8, I am all in to stay with MIP.
the 8 fenix has gone AMOLED... hopefully thats not the only version available.
MIP is the future. Not only provides a better looking natural paper color backround, and not a fake white digital backround, in addition it give the user the always natural ON display and extended battery. For me OLED is amazing, but not for a sport watch.
I'm pretty sure that's totally wrong. Fenix 8 will most likely have a AMOLED screen. All their recent releases have it.
@@eduardlaurentiubaltatu4192yeah its clear Garmin is going OLED, MIP is for hardcore users, but most likes a prettier screen and they are more than happy putting up with charging once a week.
@@eduardlaurentiubaltatu4192 if that is true, then all the serious athletes, especially the ones love hiking will move to a company that will stay focus on the MIP display. They can change the majority of the people to what they think or to what they want to, but not the real athletes and the ones using the watch for its real purpose, outdoor activity in all weather conditions, and a real Always ON display. There is a huge difference in reality when you look at an MIP compared to an AMOLED. MIP looks natural, while AMODEL looks fake. The visibility under the sun on an MIP is the day and night comparing it to the AMOLED. I dont know what POLAR or GARMIN are thinking, but i believe they need to listen to all the users and focus on the purspose of these watches. If i wanted a nice Samsung or Apple watch i wouldn't even look at Polar, Garmin, Suundo etc.
@@eduardlaurentiubaltatu4192 agreed.
MIP is likely to become niche, even though it is better for some use cases. Most watch manufacturers are moving away from it for 80% of their devices.
I had different versions of Instincts for the last 4-5 years. When you first start to use it, it is shocking, how much contrast there is on that black&white MIP display. I would be really curious, if Garmin could do a watch with MIP display, that has less colors than the Fenix/FR watches, but preserves most of the "contrastiness" of the Instinct watches. Solar probably doesn't help that, and also, F7 has I think 64 colors, so there isn't much room to reduce. Still, it would be nice to see, if they could make it, but probably there aren't many people who would appreciate this direction of development 😀
I think it is the combination of sapphire and photovoltaic layer. My guess is that gorilla glass without solar is much more readable. For F7 47mm the difference is like 10-20% so probably not worth it. It is a shame that the titanium version is always with both Sapphire+Solar and for me the weight of the steel is too much.
My main gripe with this Fenix model is mapping. Sapphire is already decently reflective, but with the added solar panel it is even more so.
That makes trail detail hard to read on the regular without contorting your wrist to the right angle. As opposed to a MIP without solar, or something like the Epix.
Can you help me please with the sounds I don’t know how increase the volume of it
You really should give a physics lecture on close loop time versus linear time because you were so monochrome it put me to sleep but, thank you for your video. I found it somewhat informative.
MIP gives you info when u need it. AMOLED is too bright on a watch and burns your eyes over time. MIP is classy looking with its always visible display. AMOLED looks like another gaudy toy gadget with limited on time. If you need to stare at your watch so long that requires AMOLED, just use your phone with a bigger brighter display and burn your eyes out and mess up your sleep cycle that way.
I also prefer MIP, it’s just amazing!
nice i am looking at the 7x pro next
or 8x
Love my Fenix 7 sapphire solar. I’ve had it since it came out and I have no scratches on the bezel (or the glass).
Do you have the DLC or the bare titanium bezel?
@@daveclark6314 it’s the black one (DLC) I think.
MIP all the way!
Hi everyone! I chose between 7pro and 7X pro and I need your advice I have narrow wrist(17cm), so isn’t 7x pro too big for comfortable wearing? On the other side is the screen size of 7pro enough for comfortable use. What size do you recommend to get?
I have a fenix 6 that I’ve had a long time and like. Looking at the fenix 7 to replace but … can’t help thinking, the 7 has been out for awhile when will a fenix 8 be coming? I’d hate to buy a 7 and have an 8 come out 6 mos later.
Yeah… who knows if a new one is right around the corner.. if I were you I’d wait… whether it’s 6mos or more you know you can upgrade once it gets an update and the Fenix 6 doesn’t change to much from the 7 so you’ll know the jump from 6-8 was worth it.
Cheers !
Thanks for the informative review. What is your wrist size? I'm torn between the 47 or 51 (7inch wrist). Thanks
Ben de aynı ikilemdeyim ve karar veremiyorum. Fenix 7 pro sapphire titan daha çekici
When is the Fenix 8 coming? Any rumors?
Some rumours say May 2024, so about now, others say early 2025... I guess we'll have to wait and see
Suunto Vertical is the best for me at the moment.
feel kinda the same...
I hope you don’t rely on its health metrics, since that OHR sensor is the shittiest out of all the sports / fitness watches.
