Garmin epix Pro vs epix 2 | What's the Difference?

The 2023 Garmin epix™ Pro (Gen 2) offers many new features and upgrades that you won’t find on the previous epix (Gen 2).

Yes, you will still have the stunning AMOLED display—but now you can get this eye-catcher on your wrist in three sizes.

In this article, we go over all of the differences between this new epix multisport watch and the old one. If you plan to use your Garmin watch for 24/7 training, adventure, and health and wellness monitoring—there are some sweet surprises you should know about. 

It will definitely upgrade your outdoor experience as well as give you the formfactor that is just right for you.  

While the epix Pro is one of the tech giant’s most expensive watches—and with good reason—we’re happy to report that these generously enhanced watches did not take a leap up in price.

However, if you’d rather not drop a grand on your next watch, don’t worry. Garmin makes high-quality fitness sport watches at every price point.

Garmin epix Pro vs epix (Gen 2) Sizes

Now with the epix Pro series, you can choose from three size options to better fit any wrist:

• 42 mm x 42 mm x 14.1 mm with a 1.2” display / 58-63 g
• 47 mm x 47 mm x 14.5 mm with a 1.3” display / 70-78 g
• 51 mm x 51 mm x 14.9 mm with a 1.4” display / 88-98 g

Each epix Pro model offers 3 color palettes:

• 42 mm: Silver/Whitestone Band, Soft Golf/Light Sand Band (Sapphire), Carbon Gray DLC Titanium/Black Band (Sapphire)
• 47 mm: Slate Gray/Black Band, Carbon Gray DLC Titanium/Black Band (Sapphire), Titanium/Whitestone Band (Sapphire)
• 51 mm: Slate Gray/Black Band, Carbon Gray DLC Titanium/Black Band (Sapphire), Titanium/Whitestone Band (Sapphire)

Like with the previous epix, you can choose a Standard or Sapphire model.

For each Garmin epix Pro premium GPS watch size, you can choose a standard model with a Corning® Gorilla® Glass lens and stainless steel bezel and rear cover. 

Or, if you’re hard on your Garmin sport watch, for $100 more, you can choose a model with a scratch-resistant Sapphire lens and titanium bezel and rear cover (or soft gold on one 42 mm model)—which results in a lighter yet more durable watch.

New epix Pro Training Features

Get a better understanding of fitness levels with advanced training features such as Hill Score and Endurance Score.

Hills are a natural place to focus when planning a course or strategizing for a race. Uphill battles are where memories are made—where your courage and abilities are put to the test. The Hill Score feature on the new Garmin epix Pro can help you understand and improve your own uphill running abilities. Gain insight into how the hills you run in training enhance your performance and monitor progress over time.

Endurance Score is a feature on this Garmin watch designed to connect the dots between fitness, training, and your ability to sustain performances over long periods. Your endurance score is a dynamic number that increases and decreases to reflect changes in your endurance. Higher scores reflect more capacity for longer performances.

Built from the ground up to deliver a true multisport perspective, every activity you record with heart rate contributes and enhances understanding of your endurance. A flexible approach allows you to benefit from new insight while enjoying whatever activities keep you going and going.

New Built-In Flashlight on Garmin epix Pro Watches

We’re excited to announce that each epix Pro features a built-in LED flashlight with variable intensities and strobe mode.

Variable light intensities and a red safety light give you greater awareness while you train in the dark and can provide convenient illumination when you need it. Strobe mode can even match your running cadence.

Whether you are out on a long backcountry weekend or looking for kids' toys on the floor of your car, it’s a super-handy tool when you need it.

Once you have one on your wrist, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it!

New Red Shift Mode

This nifty new Garmin epix Pro features changes display colors to shades of red to help users better acclimate to darker conditions and reduce sleep cycle disturbance. 

Garmin epix (Gen 2) vs epix Pro Preloaded Activities

This Garmin multisport GPS watch can help you stay active with dozens of new, preloaded activities including soccer, basketball, racquet sports, horseback riding, and more.

