Garmin unveiled the Fenix 9 series on the UTMB stage, an event where the brand had already announced the first Fenix 6 with solar charging back in 2019. The Fenix 9 range is built around a three-part hardware, colours and connectivity lineup. And, unlike the previous generation spread over two years, Garmin is announcing the Fenix 9 and the Fenix 9 Pro together this time.
The main point of the new features, as announced by Garmin, lies in the combination of a more powerful processor and a new mapping engine, which improve smoothness by 30% on the Fenix 9 Pro. The argument is also comparative: the standard Fenix 9 does not benefit from this new processor, placing it “one notch lower” on the hardware side.
According to the source, the Fenix 9 Pro inReach corresponds to a version designed for connectivity, but it depends on activation via subscription. Activation of LTE and satellite connections is done through a subscription that you will need to activate (and pay for), and if you don’t buy an inReach version, you will never be able to “benefit” from the service. On the feature side listed, the source mentions in particular LiveTrack, messages, weather and SOS.
The display is also a differentiator between Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro. The Fenix 9 Pro AMOLED in the 51 mm format goes down to 38 mm in diameter, while the Fenix 9 51 mm remains at 35.5 mm. The source also specifies an on-screen ratio that increases from 48% to 56%, and notes that this does not apply to the Pro Solar 51 mm versions, which must leave room for the photovoltaic ring.
