Đánh giá Garmin Epix Pro: kích thước nhỏ hơn, hấp dẫn hơn.
Một ngày nọ, ngái ngủ và đang đả mắt chạy sáng, tôi nhìn vào cổ tay và nghĩ rằng chiếc đồng hồ Garmin Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar Edition của mình trông lạ. Hiệu ứng của thuốc tăng cường vận động trước khi tập luyện chưa phát huy tác dụng, nên mất một vài giây tôi mới nhận ra rằng màn hình có thể đọc được trong một văn phòng tối mà không có ánh sáng. Sau đó, tôi nhớ ra rằng đồng hồ Fenix không có hiển thị OLED. Những gì tôi đang đeo là phiên bản Sapphire Edition của Garmin Epix Pro, có giá 999,99 đô la Mỹ. Tôi đã bị sốc. Cuối cùng, tôi hiểu tại sao đồng nghiệp của tôi, Thomas Ricker, lại háo hức khi xem xét về Epix vào năm ngoái.
Trong nhiều năm qua, dòng đồng hồ thông minh Fenix đã là sản phẩm độc đáo nhất của Garmin, đầy đủ các tính năng huấn luyện tiên tiến nhất và tuổi thọ pin được đo bằng tuần. Sau đó, vào năm ngoái, dòng Epix mới xuất hiện và đe dọa sự xuất sắc của dòng Fenix 7. Đó giống như nói: “Giữ giúp tôi lon bia. Tôi sẽ mang lại cho bạn một tuần tuổi thọ pin với màn hình OLED, và đoán xem, con nhợn, tôi cũng có tất cả những gì dòng Fenix 7 có”.
Có nhiều kích cỡ khác nhauVõ nhãn pin không thường xuyên cần thiếtThời gian pin tốtCảm biến GPS đa dảiNâng cấp cảm biến nhịp timKhởi đầu giá không thay đổiVấn đề rõ ràng phải thay đổi là sự tiêu tốn năng lượng pin từ 3 đến 4 ngàyNhiều thay đổi nhỏ Đây là một bài đánh giá Garmin, vì vậy, một lần nữa, ứng dụng này có ý nghĩa của nó. Cách đánh giá và đánh giá sản phẩm là thông qua sự trí tuệ, tôi hiểu vì sao nó lại hấp dẫn. Ngày nay, hầu hết mọi người sẽ không ngại trả thêm một chút tiền cho một màn hình OLED hiện đại nếu họ không phải hy sinh quá nhiều cho nó. Tôi cảm thấy lạnh lùng với Epix vì nó giống như đang đeo một cái bóng bầu dục nhỏ, và khác với dòng Fenix, tôi không có tùy chọn kích thước khác. Nhưng bây giờ, bản toán đã thay đổi khi Epix Pro và Fenix 7 Pro xuất hiện. Garmin đã thêm nhiều kích cỡ khác nhau, nâng cấp phần cứng và giữ giá cả mô hình cơ bản giống nhau. Bài viết này sẽ tập trung vào Epix Pro, nhưng tóm lại, năm nay, tôi gặp khó khăn hơn trong việc lựa chọn giữa dòng Fenix 7 và Epix.
