What’s different between the sapphire and non-sapphire models
When the fenix 5 watches were released, the Sapphire models were the only ones that had WiFi functionality. With the 5 Plus range, there is no functional difference between the Sapphire or non-Sapphire models. It’s simply a case of the Sapphire models using Sapphire glass, which does tend to offer more durability. Otherwise, you’ll enjoy the same functionality across all 5 Plus models.
Design/ Basic functionality
Like the original fenix 5 you can change up the watch home face to show different information like steps, calories burned, activities, sunrise/sunset, date and almost anything else that the watch tracks. This is great for making a custom sort of home page that has a lot of the basic information you want to check immediately.
Music works much in the same way as it did on the forerunner 645 music and vivoactive 3 music. I assume Garmin will be making music a staple for all their new premium watches much like optical HR sensors have become a staple feature.
In order to transfer music from your computer to the watch, you will need to use Garmin Express. If you have iTunes or Music Player software, Garmin Express should detect this automatically and display your playlists and song folders. If it doesn’t, you just need to select the folder in which you store your music and then move that over to your watch folder via Garmin Express.
Garmin Pay is also becoming a staple on the Premium watches, which is great in my opinion as it increases the demand for more banks to offer support for this payment method. At this point, Garmin Pay has the big four (ANZ, CommonWealth, NAB, Westpac) alongside a couple of smaller banks. Garmin’s also in talks to add more banks in the near future.
Another new feature worth discussing further is the Preloaded Topo maps available now on all the watch variations. Previously it was only available on the fenix 5X as that was the only watch with enough internal storage capacity. Thanks to the expanded storage of the 5 Plus range, Preloaded Topo maps will ship with every unit. The preloaded part is pretty important here as international versions of this watch will come with their country of origins maps preloaded. The end result for the user is immediate access to a comprehensive GPS map of their local - and national - surroundings. No downloads are required.
We also got to test out how effective the new Trendline routing feature is. Trendline popularity routing is akin to crowdsourcing a popular route. It utilises data from other Garmin users to highlight routes that have proven popular within a specific area. As an example, general Garmin routing will always provide you with the shortest possible route. While this could be great if you’re driving your car to work, what if you’re on your bike and cycling in an unfamiliar area? In this instance, Trendline routing could provide you with a route much better suited to cyclists, such as a quieter route with less traffic and better surfaces for cyclists to use. Another routing feature new to the fenix 5 Plus and fenix 5s Plus is the round-trip routing for runs and rides. This is an easy way to instantly get a suggested round-trip route based on a set distance.
Speaking of maps and routes, GPS satellite acquisition has also seen an improvement as Garmin has incorporated the Galileo Satellite constellation alongside the GPS and GLONASS constellations. This gives you better coverage than ever for when you’re off the grid.
With all of these new features, how do they impact the watch’s battery life? Regardless of the specific fenix 5 Plus watch you’re considering, overall battery life is comparable. There are three settings you’re likely to use your watch in, which are 1) basic smartwatch functionality, 2) GPS use, and 3) GPS+ Music use. When just functioning as a smartwatch, Garmin states you’ll get up to 10 days of battery life. While this is not the typical use of the watch, I personally got around 7 to 10 days out of my 5s. But yes, I don't use GPS... Battery life when using the GPS unsurprisingly takes a sharp dip, with an expected life of up to 13 hours. When using the GPS and music together (music is playing natively from the watch), you can expect up to 8 hours.
Activity Features and Tracking
Activity tracking has been made easier and more accurate with the new Plus models. Like the old models, you still have all the major preloaded activity modes for sports such as running, swimming, cycling, and skiing - the list goes on. Over time, Garmin’s also adding more preloaded modes. You have the full Heart Rate information available, which measures everything from Stress levels to VO2 max and establishing Lactate Threshold levels.
You can also use the watch to take a look at your training status phases or the training effect. This analysis is to help maximise your training efforts and, by extension, its effects to ensure you’re not overtraining or overworking yourself. This analysis has been available since the conception of the fenix 5 but I feel it’s worth pointing out that the fenix 5 Plus haven’t been dumbed down in any way. If you want to go into athlete level data analysis on your training performance, you have the ability to do so. I’ll probably just stick to smiling about achieving my steps and stairs for the day.
