Should You Buy a fēnix 6/6S/6X Multisport GPS Watch? | Garmin fēnix 6 Comparison

Garmin fēnix 6 Quick Comparison Review

Here it is in a nutshell: Any fēnix 6 in this Garmin watch lineup is loaded with sport-specific smarts. What you have to ask yourself is: What size do I want, How much battery life is good enough for me, What's my color scheme, and What added extras do I want (including price)?

Breakdown of the fēnix 6 SKUs

The Garmin fēnix 6 family is a big one and includes:

• fēnix 6
• fēnix 6 Pro
• fēnix 6 Sapphire
• fēnix 6 Pro Solar
• fēnix 6S
• fēnix 6S Pro
• fēnix 6S Sapphire
• fēnix 6S Pro Solar
• fēnix 6X Pro
• fēnix 6X Sapphire
• fēnix 6X Pro Solar

And you guessed it—the 6S is designed for smaller wrists, the standard 6 is the middle size, and the 6X is the papa bear of the family, with 1.2", 1.3", and 1.4" screen sizes, respectively. As usual with Garmin watches, a bigger display denotes greater battery life. They come in Standard, Pro, Sapphire, and Pro Solar models to that you can really customize your Garmin fēnix experience.

fēnix 6/6S/6X Standard

Loaded with extensive, to say the least, design, tracking, training, health monitoring features.

fēnix 6/6S/6X Pro

The Pro version adds music compatibility, maps and Wi-Fi connectivity.

fēnix 6/6S/6X Sapphire

Everything you get with the Pro with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens on top.

fēnix 6/6S/6X fēnix Pro Solar

Adds solar-charging technology to your fēnix 6/6S/6X battery life.

Short on time? Skip to the Table of Contents or our PlayBetter Comparison Table below.

Whether you're an amateur or an athlete, the sport-specific savvy of the fēnix 6 series pairs perfectly with your dogged determination. Off the charts in terms of design, tracking, training, health monitoring, and more, the fēnix 6/6S/6X has the advanced features you want on-wrist, during everything from triathlon tracking to XC skiing through snowy peaks. Below is the premium package of goodies you'll get in every fēnix 6 model. Then check out watch-specific features for each model in the sections below.

fēnix 6/6S/6X Health-Monitoring Features

• • Wrist-based heart rate metrics
  • Pulse Ox blood oxygen saturation (spot-check, and optional all-day acclimation and in sleep)
  • Fitness age, which reinterprets your VO2 Max score to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.
  • Stress and relaxation features
  • Advanced sleep and sleep score with insights
  • Hydration
  • Women's Health for tracking pregnancy and menstrual cycles.

Sensors

• • Multi-GNSS, including GPS, Galileo, GLONASS
  • Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate monitor
  • Pulse Ox monitor
  • Accelerometer, barometric altimeter, compass, and gyroscope
  • Thermometer

fēnix 6 Family Smart Features

• • Bluetooth® Smart, ANT+® connectivity
  • Connect IQ™ for downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets and apps
  • Smart notifications
  • Calendar and weather
  • Battery saver gives you customizable low power watch
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Find My Phone, Find My Watch
  • Garmin Pay™

Safety and Activity Tracking Features

• • Step counter
  • Move bar
  • Calories burned
  • Floors climbed
  • Distance traveled
  • Intensity minutes
  • LiveTrack, a safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.
  • Group LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing
  • Incident Detection (during select activities), a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts.
  • Assistance discreetly sends a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you.

Training with Your fēnix 6 Outdoor Fitness Watch

• • Gym activity profiles: strength, cardio and elliptical training, stair stepping, floor climbing, indoor rowing, pilates and yoga
  • Workouts: cardio, strength, yoga, and pilates
  • Auto rep counting
  • Heart rate zones, alerts, calories, % HR max, % HRR, recovery time, auto max HR
  • Heart rate variability (HRV) stress test
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Auto pause
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts and downloadable training plans
  • Auto lap, manual lap, and configurable lap alerts
  • 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 Load and Training Effect
  • Finish time
  • Virtual partner
  • Course guidance
  • Garmin and Strava live segments
  • Activity history on watch

Sport-Specific Smarts

• • Running features
  • Golfing features
  • Outdoor recreation features
  • Cycling features
  • Swimming features

Garmin fēnix Battery Life

• • All fēnix 6 outdoor fitness watches have a variety of modes to manage your battery life.

The fēnix 6 features an always-on 1.3” display that’s 18% larger than previous fēnix models. It includes a stainless steel bezel and is tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance.

It also provides more battery life than previous fēnix watches with up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, up to 48 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 36 hours in GPS mode, up to 72 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and p to 28 days in Expedition GPS Activity.

The standard fēnix 6 comes in one color, silver bezel with a black band.