If you wear watch on your left hand, it seems youve installed the nylon band incorrectly.
Nice video! What’s your wrist size?
thats the medium size 47mm
@@navalcomand1981 I mean, his wrist circumference
The red LED is not the lowest light setting. It consumes a lot more power than the white LED in its lowest setting..
I did not mean battery consuming, I meant light emitting. The red light is definitely not as bright as the lowest white LED. For this, I refer to it as the lowest setting.
Thinking about getting the Fenix soon. Do the 7S, 7, and the 7X have different battery lives?
@@brogolli Yes the larger the model the more battery life it has! FYI there is a lot of speculation that a new Fenix will be out in the next couple months… if you want to wait. I currently have no info on it but fall is a good time for releases.
I am checking out the Garmin watch line, been wearing the 1st apple watch ultra model for three years now, had a bad fall from a motobike and an ebike and it did assist on calling for help the glass were tough and the case scratches can be easily removed using 1000 grid sandpaper , I wish Garmin can add some emergency tracker in near future as I love to own one or two Garmin watches
The 1st gen AWU hasn’t been out for 3 years lol.
Cool video
Do you like the garmin nylon band attaching toward you? I install it so the strap connects away
I rock it both ways to be honest! I’ve noticed that when it’s towards me it gets caught on next to nothing as opposed to when it’s away. But I still wear it both ways.
My Wahoo Rival is struggling and in the market for a new watch. Thinking this will be the one.
Yeah pudgy it’s a great watch if you are into MIP or the epix if you want to go AMOLED. They have sales all the time on these and would buy one then. Sometimes like Black Friday it was down all the way at $650 which is still a lot of money but saves you a bunch too! Cheers ! Also synchs seamlessly with my kickr so no need to worry about ecosystems there.
@@JoshRomeroYT I love the MIP setup my Rival has and I work as a bike mechanic on the side so I can get one at cost. With that said, super good info for those not in that position.
Suunto vertical has the best MIP display out there
Which model?
No, it doesn’t.
is that smartwatch can be pair with ios devices thanks
I miss my Pebble
I wish I had the amoled, personally. I have the 7x 51mm, and I feel like I would enjoy it more with a more vibrant screen. I never let the battery get below like 60% anyways.
What size is your wrist?
Sadly it looks like Garmin will switch completely to amoled. Polar and Suunto have done the same with their top models. I guess they all want me to save money in the future.
Now 2 years after epix was released mote and more people mention display burn in if they had the watch always on. Its unusable on a bike with dimming after seconds!!
I do wonder if we will loose the mip displays completely. Even dcrainmaker campaigns for amoled like a braindead.
It will ruin the sports watches market for me.
Anyone want to trade an in perfect condition Epix Pro 51mm for a Fenix 7 Pro or 7x Pro? :D I miss MIP, nothing wrong with the Epix haha
If you got it for free, this is review is biased by default.
If someone gives you free food, is it “tasty” by default?
feature to improve: their App ! Please tell them that !! The APP !!!
I hate to have a black hole on my wrist, so MIP forever
Mip
The bezels are to big
The washed out colors of the Fenix are definitely more annoying especially when you use maps than the Epix. Once the ambient light is low, MIP screen totally suck!
Tactix Amoled is way better.
No
Zero reason to ever buy a Fenix. The Garmin Enduro 2 *IS* a Fenix but with a much better battery. I can not understand why so many talk about the Fenix and make videos about the Fenix. The Fenix shouldn’t even exist in the Garmin watch lineup. Why sale an Enduro 2 with a smaller battery option? Makes zero sense
It starts to make sense when you look at the prices and see that’s the equivalent Fénix 7 X you can find it nowadays way below 600 euros while the enduro 2 I can’t find it below the 800. For 200 euros, I wouldn’t mind to charge the fenix a little bit more often.. 😅
Well get an Enduro 2 is make more sense than buy Fenix 7X ,but If you have a sm, md wrist Fenix 7 ( pro ) is better option than Enduro 2.
@@emanC94 the battery is significantly better on enduro 2 enabling totally different uses and applications like longer activity and races. For example multi day or overnight trips or ultra marathon distance races…. Simply “charging a Fenix more often” is not possible during many events and activity… for 200$ you can get a far superior battery and your going to have the watch for a long time. Spend the 200 and get enduro 2
@@teeramate nah the enduro 2 is same size as the larger Fenix and this size watch is fine on a small to medium wrist. These watches are all purpose built with functionality in mind. You want the most functionality and battery life.
If you need a 47mm size or smaller, that is one reason. The Enduro is awesome though.