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Garmin fenix® 7 vs Forerunner 945 vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus


Compare the new Garmin fēnix 7 with touchscreen to
the best high-end Garmin GPS watches!

Garmin fēnix 7 vs Forerunner 945 vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus

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The new fēnix 7 outdoor fitness watches bring some Garmin technology firsts to your wrist—like the first touchscreen in a high-end multisport watch and new multi-band frequency (Sapphire only) for even more accurate GPS positioning. Garmin even managed to level-up the fēnix 7's battery life with and without solar-charging and without having to add more bulk to your wrist.

So, the next question is: How does this new fēnix 7 measure up to other Garmin watches? In this article, we compare it to the ever-popular Forerunner 945 running watch, another new Garmin watch—the Venu 2 Plus, and a less expensive solar GPS watch—the Instinct Solar.

The Garmin fēnix 7 lineup is not cheap. Count on dropping $700-$1,000. In this post, we show you how it stands out against other Garmin watches, so you can make the decision that is right for you.



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Garmin fēnix vs Forerunner vs Instinct vs Venu 2
 


The Best Garmin Watches Sizes

The fēnix 7 is available in three sizes:

  • Small: fēnix 7S
  • Medium: fēnix 7
  • Large: fēnix 7X

fēnix 7 Display Size

The fēnix 7 outdoor fitness GPS watches display sizes are the same as the fēnix 6:

  • fēnix 7S = 1.2" display; touchscreen
  • fēnix 7 = 1.3" display; touchscreen
  • fēnix 7X = 1.4" display; touchscreen

These display sizes are constant across of the models, fēnix 7/7S (standard), fēnix 7/7S/7X Solar, fēnix 7/7S/7X Sapphire Solar.

Note: There is no standard model for the fēnix 7X.

fēnix 7 Physical Dimensions/Case Size

The Garmin fēnix 7/7S/7X case sizes and weight are very simular to the fēnix 6 lineup.

Difference in weight is because of steel and titanium bezels, titanium being a lighter material.

Unlike with the fēnix 6 series, all of the fēnix 7 sizes titanium bezels in the Sapphire models.

Garmin fēnix 7S standard/Solar/Sapphire Solar
Case Size :
(H x W x D) 42 x 42 x 14.1 mm; Weight: 58–63g

Garmin fēnix 7 standard/Solar/Sapphire Solar
Case Size :
(H x W x D) 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm; Weight: 73–79g

Garmin fēnix 7X Solar/Sapphire Solar
Case Size :
(H x W x D) 51 x 51 x 14.9 mm; Weight: 79–96g

Garmin Forerunner 945 Size

Display: 1.2" sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

FR 945 Case Size : (H x W x D) 47 x 47 x 13.7 mm; Weight: 50g

Forerunner 945 LTE Case Size : (H x W x D) 44.4 x 44.4 x 13.9 mm; Weight: 49g

Garmin Instinct Solar Size

Display: custom, two-window design; 0.9” x 0.9”; monochrome, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Case Size : (H x W x D) 45 x 45 x 15.3 mm; Weight: 53g

Garmin Venu 2 Plus Size

Display: 1.3" AMOLED optional always-on mode; touchscreen

Case Size : (H x W x D) 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm; Weight: 51g

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Garmin fēnix 7

Garmin Forerunner 945

Garmin Instinct Solar

Garmin Venu 2 Plus


Garmin fēnix 7 Series Models vs Forerunner 945/945 LTE vs
Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus

16 Garmin fēnix 7 GPS Watches, 3 Models

fēnix 7/7S (standard)

There are two fēnix 7S standard models and one fēnix 7 standard model. The standard fēnix 7/7S multisport GPS watches add a new touchscreen interface to access selections along with the watch’s trusted button controls. Performance insights and metrics help you manage your exertion and build stamina. Optimize recovery with 24/7 health and wellness monitoring of heart rate, respiration, stress, sleep and more. GPS and outdoor navigation sensors guide your outings off the beaten path. And to complement your tamer days, connected features include smart notifications (when connected to a compatible smartphone), music storage, and Garmin Pay™ contactless payments in supported countries and payment networks.

