Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire Hands-On

In the past months, Garmin launched in the Philippines its new line of wearables that cater to different kinds of users, including the new Fenix 6 family, which rugged multisport GPS watches packed with plenty of features. One of them is the Fenix 6 Sapphire. Check out our hands-on below.

One of the first things we noticed about the Fenix 6 is its rugged yet sophisticated look. The unit we have has a gray color with an orange band. It has a titanium case with visible screws at the top.

Unlike typical smartwatches in the market, this one has plenty of buttons. There’s three on the left and two on the right. All of them are metal, which matches the premium case. The buttons are there for navigation because it doesn’t have a touch display. More on that later.

Under the watch is a titanium covering that houses the sensors and the charging port. From here, you can also access the latch to remove the strap.

Now, let’s talk about the display. It has a 1.3-inch screen with a 260 x 260 resolution and protected by sapphire glass. Unlike other smartwatches that use AMOLED screens, the Fenix 6 uses a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) colored screen. The quality isn’t great when you use the LED backlight, but when viewed under a strong light source, like the sun or artificial lighting, it’s one of the clearest displays I’ve ever seen. This is perfect for hiking or running outdoors during the day, as the screen is always visible.

The Fenix 6 Sapphire has a size of 47 x 47 x 14.7 mm. If you like big watches, you’ll love this one. It’s chunky, a bit hefty, but comfortable and very attractive.

As for the features, it’s got tons! You have your usual clock features with GPS Time Sync, automatic daylight saving time, and sunrise/sunset times. For sensors, it has GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, heart rate, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, Pulse Ox, and a 10ATM water resistance.

It connects to your smartphone using the Garmin Connect app via WiFi and Bluetooth. It also offers features like step counter, sleep monitoring, activity tracking, body battery energy monitor, stress tracking, workout tracking, training planning, and analysis, and support for specific activities like Golfing, Cycling, Swimming, and Running. There are too many features to mention, so if you want to get acquainted with all of them, you can click here.

As for longevity, the battery life of the Fenix 6 is insane. I’ve recently toured Singapore for four days, and the battery life is still at 100%. In smartwatch mode, it can last up to 14 days. It can even extend to 48 days in battery saver watch mode. Charging, on the other hand, is via a proprietary cable that you can plug to any powered USB-A socket.

Given the mentioned features and premium materials, the Fenix 6 Sapphire comes with a hefty price tag of PHP 54,995USD 937INR 79,446EUR 893CNY 6,825. It’s obviously not for the casual user, but if you’re a serious outdoorsman and in need of a watch that can keep up with your activities, this is the one to get.