The Garmin Fenix E is a multisports watch that offers a route to Garmin’s core Fenix features for less money.
This is still a rugged watch that can track your runs, let you view full maps, runs on Garmin’s latest software and give you good battery life too.
Tester Mike has been testing the Fenix with the essentials to see tell you how it differs from the Fenix 8, how it compares to watches it’s clearly going up against, and whether this is actually the Fenix model that runners should be picking up.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:10 – Price and key Fenix 8 differences
02:18 – The Good
05:52 – The Bad
08:50 – Verdict and comparisons
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Hey this is mar the runers now back in 2024 when gin announced the phoenix8 and The Enduro 3 it also unveiled the Phoenix e now I didn't scream and shout About this new addition to the Phoenix Family but this does offer another Affordable and I'll say affordable at The top end of watches option in the Phoenix family now what exactly is the Phoenix e with the E stands for Essential and what Garmin is saying it's Giving you essential features from the Phoenix watch will cost you a lot more In a cheaper design with some features Stripped back but you will get that core Kind of experience from this watch now As you can imagine we are inundated with Watches to test and this is one that we Decided to go back because think it's Worth talking about worth spending some Time getting to sense of whether this is Actually a watch that you should be Buying and looking out for so what I'm Going to do is take you through what the Phoenix e is about and I've given you a Little bit of a kind of brief rundown About that how it differs from the Phoenix a and give you a sense of how I've got on running with it and whether This is a good Phoenix watch to buy or a Weird addition to garmin's [Music] Range so here's a quick rundown of the Things you need to know about the Garmin
Phoenix e as mentioned the E stands for Essentials and aims to give you some but Not all of the features available on the Phoenix 8 that does mean it comes in Cheaper than the Phoenix 8 considerably And sits around the price of watches Like the polar grit X2 Pro Apple watch Ultra 2 and the Garmin epic Pro now There's just a 47 mm case size that does Feature an AML display and is waterproof Up to 100 m but most no be lacks the Phenix 8 leak proof buttons LED Flashlight and option of a sapphire Crystal lens it runs on the same Software as the pricier Phoenix models Which means access to all of the same Running Smartwatch mapping navigation And training features it doesn't miss Out on gin's multiband GPS and satti key Modes it also misses out on new voice Features Fe and has 16 GB as opposed to 32 GB of storage to play with battery Life is up to 16 days which drops to 6 Days with the display set to always on There are Max battery and Expedition GPS Modes to push tracking battery further At the expense of the most accurate GPS [Music] Data so let's start with the good stuff And I think from a design point of view It feels like you are using a phoenix Watch now you're not getting all of Those new kind of design elements you're Not getting those leak proof but buttons
You're not getting a flashlight here you Are not getting the best protection in Terms of that kind of display not the Highest resolution am display you can Get on a phoenix watch either so there Are some kind of downgrades some I think You know I missed more than others but I Think you know in terms of feeling like A phoenix watch absolutely does I think Going for the 47 mm version if it's only Going to go for onek size option that is The one that I would go and I think it's Going to work for most people as I said With the screen it's not the highest Resolution screen that you're going to Get on a phoenix watch when you compare It to the same size Phenix 8 but for me The resolution is absolutely fine the Software runs very slick on that screen As well and I think visibility wise it All works pretty well for me so I think From that point of view design Absolutely fine so next up for me is the Software now the Phoenix is running on The latest version of Carmen's software It's the same software that runs on the Phoenix 8 and uro 3 now what's important Here first and foremost is that when it Comes to software updates this is a Watch will support those updates now Obviously given the hardware differences You know not everything will be able to Roll back you know that wall on the Phoenix8 and nin 3 to the Phoenix e but
