Information shared with Garmin Rumors points to a clear design split inside the Fenix 9 lineup: the Fenix 9 Pro moves to a full titanium body, while the standard Fenix 9 keeps the Fenix 8 construction.
According to what we have been told, the Fenix 9 Pro variants get a new design with full titanium body construction, removing the plastic from the case entirely. That would be a first for the Fenix line, where even the premium models have always built around a polymer housing.
The standard Fenix 9 is said to carry over the Fenix 8 design: a metal bezel up front and a metal back, with a fiber-reinforced polymer body between them.
As with the leaked listings, the inReach label is what determines whether a watch gets satellite and LTE connectivity — and no base Fenix 9 model is expected to have inReach.
One more detail shared with us: the 51 mm Fenix 9 may finally get a 1.5-inch display. On the Fenix 8, the 51 mm model used the same 1.4-inch panel as the 47 mm watch and simply carried thicker bezels. A panel that actually scales with the case would be a meaningful change for the largest size.
We are also hearing that U.S. pricing will be close to — or match — current Fenix 8 and Fenix 8 Pro pricing.
None of this is confirmed by Garmin. With the Play Harder livestream set for Tuesday at 7:00 AM ET, we should not have to wait long.
I don’t get this constant release of new versions. Every device loses at least 30% of its value within a year. For example, I paid €900 for my Garmin Epix Pro two years ago, and now I could sell it used for maybe €350–400 at best. But to get the new flagship model (the 9-series that’s coming out), I’d need to pay an extra €1,000 or more on top of that. That’s basically throwing money away — literally. If Garmin (and other similar manufacturers) don’t offer some kind of trade-in or upgrade program, I’m out. I’m done with this game.
I have the same frustrations. The best way to do it is buy a new watch every 5 years or so (or longer if it functions fine) and get all the life out of it possible. The incremental differences on releases now is so minimal it’s not worth upgrading yearly.
You can buy a brand new epix pro for £350 (mainly due to the fact it’s no longer receiving any enhancements, only critical security updates) – as long as there’s a market – they’ll keep releasing.
Lol you talk like you HAVE to buy a new watch every year. My Fenix 6 is still perfectly fine
My Fenix 5 works perfectly
I think the profit motive is to blame.
I assume most aren’t buying a watch just to sell it in a years time. They’re buying it to train, race and adventure with. That’s where they’re extracting the watches value. After 5 years it’ll have run 5-6 ultras, 10-15 multiday hikes and helped me train and track fitness every day. I will have extracted thousands of dollars of value from the watch in that time.
Remember, you don’t need to buy the latest model. I’ve still got a Fenix 7 and will continue to keep it whilst it’s supporting my ultras and multi-days hikes.
Samsung has A great trade in program.
For everyone asking why I keep switching devices — I should just use it longer, right? Here’s the deal: I bought it and I use it every single day, all day long. And it’s genuinely excellent.
But I recently got more serious about freediving, and that means I need features specifically for it — which my Epix Pro doesn’t have, but the upcoming Phoenix 8 does. So now I’m questioning how worth it these expensive “toys” really are. A mechanical watch, for comparison, loses value at least 5x slower.
Going forward, for health and activity tracking I’ll just buy the cheapest model that covers what I actually need — and honestly, I’ve seen some much cheaper options that are more than good enough. The high-end flagships can be for people with a bit more money to burn.
Thanks for reading, everyone.
No one is forcing you to buy a new one every year
I want a Garmin with user replaceable battery so I don’t have to buy a new Garmin for a very long time. I’m loving my 4 year old Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar. Got absolutely everything I need except a user replaceable battery 👎 🔋
It’s user replaceable. You just need a jeweller’s screwdriver from Amazon which are maybe $5. Replacement batteries are all over the grey market. Took me a total of 10 mins to do on my Fenix 5+.
Don’t think you’re familiar with the Forerunner series. As with my FR955 solar. Those watches are glued and heat sealed. No screws. You would need to melt the glue and remove the face of the watch to replace the battery. Then glue it back. Also, the batteries are not generic off the shelf batteries. They change with model years and get discontinued a few years after that model is no longer made. But yeah, at least with most of the forerunner series, the job of replacing the battery is not just a simple unscrew and screw back the panel. That’s the way they should all be made.
I understand that garmin is trying to appeal to more luxurious look, but that added weight will in fact affect its heart rate accuracy, as well as comfort for extended period of time…
End of the day this is a sports watch, and should be built around as such 🙄
Agreed. I worry they’re going more upmarket in order to extract as much from the consumer as possible, much like Rolex has.
I guess I will be wearing a Forerunner in future if the trend to increase weight continues.
Why are they so damned big? Who wears these silly looking things? Until they return to a normal watch size of 38-40mm, they will continue to only sell to the yearly upgraders.
According gamerasnap.com render pictures have been leaked on the fenix 9 pictures. But source is not confirmed and pictures look kind of weird in the shape of the watches though.
that would make it like a little brother to the Marq series. But at an reasonable price