King of the outdoors

Garmin Fenix 7 is a smartwatch that’s tough enough to survive through a zombie apocalypse. Here’s our review.

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If the Apple Watch 7 is a swanky sports car on your wrist, then the Fenix 7 reminds you of a tank. It has that military-like utilitarian design vibe similar to chunky G-Shock watches. It’s even built like a tank with generous use of fiber-reinforced polymer and metal.

The 1.3in transflective colour LCD screen may not be drool-worthy like an OLED, but it is sharp and easy to read outdoors even on the harshest of summer days. At night, a backlight comes on with a press of a button to help see in the dark. There’s also touch support which works just as you’d expect from a modern smartwatch.

It can track practically every activity under the sun, with over 60 activities preloaded, and many more available on the Connect IQ app. One can track everything from walking, hiking, swimming, surfing, rowing, gymming, HIIT, and more. There’s also support for a variety of sports, for instance, golfers can download different courses onto their watch, for tracking and in-depth analysis.

The watch connects to your phone via the Garmin Connect app, and the process is quite straightforward. The data analysis and the way it is presented to users is among the most detailed we’ve seen so far. You get a fair idea of what your body has gone through during your last workout, and everything is presented in a way that will put your local gym trainer to shame.

Tech specs

Display 1.3in (260 x 260 pixels) colour transflective MIP

Memory 16GB