Upgrade to the fēnix 6 Pro or Sapphire ...

And add on topo maps, road and trail maps, preloaded ski resort maps, Wi-Fi connectivity, on-screen workout animations, round-trip course creator for running and cycling, Trendline™ popularity routing, PacePro™ pacing strategies, premium golfing features, and music compatibility that allows you to store up to 2,000 songs on your smartwatch and leave your phone at home ... Plus more $$ on the price tag.

The fēnix 6 Pro and Sapphire is available out of the box in titanium bezel with ember orange band or carbon gray DLC bezel with black band. The fēnix 6 Sapphire comes with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens.

Go for the fēnix 6 Pro Solar ...

And get more battery life with the sun: up 16 days with solar in smartwatch mode, 80 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 40 hours in GPS mode, up to 93 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and p to 36 days in Expedition GPS Activity. For this watch powered up by the sun, it will cost you more $$.

The fēnix 6 Pro Solar comes in slate gray with black band, black with slate gray band, and mineral blue titanium bezel with whitestone band.

The fēnix 6S multisport GPS smartwatch is styled for a trim, comfortable fit on smaller wrists, with a 1.2” sunlight-visible display for athletes and adventurers who want to do more, not wear more. For durability in any environment, the more compact fēnix 6S is tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance.

It also provides more battery life than previous fēnix watches with up to 9 days in smartwatch mode, up to 34 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 25 hours in GPS mode, up to 50 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and p to 20 days in Expedition GPS Activity.

The standard fēnix 6S comes in white with white band and silver bezel with black band.

Upgrade to the fēnix 6S Pro or Sapphire ...

And add on topo maps, road and trail maps, preloaded ski resort maps, Wi-Fi connectivity, on-screen workout animations, round-trip course creator for running and cycling, Trendline™ popularity routing, PacePro™ pacing strategies, premium golfing features, and music compatibility that allows you to store up to 2,000 songs on your smartwatch and leave your phone at home ... Plus more $$ on the price tag.

The fēnix 6S Pro and Sapphire is available out of the box in rose gold with white band and black with black band. The fēnix 6S Sapphire comes with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens.

Go for the fēnix 6S Pro Solar ...

And get more battery life with the sun: up 10.5 days with solar in smartwatch mode, 59 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 28 hours in GPS mode, up to 64 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and p to 26 days in Expedition GPS Activity. For this watch powered up by the sun, it will cost you more $$.

Available colors for the fēnix 6S Pro Solar include light gold bezel with light sand band and amethyst steel with shale gray band.

The rugged yet sophisticated design of the fēnix 6X Pro and Sapphire GPS adventure watch features a large 1.4” display that’s 36% larger than previous fēnix models. It is tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance. Fit the look to your lifestyle with your choice of stainless steel or DLC coated bezels. Each Sapphire edition adds a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and premium materials.

It also provides greatest battery life of any fēnix fitness smartwatch so far with up to a whopping 21 days in smartwatch mode, up to 80 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 60 hours in GPS mode, up to 15 hours in GPS + music, up to 120 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and p to 46 days in Expedition GPS Activity.

Out of the box, the fēnix 6X Pro and Sapphire on topo maps, road and trail maps, preloaded ski resort maps, Wi-Fi connectivity, on-screen workout animations, round-trip course creator for running and cycling, Trendline™ popularity routing, PacePro™ pacing strategies, premium golfing features, and music compatibility that allows you to store up to 2,000 songs on your smartwatch and leave your phone at home ... Plus more $$ on the price tag.

The standard fēnix 6X Pro and Sapphire is available in black with a black band.

Go for the fēnix 6X Pro Solar ...

And get more battery life with the sun: up 24 days with solar in smartwatch mode, 120 days in Battery Saver Watch Mode, up to 66 hours in GPS mode, up to 16 hours in GPS + music, up to 148 hours in Max Battery GPS Mode, and up to 56 days in Expedition GPS Activity. For this watch powered up by the sun, it will cost you more $$.

Available colors for the fēnix 6X Pro Solar include Titanium Carbon Gray DLC with Black Band.

Clearly, the fēnix 6 series offers a wide variety of of outdoor fitness watches with different options to fit your wrist, your budget, your lifestyle, and your sport-specific needs. It is the first Garmin lineup to offer solar charging technology, providing you with a variety of battery life options.

All GPS watches in the fēnix 6 family are tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance. They are water rated to 10ATM, which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 100 meters and are good to go for splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling, and high-speed water sports.

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Jump to the comparison chart below to view a side-by-side comparison of:

• fēnix 6
• fēnix 6 Pro and Sapphire
• fēnix 6 Pro Solar
• fēnix 6S
• fēnix 6S Pro and Sapphire
• fēnix 6S Pro Solar
• fēnix 6X Pro and Sapphire
• fēnix 6X Pro Solar