Garmin Just Launched Two New Rugged Sport Watches

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Credit: Image courtesy of Garmin.

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Garmin has just unveiled two new premium adventure smartwatches: the Fenix 9 and the Fenix 9 Pro. The product announcement came earlier today in a YouTube live event called "Play Harder"—clearly taking a page out of the Google or Apple playbook for product launches.

The Garmin Fenix 9 starts at $999.99 and costs up to $1,149.99 depending on size and color combinations. The Fenix 9 Pro and Pro Solar start at $1,099.99 and go up to $1,249.99, depending on size and color. Both watches are already listed on Garmin's site, and orders officially open on Aug. 28. Here's what we know so far about these latest additions to the Garmin lineup.

What we know about the new Garmin Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro

Marketed as Garmin's "most advanced training, mapping, and connectivity experience yet," here are the most notable features we learned from today's livestream about the Fenix 9 and 9 Pro. Starting with design and style:

A brighter AMOLED display reaching up to 3,000 nits (for context, the Fenix 8 AMOLED is 1,000 nits).

A new 1.5-inch display option on the 51 mm Pro model (larger than Fenix 8 Pro's 1.4 inches).

The Fenix 9 Pro is the first Fenix smartwatch to feature a titanium watch case.

New ComfortFit accessory bands with a stretchy fabric design.

Here are the software updates that caught my eye:

Garmin Epic (not to be confused with its Epix line) is a new feature in Garmin Connect that lets you group multiple activities and training blocks into a single, shareable story.

New stamina tracking features—including stamina zones and stamina curve—show athletes how their endurance changes over time.

Additional indoor rowing insights and expanded rucking features (a nod to the growing rucking and hybrid-training crowd).

With 64 GB of memory, you can download twice as many maps as the Fenix 8, and store up to 7,000 songs.

Built-in routable maps that Garmin claims are "smoother and more intuitive than ever before." With 50% more RAM than the Fenix 8, map panning will allegedly get up to 30% faster.

For the first time, connectivity with inReach (Garmin's satellite communicators) is available on all Fenix 9 Pro size options.

The Fenix 9 Pro also offers the option for solar-charging displays.

Notably, the optical heart rate sensor hasn't changed—it's still the Elevate Gen 5 sensor from the last generation, so anyone hoping for a sensor bump will have to wait for a future release.

What this means for Garmin fans

As is no surprise these days, the steep pricing here suggests Garmin is positioning this as an evolutionary release for its most dedicated users, rather than a reasonable way for casual Fenix 8 owners to immediately upgrade.

The 16% thinner titanium case could be a big draw for existing Fenix fans. That said, as with any product launch, the marketing demos and spec sheets only tell part of the story. Things like real-world battery life, fit and comfort, and software stability tend to reveal themselves over weeks of actual use, so stay tuned for my full review after I get the chance to put this watch through its paces.

There's also a silver lining here: The Fenix 9's arrival has already pushed Fenix 8 prices down from $1,099.99 to $849.99. If you don't need titanium or the latest mapping engine, last year's model could be today's savvy value buy.