Những sản phẩm tốt thường có kích cỡ nhỏNhược điểm là tuổi thọ pin từ 3 đến 4 ngàyCác thay đổi tăng dần Đây là một bài đánh giá của Garmin, vì vậy, một lần nữa, ứng dụng này cũng có ý nghĩa của nó. Nguyên tắc đánh giá và đánh giá sản phẩm là thông qua sự trí tuệ Cá nhân, tôi hiểu sự hấp dẫn của nó. Ngày nay, hầu hết mọi người không ngại trả thêm một chút tiền cho một màn hình OLED hiện đại nếu không phải hy sinh quá nhiều cho nó. Tôi cảm thấy ấm lòng với Epix vì cảm thấy như đang đeo một cái bóng bầu dục nhỏ, và khác với dòng Fenix, tôi không có tùy chọn kích thước khác. Nhưng bây giờ, bản toán đã thay đổi khi Epix Pro và Fenix 7 Pro xuất hiện. Garmin đã thêm nhiều kích cỡ khác nhau, nâng cấp phần cứng và giữ giá cả mô hình cơ bản không thay đổi. Bài viết này sẽ tập trung vào Epix Pro, nhưng tóm lại, năm nay, tôi gặp khó khăn hơn trong việc lựa chọn giữa dòng Fenix 7 và Epix. Các mẫu sản phẩm tốt lại đến từ những gói nhỏ nhắn. Lời oan cho Epix thế hệ thứ 2 lớn nhất của tôi là nó chỉ được cung cấp một kích cỡ: 47mm. Điều này rất đặc biệt khi xem xét rằng Garmin không bao giờ tiết kiệm với các sản phẩm SKU. Dòng Fenix 7, ví dụ, có phiên bản 42mm, 47mm và 51mm. Phải công bằng, 47mm là một kích thước khá phổ biến cho đồng hồ đa môn thể thao. Tôi có gón tay nhỏ và đã đeo các chiếc đồng hồ cùng kích thước và không bị phiền hà. Nhưng Epix thế hệ thứ hai không phải là một trong những chiếc đồng hồ to khổ mà đeo như thấu kính. Nó như một cái bóng nặng nề, mỏng manh và nặng nề đến nỗi đánh tay khi chạy cảm giác như đang tập luyện cùng trọng lượng nhỏ. Nó cũng không phải là một thứ tôi có thể đeo trong các dịp trang trọng, đặc biệt nếu dịp đó liên quan đến đeo váy hè hoặc bất kỳ áo sát nào.
Nhưng Epix Pro mà tôi đã thử nghiệm có kích thước 42mm. Điều đó tạo ra sự khác biệt. Nó vẫn có độ dày 14,2mm, nhưng khi chiếc đồng hồ không chiếm quá nhiều không gian, nó không còn quá đáng chú ý. Ngoài ra, phiên bản Sapphire Edition mà tôi đã xem xét có một vỏ titanium chỉ nặng 58g với dây đeo.(Phiên bản bình thường bằng thép không gỉ nặng 5g hơn.) Phiên bản Epix thường nặng 53g cho trường hợp một mình và 76g khi có dây đeo. Tôi vẫn cảm thấy Epix Pro làm nặng cổ tay khi tôi chạy, nhưng nó không làm phiền trong những lần chạy hàng ngày của tôi. Tôi chỉ bị xao lạc thực sự nếu tôi phải vặn nó mạnh trong khi chạy nhanh.
Những vấn đề của Garmin 47mm và 51mm không áp dụng cho tất cả mọi người. Đối với một số người, kích thước 47mm và 51mm thoải mái hơn so với 42mm. Điểm là không có hai người nào có cùng một c
Nguồn: https://www.theverge.com/23759824/garmin-epix-2-pro-review-smartwatch
The other day, sleep-deprived and dreading my morning run, I glanced at my wrist and thought my Garmin Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar Edition looked funny. The pre-workout hadn’t kicked in, so it took me a second to realize that I could read the screen in a dark office with no light on. Then, I remembered Fenix watches don’t have OLED displays. What I was wearing was the $999.99 Garmin Epix Pro Sapphire Edition. I was shooketh. Finally, I understood why my colleague Thomas Ricker had been so excited when he reviewed the Epix last year.
For years, the Fenix line has been the crème de la crème of Garmin smartwatches, brimming with the most advanced training features and battery life measured in weeks. Then, the new Epix rolled up last year and threatened the Fenix 7’s whole schtick. It was the equivalent of saying, “Hold my beer. I’m gonna give you a week of battery life with an OLED display, and guess what, nerds, I got everything the Fenix 7 lineup has.”
