Garmin Epix Battery Life Review - Extended Testing w More Detailed Results

[@arkhurdler7308]

Argh, pulled the pin on the Epix 2 and a HRM Pro. Just couldn't live with the AW battery and multi apps like you and missed all the Germin Fenix 6X measures I was used to...can't wait.

[@fitgearhunter]

Yes! So so glad to hear - that combo pack will be bulletproof. Feel confident you'll love it - thanks for commenting.

[@danielricher5846]

Zillion of thanks for this test! I am a bit shocked 😲 since the always on display reaches 6 days as stated by garmin but doesn't reach 16 days as stated by garmin. In all your test, pulse ox was on during the night and you still reached over 6 days for always on display. So, it is disappointing that the 16 days promise by garmin for always on off was not reached. Thanks again for listening to suggestions by your followers. Great job my friend! Daniel

[@fitgearhunter]

Thank you! The 16 days was for sure possible if I hadn't turned up the brightness a notch and turned on pulse ox - those two play a big factor. Out of the box it had brightness at 33%, or 'Low'. It's still industry leading no matter which method you use (AOD on or off). Thanks!

[@dominicjrf]

To get the advertise battery life, it would have to be manufacturer default settings...

[@fitgearhunter]

@@dominicjrf Yep

[@IgnasFilm]

Great test, just what I needed (scenario no 2). But what is the hit from Pulse Ox? My FR945 gets somewhat -1,5 to -2 days with PulseOx ON at night, so its a big hit on battery. Could we presume that turning PulseOx to manual would add extra 1,5 or 2 days extra to Epix? How do you think?

[@fitgearhunter]

Yes that's exactly what I think, and it depends on what you've set your sleep or do not disturb times to be. If longer (like 10pm to 8am) then the pulse ox will have even more dramatic of an affect on battery life. And yes scenario 2 is 100% may daily approach all the way. Thanks!

[@ManuelAMartinez]

Great review. The Epix 2 battery is very impressive. Garmin has a winner for those who want an AMOLED screen.

[@fitgearhunter]

Yep! 100%. Thanks for saying!

[@JanKyselka]

Hello there, how many hours of GPS activities did you have per day during the test?

[@Peakabike]

Not getting as much, latest try with AOD off and gesture and Ox off, with 5 hours of running : 7.3 days (4% left, got the overall estimate from the battery widget). Still pretty decent of course.

[@fitgearhunter]

That's interesting - it must be the GPS drain I guess - what brightness setting? You should be getting more for sure

[@Peakabike]

@@fitgearhunter medium too. Yes GPS drain probably explains it. How much GPS use for you on average?

[@fitgearhunter]

@@Peakabike hey! I only used it for 20-30 min or gps a week - max. Sorry your drain has been worse!

[@theunknownsamurai7426]

Which watch and ecosystem do you recommend for someone who does weightlifting and sled work. It would also have to work with the polar h10. Thank you 👍

[@fitgearhunter]

Hey! All watches work with the H10 for the most part. I think Garmin’s platform is by far the most advanced and complete. I would look at the 745, 945, 945 LTE (and this over previous two), the Fenix 7, or Epix. If price is an issue the Fenix 6 with a chest strap for workouts is still completely solid too. Thanks!

[@theunknownsamurai7426]

@@fitgearhunter I appreciate the response. Do the Garmin watches you mentioned display the heart rate from the h10 on the watch itself? Thank you

[@johnmanley4528]

It’s good to see that you are getting what Garmin has advertised. When I was wearing my Vivoactive 3, I never got close to what Garmin advertised for the battery.

[@fitgearhunter]

yes it's always less than out of the box, because once things like pulse ox are adding the equation changes - thanks!

[@johnmanley4528]

@@fitgearhunter Out of curiosity, have you tested it with pulse ox disabled? Not sure if that was in the video or not.

[@JN32006]

I’m a longtime fenix user (3x, 5x, 6x) and I’m going to upgrade to the 7x. Though the AMOLED display is somewhat impressive, it appears the AOD isn’t true “always on” because the display dims after the timeout period and loses components of the watch face including the second hand or digital seconds. Garmin's TFT displays are truly “always on” in all but the lowest lighting conditions or at night and I get to view the second hand or digital seconds at all times. Yes, the Epix is a higher resolution screen compared to the 7x and has 64,000 colors. Though I’d rather have the lower resolution screen and the 64 colors of the 7x which is a true “always on” display. To be honest, the Epix AMOLED display is a little to gimmicky for me at this time. When Garmin can get at least a couple of weeks of battery life out a true always on AMOLED display, I may reconsider in the future. Until then, I will stick to Garmin's tried and tested TFT displays which are reliable and facilitate long battery life. With all of this said, too each their own!

[@fitgearhunter]

Yes I totally hear you - I am still adjusting the to AMOLED. I think the TFT is still burned into my brain, but (for me) the AMOLED is so much more legible when a message pops up or when I go in to dive into the details. I WILL say that I wish there was a brightness setting for the AOD dimmed display, but it's okay for me, and I'm still keeping wrist gesture on for full brightness. I completely understand - the 7X is the ONE that I've wrestled with wanting alongside the Epix - namely bc w the battery life I could jack up the brightness to full tilt, and would have the flashlight, which i really really like. Thanks for commenting!

[@bvrbvs]

What are benefits of Pulse ox monitoring at night?

[@bvrbvs]

I tried AoD off as well, and couldn't live with it. 6 days with AoD on is great

[@fitgearhunter]

yes totally! 6 days with amoled always on is industry leading in almost every regard, considering all of the other things it does and tracks. Thanks!

[@gordontweston]

Thank heck I bought a Coros and don’t need to even think about the battery.

[@dominicjrf]

how about PulseOx all day?

[@fitgearhunter]

Pulse ox on all day would have a dramatic affect on battery life - I would say bringing it down to 3-4 days with AOD and 10 days with AOD off. Thanks!

[@dominicjrf]

@@fitgearhunter my garmin fenix 7s brings it down from 10 to 7 days. That's including every second data recording, HRV log, every second HR and all day PulseOx. it's roughly about the same terms of percentage.

[@fitgearhunter]

@@dominicjrf wow that's great then - they've really grown the battery efficiency considerably from the F6 then - thank you so much for sharing.