If it's very software Centric then that Gives the Phoenix E8 the capability to Support those updates from that core Software experience on the watch it Feels very good and you know having used It on the Phoenix e and more longterm on Injur 3 in the Phoenix 8 it's definitely A software that I've you know grown to Appreciate and you know with the changes Another good thing here is that Garmin Is offering its full gamut of kind of Training insights training metrics Training features and if you know Everything you would find on a phoenix 8 You're going to get on the Phoenix E From a training Insight point of view You got those kind of training redness Insights which I really like and I think Works really well on the Phoenix range And G watches in general that support it Then you can kind of dig in deeper if You want those kind of more in depth Detailed more isolated kind of metrics And I think as a package presenting it On the watch I think and you know Improving terms of that presentation of The watch in the G Connect app I think You know you know it works very well for Me and I think of all the kind of sports Watches you know I think Garmin does the Best job in terms of presenting that Data I'd probably add as well is the Battery life now it's a phoenix watch You know it is a phoenix watch with an
An display you do want to see good Battery life and the good news is it is Good battery life here it's not going to Give you the best at batch life in the Phoenix range but you know Garmin it is Kind of touting kind of up to 16 days or Six days always on I found on kind of Lighter days it was maybe 10 to 15% drop That's kind of the raise to wake and Maybe on heavier days it was kind of 20 25% um an hour's worth of running you Know you not got the Dual Band mode Which does drain the battery quicker That's kind of 3% off an hour's worth of Running in that kind of top GPS mode add In that always on display and it is Going to be you know less days going to Be less than a week if you are tracking During that time as well if you're doing Lighter tracking then it can push closer To that week but I think in general I've Been happy with the battery performance On The Phoenix watch I know this is Something that's capable of lasting a Week if you're willing to sacrifice that Always on display um but if you are Using that screen 24/7 then you can get Less than a week but I still think you Know compared to some other watches that I'll talk about that it's clearly Competing against then you know it holds Up very well on that [Music] Front so in terms of things I didn't
Absolutely love about my time with the Phoenix e it really kind of stems with The things that Garmin decided to strip Away from the Phoenix e compared to the Phoenix 8 now some of these things I Could arguably live without I think you Know the speaker and microphone I mean It's not something I've massively used On the Phoenix 8 in my time with or felt Compelled to use it that much you I'm Not going to massively miss the leak Proof buttons some of the kind of Elements around the extra durability I Think it's a shame they're not there but I can understand why those sacrifices Been made to make this watch a little Bit cheaper I think the ones that really Stand out for me I think from a design Point of view I think it's surprising That the LED flashlight isn't there I Think that's proved I think particularly For me which I thought initially felt a Little bit gimmicky is actually Something I found a lot more useful to Have and it's a shame that Garmin hasn't Managed to retain that I think the other Thing for me is really around the GPS Support now you're getting that multi Gns support not the multiband or dual B Mod as know kind of referred to by other Kind of watch makers uh and you know in General that multi gns works fine but When I've tested it in more you know Extreme kind of circum when I took it
Away recently to Dubai and I had the Apple watch Ultra 2o with me you know There's a lot of tall buildings a Perfect kind of a you know scenario to Test how well the GPS works and you know Most GPS watches are going to struggle Around environments like that you know For me that's a disappointing thing to Be missing now you don't have the latest Of kind of gin's optical heart rate Sensor technology here so Gen 4 so the Gen 5 that elevate heart rate sensor now I don't find them generally particularly To be very good for me anyway just Generally fine for steady pce workouts Those kind of things now obviously know Gen 5 did see a little bit of an Improvement on that front I think you Not massive amount but a little bit of An improvement I think the Gen 4 it's You know my experience has been very Similar to other Garian watches that use That Gen 4 sensor again five steady pce Workouts more High intense kind of Intensity stuff it struggles and you Know max heart rate readings just aren't Quite there you know that's kind of what I found in my time so I can't say that I've hated my time with the G Phoenix e It's a pretty solid multi sports watch You know if you're running outside of Running it's been perfectly fine you're Getting good level of Smartwatch Features from you know that you'd expect