fēnix 7/7S/7X Solar

There are two Garmin fēnix 7S Solar models, one fēnix 7 Solar, and one 7X Solar. The fēnix 7 Solar outdoor fitness smartwatches sport a Power Glass™ solar charging lens that gives them the battery life to sustain a whole array of athletic and outdoor features. Trusted button controls or the new touchscreen interface offers access to selections. Performance insights and metrics help you manage your exertion and build stamina. Optimize recovery with 24/7 health and wellness monitoring of heart rate, respiration, stress, sleep, and more. GPS and outdoor navigation sensors guide your outings off the beaten path. Connected features include smart notifications when connected to a compatible smartphone, music storage and Garmin Pay contactless payments.

fēnix 7/7S/7X Sapphire Solar

There are three Garmin fēnix 7S Sapphire Solar models, three fēnix 7 Sapphire Solars, and three 7X Sapphire Solar watches. The fēnix 7 Sapphire Solar multisport GPS watches have a scratch-resistant Power Sapphire solar-charging lens to enhance the already improved battery life of the fēnix 7 series. Use trusted button controls or the new touchscreen interface to access selections. Gain performance insights and metrics that help you manage your exertion and build stamina. Optimize recovery with 24/7 health and wellness monitoring of heart rate, respiration, stress, sleep, and more. Outdoor navigation sensors and new multi-band GNSS technology help guide you with a higher level of positioning accuracy, even in challenging environments. Plus, you’ll have preloaded TopoActive maps and worldwide ski and golf maps right on your wrist. Stay connected with smart notifications when connected to a compatible smartphone, on-watch music storage, and Garmin Pay contactless payments.

Forerunner 945 Running & Triathlon Watch

The Garmin Forerunner 945 is an elite running watch that is lightweight and sleek in design, made with high performance materials—silicone band, ultra-durable Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX lens—that won't weigh you down in your fight for the finish line. With so many adaptive training features, including Garmin Coach, built-in sports apps, Running Dynamics, Performance Condition, Training Status, VO2 Max, Daily Workout Suggestions, Recovery Time, Intensity Minutes, you can see improvement and dial into what needs attention. This hardcore Garmin multisport watcvh also offers full-color mapping, the ClimbPro ascent planner, turn-by-turn routing, and round-trip routing. Plus, count on incident detection and assistance to manually or automatically send a message with your real-time location to emergency contacts.

Forerunner 945 LTE

Should you opt for the Forerunner 945 LTE (LTE subscription required), you'll have access to Assistance Plus, which can automatically send your name and location to the Garmin IERCC, a 24/7 staffed professional emergency response coordination center that can contact and communicate with local emergency services. With the Forerunner 945 LTE option, you can also get midrace motivation with audio and text messages from your family and friends with Spectator Messaging.

Garmin Forerunner 945 Tri-Bundle

For you conditioned-for-pain triathletes, chase your next victory and make sure you’ve got the right tools for the job with our Forerunner 945 Tri-Bundle, which includes 1 Extra Set Bands (Black), HRM-Tri Monitor, HRM-Swim Monitor, and Quick Release Kit.

Instinct Solar Rugged Outdoor GPS Watch

The Instinct Solar GPS hiking watch was designed to endure with a fiber-reinforced polymer case, chemically strengthened, scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® glass. Get access to multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLOSNASS, and Galileo) to help you track in more challenging environments. When you're blazing the trail or in the backcountry, put ABC sensors on you wrists—an altimeter for elevation data, barometer to monitor weather, and three-axis electronic compass. This Instinct Solar GPS watch is built to the U.S. military standard 810 for thermal, shock, and water resistance (rated to 100 meters). Get up to 54 days with solar charging in smartwatch mode. Use the power manager, and you can extend that to unlimited. Do more and charge less! Push yourself with confidence with health-monitoring tools such as heart rate, stress, estimated sleep, and Pulse Ox.

Venu 2 Plus

Dial in to your well-being with Venu 2 Plus. This GPS smartwatch has advanced health and fitness features to help you better understand your body. When paired with your compatible smartphone, enjoy the convenience of keeping that phone in your pocket, and making and taking calls right from your wrist. You can even use your smartphone’s voice assistant to respond to text messages. Switch up your activities with animated workouts and more than 25 built-in sports apps. Built-in music storage lets you bring your favorite tunes along. And get even more functionality on the wrist with Garmin Pay™ contactless payments in supported countries and payment networks, safety tracking features and more (Requires setup and your smartphone to be in an area with network coverage where data connectivity is available).