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Intellectually, I understood the appeal. These days, most people wouldn’t mind paying a little more for a modern OLED display if they’re not sacrificing much for it. I felt lukewarm toward the Epix because it felt like wearing a mini hockey puck, and unlike the Fenix series, I didn’t have other size options. But the calculus has changed now that the Epix Pro and the Fenix 7 Pro are in the mix. Garmin’s added more sizes, upgraded hardware, and managed to keep the base model price the same. This review is going to focus on the Epix Pro, but suffice it to say, this year, I’m having a harder time choosing between the Fenix 7 and Epix lineups.
Good things come in small packages
My biggest complaint with the Epix 2 was that it only came in one size: 47mm. That was odd considering Garmin’s never been one to skimp on SKUs. The Fenix 7 lineup, for example, comes in 42mm, 47mm, and 51mm.
To be fair, 47mm is a fairly standard size for a multisport watch. I’ve got petite wrists and have worn similarly sized watches and haven’t been bothered. But the second-gen Epix wasn’t one of those chunky watches that wears small. It comically overpowered my wrist and was so thick and heavy that swinging my arms while running felt like mini-weight training. It also wasn’t something I could wear to a formal occasion, especially if that occasion involved wearing a summer dress or any kind of tight-fitted sleeves.
But the Epix Pro I tested is 42mm. What a difference it makes. It’s still the same 14.2mm thick, but it’s not quite as noticeable when the watch itself doesn’t take up as much space. Plus, the Sapphire Edition I reviewed has a titanium case that only weighs 58g with the straps. (The standard stainless steel version is 5g heavier.) The regular Epix weighs 53g for the case alone and 76g with the straps. I can still feel the Epix Pro weighing down my wrist when I run, but it’s not distracting for my everyday runs. I only really get distracted if I have to book it during a sprint.
My problems with the 47mm and 51mm Garmins don’t apply to everyone. For some wrists, 47mm and 51mm are more comfortable than 42mm. The point is no two people have the same body, style, or preferences. Garmin sometimes errs on the side of overloading you with options, but I’d rather have too many choices than be effectively excluded from tools that may help me because of things I can’t control.
Design-wise, the Epix 2 Pro is fine. I wouldn’t call it distinctive, but it’s inoffensive enough to blend in while also giving you some personalization options via its swappable 20mm straps. They’re proprietary Garmin Quickfit straps, which are, in fact, quick to put on. The official ones start at $50, but there are plenty of third-party options as well. Just do your homework with the latter to make sure your device is compatible.
I see the light
The Epix Pro isn’t a huge upgrade over the Epix (gen 2). Garmin doesn’t really gatekeep features to devices so long as they have the required hardware. But there are two things that the Epix Pro — and the Fenix 7 Pro — has that its regular counterparts don’t: a new heart rate sensor and LED flashlights.
The new optical heart rate sensor is, as you might guess, meant to improve activity tracking. But another important thing to note is that there’s a notable change in the Pro’s sensor array design. There are several more LEDs and what looks to be EKG electrodes surrounding them. More sensors generally mean better accuracy, while the latter hints that EKG features may be in the Pro’s future. (Right now, only the Venu 2 Plus supports EKGs for atrial fibrillation detection, but Garmin has stated it hopes to expand the feature to other devices down the line.)
A new heart rate sensor for Garmin is worth noting. While Garmin’s fitness and training features are great, its health features don’t always hit the mark. Sleep tracking, for instance, is fine for overall duration, but its sleep stages can vary widely from what I get on the Oura Ring. A more accurate sensor ought to mean better health tracking because you’re getting better data — but two weeks of testing isn’t long enough for me to notice a dramatic difference just yet.
More exciting is the LED flashlight. When I heard Garmin introduced this on the 51mm Fenix 7X (and only the 7X), I was bummed since I wasn’t going to sacrifice comfort if I had the option. It’s since arrived on other Garmin watches, but this has been my first chance to try it out, and it’s low-key the best feature on the Pro.