To see on gin's kind of top end watches You can't help but not compare it to the Phenix a and given that you know it is Cheaper you know the decision making to Strip certain features which I think Some absolutely Mak sense others you Know I would definitely question and Whether it could still offer those and You know still give you something for a Little bit less than the Phoenix 8 so in General my experience has been good but I think you know there are definitely Been some disappointing elements to Discover you know spending time with the Phoenix e and realizing what it doesn't Offer compared to the Phoenix 8 because You know while G does talk about this as Being a essential version of the Phoenix Watch I think you know there's probably A few features I expected to be there That weren't [Music] Included so my vot on the Garmin Phoenix E now I don't think there's anything Inherently wrong with this watch I think You know it's when you compare it to What else is in garmin's range then that Is where the problem kind of Lies really One way to look at it is when you look At it against the Phenix 8 all those Features that have been removed that Spoken about for spending a little bit Less money I think there's definitely a Question mark on the features that have
Or you know design elements that have Been chosen to be dropped here on the Phoenix E I think particularly I think It would have made it more interesting If it included that kind of dual ban GPS If it included that LED flashlight I Think maybe had that kind of Extra Protection in terms of having that Sapphire kind of Crystal there which I Know obviously adds a little bit more to The price the other features they Dro Those features and kind of focus on Those things kept the software like it Has done and kept that software up to Date you know with the other Garmin kind Of Phoenix watches and I think you know There could be an argument to say this Is a good watch a cheaper alternative Phoenix to go for but I think the way You have to look at it is if you look at It other watches in garmin's range I Think you know the epics Pro which you Know this is something that Garmin is Kind of you know phasing out in favor For the Phoenix AMOLED um which now kind Of effectively replaces it you know you Can still pick that up it's maybe Slightly more expensive but in terms of The features that you're in you know Gaining for a little bit more money uh If you go for that Sapphire edition you Know the sapphire glass the Dual Band The flashlight um just generally the Kind of Hardway features that I thought
We would see on the Phoenix E I think It's clear for me that this is a Response to the Apple watch Ultra 2 Maybe L out to the Samsung Galaxy watch Ultra and if you look at it from that Perspective is it bettering the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in terms of what it gives You as a running watch I think you know Battery life it probably does better it I think you know the native mapping Sport for running is a bit better Equipped on the uh Garmin watch as well The app watch Ultra 2 is giving you Really strong dual bound performance you Are you know able to get that kind of Good mapping sport for running through Third party apps you know what you're Getting in that package you know Particularly for an iPhone point of view Or iPhone user point of view than is a Lot to like I just think you know if Garmin were a little bit more strategic About the Phoenix e in terms of the Features that included and didn't Include I think there would be a much Stronger argument for a lot of people to Say this is the watch that you go for Over in Apple watch Ultra 2 you know Ignore the Apple watch Ultra 2 go for This watch instead instead what happens Is you know there's a bit more of a Decision to be made there and I think There are definitely reasons to still go For the applewatch ultra 2 over the
Phoenix e and I think again as I said Looking at the Epic Pro which is an Older watch doesn't run on that later Software but has a lot more features From a hardware point of view that you Know will get you a very good experience From a slightly older watch that still Has its place so yeah for me the Phoenix Eat a good watch a good running watch a Good you know performing Phoenix watch But I think in terms of the grand scheme Of things and where it sits in the Garing range I don't think it makes a Massive amount of sense to grab this Watch over other watches only outside of That kind of software or getting access To that newer software for a little bit Less money but from that point of view I Think the software isn't that bad on the Epic Pro and as I said the Apple watch Ultra 2 still feels like a good option At this price given what Garmin hasn't Quite done on the Phoenix e okay so you Have it our running review of the Garmin Phoenix e now if you got any questions About this watch or other watches you Want to see it compared to do let us Know as always like And subscribe hit That little bell to find out about L's Videos and yeah see you for next FR Test's video [Music]