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Garmin fēnix 7S

Garmin Forerunner 945

Garmin Instinct Solar

Garmin Venu 2 Plus


fēnix 7/7S/7X vs Forerunner 945 vs Instinct Solar
vs Venu 2 Plus Features Comparison

Garmin fēnix vs Forerunner vs Instinct vs Venu 2 Plus Maps

All the Garmin fēnix 7 multisport GPS watches—fēnix 7/7S/7X standard, Solar, Sapphire Solar—the Forerunner 945/945 LTE come preloaded with golf, road & trail maps. The fēnix 7 lineup also throws in ski maps.

The Forerunner 945 running watches and fēnix 7/7S/7X Sapphire Solar models are preloaded with topographic maps, while you can download TopoActive maps onto the standard and Solar models of the fēnix 7.

Additionally, the fēnix 7, Forerunner 945, Instinct Solar, and the Venu 2 Plus series has built-in sensors for the 3-axis compass, gyroscope and barometric altimeter; supports multi-GNSS satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).

Additionally, the fēnix 7/7S/7X Sapphire Solar models offer navigation with a higher level of positioning accuracy, thanks to new multi-band frequency and GNSS network support (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).

Garmin Multisport Performance Metrics & Sports Apps

With all fēnix 7 series and Forerunner 945/945 LTE multisport GPS smartwatches, you can level-up with training features, such as GPS speed and distance, interval training, advanced workouts and downloadable training plans, heat and altitude acclimation, VO2 Max (run), Training Status (lets you see if you’re training effectively by tracking your training history and fitness level trend.), Training Load (your total training load for the last 7 days calculated from estimated EPOC), Training Effect (instantly measures the impact of training on aerobic and anaerobic fitness), finish time, a virtual partner, course guidance, Garmin and Strava live segments, and activity history on watch.

Additionally, the Garmin fēnix 7 series stands out by allowing you to take your training to the next level with endurance and real-time stamina tracking—along with training status, advanced performance metrics, and 30+ built-in sports apps.

Plus, in all Garmin fēnix 7 outdoor fitness watches, trusted button controls work in any environment AND are matched with a highly responsive touchscreen interface for quick, convenient access to selections.

The Venu 2 Plus and Instinct Solar have a lot of the same fitness and sport profiles as the FR 945 and fēnix 7; they do not, however, offer the Training Status and Training Load performance metrics of the higher-end Garmin watches.

Garmin fēnix 7 vs Forerunner vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus Health-Monitoring

The best Garmin health-monitoring features between the fēnix 7 series vs the Forerunner 945 vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus remain pretty much the same as most mid-level to high-end Garmin multisport smartwatches. Get 24/7 health and wellness monitoring with wrist-based heart rate, Pulse Ox (not available in all countries), stress, and enhanced sleep tracking (this device is intended to give an estimation of your activity and metrics; it is not a medical device).

Best Garmin Watches Daily Smart Features

All advanced multisport GPS smartwatches in the Garmin fēnix 7 lineup, plus the FR 945, Venu 2 Plus, and Instinct Solar offer smart notifications when connected to a compatible smartphone.

In this category, the Venu 2 Plus stands out, not only for having a stunning AMOLED touchscreen, but it is the first Garmin watch to let you make and take calls along with other smartphone functions, when paired with your phone and using its voice assistant.

Enjoy your must-have training tunes and Garmin Pay on any of the fēnix 7 watches—fēnix 7/7S/7X standard, Solar, Sapphire Solar—Instinct Solar, and Venu 2 Plus, making them some of the best multisport and running watches with music on the market.

While the Instinct Solar does not have contactless payment or on-watch music storage, you can play and control your smartphone music through you watch.

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Garmin fēnix 7

Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE

Garmin Instinct Solar

Garmin Venu 2 Plus


Garmin Forerunner vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus vs fēnix 7 Battery Life

The fēnix 7/7S/7X battery life is considerably improved over the fēnix 6/6S/6X lineup. Plus it adds some super impressive solar-charging technology—check it out!