Technically, it’s meant to help you see better at night on trails, or you can use the strobe effect to perhaps signal for help. There’s even a running feature where it flashes white on your arm’s upswing and red on the downswing so motorists can see you better at night. (For safety reasons, I don’t run alone at night, so I wasn’t able to put that to the test.) You can choose between red or white light, and at maximum brightness, it’s comparable to my iPhone 14 Pro Max’s flashlight. But the point is that it’s hands-free and useful outside of fitness.
Did the cat bat my hair clip under the bed at 4AM? I can double-press the top-left button, and voila. I have both hands and a light to search for the dang thing. Need to redo cable management behind the TV or underneath my desk where no light touches? Bam. Handy flashlight, and I don’t have to stick a penlight in my mouth if I want to use both hands. I definitely didn’t expect to use the flashlight as much as I did, especially since my Apple Watch Ultra also has a flashlight. But it’s just so easy to double-click a button, whereas you have to either swipe to get to the control center or program the action button to get the same effect — while perhaps losing a more preferred functionality.
Software and training
I’ve used more Garmin devices than I can count, and yet, with each new review, I uncover something I’ve never seen before. Sometimes it’s a genuinely new feature. Other times, they’re things that’ve been there all along and buried in some menu or setting I wasn’t aware of.
This time around, the new metrics are Hill Score and Endurance Score. After two weeks of running outdoors, the Hill Score will help you gauge your ability to run up hills, steps, and climbs. I’ve been running regularly for the past two weeks, but the Pro has yet to show me a Hill Score. Not that I need it to. I know it’s going to be something along the lines of Nelson from The Simpsons pointing and laughing at me. This is fairly typical and not necessarily a con unless you happen to be a reviewer — I had a similarly longer-than-average wait time with the HRV Status metric while reviewing the Forerunner 255S.
The Endurance Score takes your VO2 max and training loads across multiple activities and spits out a score that indicates… well, your endurance. Mine’s not very impressive — I’ve been banished to the border of “recreational” and whatever comes after that. It’s fair. I haven’t had a great year performance-wise. On the flip side, the feature says that, over the past four weeks, my VO2 max is at a good level with a solid base to improve my score. I’m not entirely sure what to do with the score, however. I have enough endurance to run for about three hours, and if that’s recreational, then cool.
The other new features of note are overlays for topographical maps. For example, you can see the temperature, precipitation, cloud coverage, and wind. You’ll then be able to see a nifty little animation forecasting conditions for that overlay over the next few hours. It’s neat, but a little confusing, too. You can only access overlays from the weather widget in the main menu — not from the wrist during an activity as you normally would. I’d say this is more of a feature for prepping for an outdoor activity than navigating one. Again, this was another “neat” feature that I don’t necessarily see myself using a lot, but I could see it being good for hikers. I want maps on my wrist so I don’t have to pull out my phone mid-run. If the weather overlays are for prepping and planning, then… I have bigger ones on my phone.
These software updates aren’t exclusive to the Epix Pro — they’re available on the Fenix 7 Pro lineup. Plus, Garmin isn’t one to gatekeep software features. Hill Score and Endurance Score are likely to make their way to other Garmins before long, so long as they have the appropriate hardware. What is unique to the Epix Pro is a new red shift mode for better nighttime visibility. It… turns everything red and is pretty much the same as the feature Apple introduced on the Ultra. Again, I try not to walk anywhere alone at night, which is when this would be most useful. Instead, I sat in a dark closet and can confirm it is readable. This is a feature I’m more inclined to try on my next hiking trip, away from New York City light pollution, before I pass judgment.