Packed with built-in sports apps—including new team sport activities like football, baseball, softball and more—the epix Pro Series provides data and insights for any passion. 

Whether working out at a gym or in the comfort of one’s home, this sport watch tracks activities like strength, cardio, indoor rowing, stair stepping, yoga, and HIIT. Users can also follow animated cardio, strength, yoga and Pilates workouts right on their watch screen. 

If you’re exploring the great outdoors, you can keep track of adventures like hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, whitewater rafting, and more.

Enhanced Up Ahead Navigation Feature

On the previous Garmin epix (Gen 2), the Up Ahead feature allowed you to enter in certain POI (point of interest) checkpoints, like aid stations, to get a better understanding of what’s ahead.

The navigation feature would then give you a rolling list of these waypoints, showing you the distance to each. 

With the new epix Pro, the icons for your selected points of interest show up right on the map view of your pre-designed course. 

“Honestly, this is something I always wanted Garmin to do, and now seeing those icons on the map is really useful.” —Dave from Chase the Summit epix Pro review.

Improved Garmin Heart Rate Sensor

“This is pretty exciting,” was what our go-to running watch expert, Dave at Chase the Summit had to say about the new Garmin optical heart rate sensors on the 2023 epix Pro and fēnix 7 Pro series.

The new optical heart rate sensor is a bit larger with a diamond-shaped appearance—they have more LEDs (6 instead of 2!) that illuminate your skin when you are wearing the watch. Translation: better accuracy. 

Dave says that while Garmin’s previous heart rate sensor does a great job, he did notice that with the bigger watches—like the Enduro 2 or the previou fēnix 7X—they would move around a bit on his wrist and have some minor deviations in the heart rate data. 

However, with the new heart rate sensor, even on the larger models—51 mm epix Pro and fēnix 7X Pro—he experienced “a lot less” deviation in feedback.

New Weather Map Overlays on the 2023 epix Pro

New weather map overlays on the Garmin epix Pro GPS watch make it easier to view upcoming weather conditions. 

You’ll see things like precipitation, cloud coverage, temperature, and wind speed that you can view on a map display while you’re out in the wild. This is a map within the weather widget, not the map for the activity that you’ve created, i.e., the two are separate.

Keep in mind, you do need to be able to pair this feature with your phone or it will not update.

Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) vs epix (Gen 2) Topo Maps 

Both the previous epix 2 and 2023 epix Pro offer access to full-color TopoActive maps. But the new epix Pro series takes if to the next level with the new relief shading feature, which makes topographic maps more quickly readable for glanceable awareness.

Garmin epix Pro vs epix 2 Price

So, here’s what’s so cool about Garmin: just because they put out a new watch with many updated and new bells and whistles, they don’t always up the price. 

In the case of the epix Pro—there is almost no price change.

The previous Garmin epix (Gen 2) that has a 47 mm case with a 1.3” display size, was $899.99 for the Standard model and $999.99 for the Sapphire model.

In the new epix Pro series, the 42 mm and 47 mm models will cost you the same, and the 51 mm is $100 more respectively.  

The Wrap on This Premium Garmin Watch Comparison

Should you buy the new epix Pro (Gen 2)?

If you’re in the market for a new premium multisport GPS watch that takes “premium” to the next level—and you have the budget—then you should definitely consider this Garmin watch.

If you already own the previous epix (Gen 2) or even a previous fēnix 7 outdoor GPS watch, you might wait for the next firmware update to see if you can get any of the new features.

If you want a lot more battery life than the epix Pro offers, you should consider the fēnix 7S/7/7X Pro Solar and Sapphire Solar series. 

Our partner running watch reviewer, Dave from Chase the Summit on YouTube, is an ultra and trail runner, and he tends to prefer the epix Pro (Gen 2)—so it’s enough battery power for him to manage with his workouts.

However, if you really want to charge as little as possible or spend a lot of time out in the wild—you may want the solar-charging power and ruggedness of a fēnix 7 Pro model!