Garmin fēnix 7S / Solar / Sapphire Solar Battery Life

Smartwatch: Up to 11 days/14 days with solar
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 38 days/87 days with solar
GPS Only: Up to 37 hrs/46 hrs with solar
All Satellte Systems: Up to 26 hrs/30 hrs with solar
All Satellite Systems + Music: Up to 7 hrs
Max Battery GPS: Up to 90 hrs/162 hrs with solar
Expedition GPS: Up to 26 days/43 days with solar

Garmin fēnix 7 / Solar / Sapphire Solar Battery Life

Smartwatch: Up to 18 days/22 days with solar
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 57 days/173 days with solar
GPS Only: Up to 57 hrs/73 hrs with solar
All Satellte Systems: Up to 40 hrs/48 hrs with solar
All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 23 hrs/26hrs with solar
All Satellite Systems + Music: Up to 10 hrs
Max Battery GPS: Up to 136 hrs/289 hrs with solar
Expedition GPS: Up to 40 days/74 days with solar

Garmin fēnix 7X Solar / Sapphire Solar Battery Life

Smartwatch: Up to 28 days/37 days with solar
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 90 days/ 1+ year with solar
GPS Only: Up to 89 hrs/ 122 hrs with solar
All Satellte Systems: Up to 63 hrs/ 77 hrs with solar
All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 36 hrs/ 41hrs with solar
All Satellite Systems + Music: Up to 16 hrs
Max Battery GPS: Up to 213 hrs/ 578 hrs with solar
Expedition GPS: Up to 62 days/ 139 days with solar

Garmin fēnix 945 Battery Life

Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks
GPS mode with music: Up to 10 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 36 hours

Garmin fēnix 945 LTE Battery Life

Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks
GPS mode with music: Up to 12 hours
GPS mode with LTE LiveTrack: Up to 10 hours
GPS mode with music and LTE LiveTrack: Up to 7 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 35 hours

Garmin Instinct Solar Battery Life

Smartwatch: Up to 24 days/54 days with solar
Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 56 days/Unlimited with solar
GPS: Up to 30 hours/38 hours with solar
Max Battery GPS Mode: Up to 70 hours/145 hours with solar
Expedition GPS Activity: Up to 28 days/68 days with solar

Garmin Venu 2 Plus Battery Life

Smartwatch mode: Up to 9 days
Battery saver smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days
GPS mode with music: Up to 8 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 24 hours

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Garmin fēnix 7S

Garmin Forerunner 945

Garmin Instinct Solar

Garmin Venu 2 Plus


fēnix 7 vs Other Premium Garmin Fitness Watch Color Schemes

Garmin fēnix 7 Outdoor Fitness Watch Colors

fēnix 7S (Standard): Silver with Graphite Band, Silver with Whitestone Band

fēnix 7S Solar: Rose Gold with Light Sand Band, Slate Gray with Black

fēnix 7S Sapphire Solar: Cream Gold Titanium with Light Sand Band, Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band. Dark Bronze Titanium with Shale Gray Band

fēnix 7 (Standard): Silver with Graphite Band

fēnix 7 Solar: Slate Gray with Black Band

fēnix 7 Sapphire Solar: Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band, Mineral Blue DLC Titanium with Whitestone, Black DLC Titanium with Black Band

fēnix 7X Solar: Slate Gray with Black Band

fēnix 7X Sapphire Solar: Carbon Gray DLC Titanium with Black Band, Mineral Blue DLC Titanium with Whitestone Band, Black DLC Titanium with Black Band

Garmin Forerunner 945 Triathlon Watch Colors

Forerunner 945: Black

Forerunner 945 LTE: Black, Whitestone

Forerunner 945 Tri-Bundle: Blue

Garmin Instinct Solar GPS Watch Colors

Graphite, Orchid, Tidal Blue, Sunburst, Flame Red

Garmin Venu 2 Plus Smartwatch Colors

Silver Bezel with Powder Gray Case and Silicone Band; Slate Bezel with Black
Case and Silicone Band; Cream Gold Bezel with Ivory Case and Silicone Band


Garmin Forerunne 945 vs Instinct Solar vs Venu 2 Plus vs fēnix 7 Price  

Garmin fēnix 7S Multisport Smartwatch Cost

fēnix 7S (Standard) — $699.99

fēnix 7S Solar — $799.99

fēnix 7S Sapphire Solar — $899.99

Garmin fēnix 7 Premium Outdoor GPS Watch Prices

fēnix 7 (Standard) — $699.99

fēnix 7 Solar — $799.99

fēnix 7 Solar Sapphire — $899.99

Garmin fēnix 7X Outdoor Fitness Watch Cost

fēnix 7X Solar — $899.99

fēnix 7X Sapphire Solar — $999.99

Forerunner 945 Premium Running Watch Prices

Forerunner 945 — $599.99

Forerunner 945 LTE — $649.99

Forerunner 945 Tri-Bundle — $749.99

Forerunner Instinct Solar Watch Price — $399.99

Venu 2 Plus Smartwatch Cost — $449.99


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