Those are just my thoughts based on two weeks of use. Sometimes these kinds of training features and metrics take time to reveal their usefulness. Other times, they are just… not all that useful. I’ll have a more concrete idea of how I feel about these features after I’m done testing the Fenix 7S Pro right after this. That said, I question how many more features Garmin can add at this point. The Garmin Connect app is already cluttered with more data points than I know what to do with, and while I find a good number of them helpful, my brain hurts thinking about all of them.
Perfect example: this thing also has a jet lag advisor. It’s supposed to give guidance on how best to recover from the accursed affliction. I haven’t crossed several time zones these past few weeks, however, so it’s another feature I haven’t gotten the chance to try out yet and will promptly forget about before I do.
Otherwise, training with the Epix Pro has been exactly what I expected — typical Garmin dependability, an overstuffed app, good recovery features, so-so sleep tracking, a good selection of workout suggestions, and great GPS maps. The Epix Pro also has multiband GPS, on top of all-systems GNSS, so I never really worried about wonky maps. (Though, we’ll see how it fares at my 10K this weekend. Race day GPS jitters are real for smartwatches, apparently.)
As with the Epix, battery life is good. With the always-on display enabled, I got about 3.5 days with an average of 30–45 minutes of GPS activity per day. Not amazing but solid when you consider this is the smallest 42mm version. Garmin says the larger 47mm ought to get six days with AOD on, while the 51mm gets up to 11 days. (Bigger watches do have the benefit of larger batteries.) When I turned AOD off, I got a much more impressive nine days. The 47mm gets an estimated 16 days, while the 51mm can get up to 31 days. So I made some tradeoffs in opting for the more comfortable option, but it’s one where I feel I still come out on top.
To go Pro or not to go Pro
I actually can’t give a final final verdict yet. I’ve got the Fenix 7S Pro on deck, and there’s a chance that its improved memory-in-pixel display and the potential for longer battery life will win me over. But if you don’t already have an Epix or are petite-wristed, I recommend the Epix Pro instead. You are essentially getting the same watch with better sensors and more flexibility with regard to comfort — plus a very useful flashlight. Unless you find a killer markdown during a sale, the Epix Pro is the better value.
I’d also recommend this over the Fenix 7S — the non-Pro one, at least. The battery life isn’t as good, but my biggest issue with that watch was the display was hard to read indoors. The Pro is much easier on my eyes for everyday use.
If you’ve already got a 7S or Epix, this isn’t a necessary upgrade. It’s only been a year, Garmin has a reputation for rolling out software to every possible eligible device, and the Epix Pro is an incremental hardware update. That is the sensible advice I have to give. But if I’m honest, this watch tempts me to be less sensible. For me, the size better suits my smaller wrists, I get so much use out of the flashlight, and its new sensors are more futureproof than the standard Epix or Fenix 7 watches. So long as you’re not putting yourself in a bad financial situation (or if you find a good sale), I think this is one instance where it’s okay to indulge a bit.
Photography by Victoria Song / The Verge
Agree to continue: Garmin Epix Pro
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.
To use the Garmin Epix Pro, you must pair it with an iPhone or Android smartphone. That includes the phone’s terms of service, privacy policy, and any other permissions you grant. You must also create a Garmin Connect account to use the app.
By setting up the Garmin Epix Pro, you’re agreeing to:
All of Garmin’s privacy and legal policies are available within the Garmin Connect app. You must also grant the Garmin Connect app certain phone permissions for Bluetooth, calendar, location, and notifications. Additionally, optional safety features like LiveTrack also come with an end-user license agreement. You may also have to agree to share your health data with the company for certain features. If you decide to enable Garmin Pay, you’ll also have to agree to the Garmin Pay Terms and Conditions and Garmin Pay Privacy Policy. Integrating your Garmin activity data with other services, like Strava, Spotify, or Apple HealthKit, also requires you to agree to those individual terms and policies.
Final tally: whatever your phone requires, plus three mandatory Garmin policies and four phone permissions for smart features. There are additional policies for optional health insights, contactless payments, and safety features.
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