Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

This rugged smartwatch easily outsmarts its predecessors
 

If the smartwatches offered by Apple are a little too futuristic and minimalist for you, Garmin has long issued rugged outdoors-y style devices that don’t look too dissimilar from your stock standard watch from before the ”every must be connected” era. The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is less an evolution than a refinement, but it results in the company’s best smartwatch to date, marrying a dizzying array of features with the subdued flair of, you know, a regular watch.

There’s no reason why you can’t opt for a Fenix 6 Pro if you’re just after the usual smartwatch functionality, but at its core this is a sportsperson’s watch. Among its new features is a Body Battery tool, which as the name implies, monitors and displays your energy levels at any given time of day. Curious how much “energy” carving sourdough bread is sapping from you? You can learn with this. Equally handy, albeit niche, is the PacePro tool, which offers advice on your pacing depending on the terrain your tackling. You can punch in how long you’d like a run to be, and the tool will take the terrain into account in order to let you know how easy you can take it, or how much harder you’ll need to push.

This thing can even take your heart-rate underwater, which will please swimmers and triathlon enthusiasts. All the sports-oriented metrics you could possibly want can be recorded with the Fenix 6 Pro: running, cycling, lifting, and you can even download maps for golf courses and ski resorts onto it, with GPS support to boot. The 32GB of onboard storage will help with that, just as it will if you want to load it with inspiring mp3s. 

Yes, it’s loaded to the brim with features, but it’s also an aesthetically pleasing and functional unit. It’s a slight 82 grams on the wrist and is 14.7 thick on the display - managing to come in skinnier than its Fenix 5 Plus predecessor. It has a 1.3 inch screen with a more-than-adequate 260x260 resolution, but do be aware that it’s not a touch screen device. Result assured that it feels incredibly robust on the arm, eschewing the fragility of its  “computer on your wrist” competitors. Battery life is impressive too: 72 hours at most, and around 36 hours with GPS activated.

Basically, if you’re after a fitness-oriented smartwatch this model is a no-brainer, though it is justifiably expensive, especially if you opt for the lighter Titanium version, which can go for up to AU$1,150. The UI is snappy and intuitive, and if you’re used to touch screen smart watches you’ll probably be surprised how quickly you adapt to ye olde buttons and dials.

Score: 5 / 5

Verdict: If you’re after a smartwatch for heavy fitness and sports-oriented usage, the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro has pretty much everything you’ll ever need, and it’s a stylish piece of kit as well.