Garmin recently launched a series of new watches with built-in solar cells, where battery life can be extended with solar energy. I tested the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar, and in this article, I will go through all the watch's key features.
I have had the watch for several months, and in this test, I will delve into the watch's SOLAR features, that is, the built-in solar cells which can extend the watch's battery life. But it will also be a walkthrough of 6 model, where I show what it can do.
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar essentially has the same features as
, called something with Garmin Fenix 6 Pro or Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire. I have listed all the watches here:
Garmin Fenix 6S Pro, Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro
Garmin Fenix 6S Sapphire, Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire, Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire
Garmin Fenix 6S Pro Solar, Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar
Garmin Fenix 6S vs. Fenix 6 vs. Fenix 6X
All watches in the
, called something with “6S” are the smallest physically. The diameter of the watch face is 42 mm.
The watches called “6” (and nothing after) are the medium size physically. Here, the diameter of the watch face is 47 mm. This is the size I have here.
And all watches called something with “6X” are the largest physically. Here, the diameter is 51 mm.
The larger the watch, the larger the screen, and there are also some differences in terms of battery life, where the largest watches have larger batteries than the smallest, thus having longer battery life. But functionally, the models can do the same, whether they are called Fenix 6S, Fenix 6, or Fenix 6X.
Language on Garmin Fenix 6
As you will see in this article, my watch is set to English. It's something I have personally gotten used to, but you can of course also set it to Danish or any other language.
A world-class multisport watch
I primarily tested the watch's running features. But I assure you, no matter what other sport you might take up, you won't lack data. This watch is for those who don't compromise on equipment and want the best of the best in multisport watches.
Clearer screen on Garmin Fenix 6 Solar compared to Fenix 6 Sapphire
The first thing I noticed when I put on the Fenix 6 Pro Solar was that the screen, compared to the Fenix 6 Sapphire, is easier to read outdoors. I never previously thought the screen on Fenix 6 Sapphire was hard to read, and it isn't as such. But when you place the two watches side by side, there is indeed a significant difference. The sapphire glass on the Fenix 6 Sapphire creates quite a bit of glare, which the glass on the Fenix 6 Pro Solar hardly does.
Left: Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire. Right: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar.
The glass on the Fenix 6 Pro Solar is something called Corning Gorilla Glass. It's the same type of screen glass found on almost all newer . It has great scratch resistance, but it's not quite as scratch-resistant as the sapphire glass on the Fenix 6 Sapphire, which is nearly impossible to damage.
Impressive battery life in the Garmin Fenix 6 series
Garmin's Fenix 6 series is already known for having a really long battery life (read more in our inspiration universe - for example, about the Solar series.) But as something new, this version of the Fenix 6, namely Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar, is equipped with built-in solar cells that can extend the watch's battery life even more. All Garmin watches called something with SOLAR have this feature.
calls the screen technology "Power Glass." And if you look closely at the picture below, you can actually see the solar cell as this 1 mm thin ring (marked with the red arrows) that goes all the way around the edge of the screen. But there's also a transparent solar cell that covers the entire screen, you just can't see it with the naked eye. The solar cell that encircles the screen is 10 times more efficient than the "hidden" solar cell covering the rest of the screen.
Left: Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire. Right: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar.
has provided values for the battery life of the new SOLAR watches, assuming optimal solar conditions. But in an everyday setting like mine, where I spend much of my time indoors, the conditions are not optimal!
So I set out to determine how much of a difference the Solar Technology makes in battery life when I use the watch in an average everyday setting.
So for 14 days, I've worn both a 6 Sapphire and a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar and subjected them to exactly the same conditions. Aside from the extra contribution from the solar cells in the Fenix 6 Pro Solar, the two watches have the same battery capacity on paper.
The result of my little test will be revealed at the end of this article.
Garmin Fenix 6 - Overview
But first, I want to show you the main features found in the Garmin Fenix 6 series. I won't go over all of them, because there are really, really many (!), but I will show you everything I personally use the most.
If we start by looking at the home screen, you can see a lot of data displayed here, and you can customize it exactly as you wish. I have, for example, date, current elevation, steps, battery time, heart rate, and the weekly number of kilometers I've run.
Additionally, as something new on this SOLAR edition of the Fenix 6, there's this SOLAR symbol, where the ring fills up more and more the more sunlight the watch is exposed to (in the picture above, there's 100% intensity). And at the bottom of the screen, solar intensity is plotted over time.
Widgets in Garmin Fenix 6
If you scroll up or down from the home screen, you come to the Widgets overview.
The first thing I encounter is a Solar widget, where I can see an overview of how much solar energy the watch has been exposed to in the last 6 hours. So the same as I saw on the home screen.
Then there's a weather app… An overview of sunrise and sunset…
A compass, altimeter, and barometer.
And then we come to some of the more run- and training-specific features...
Training features in Garmin Fenix 6
In the Garmin Fenix 6, you naturally receive ongoing estimates of your VO2max and lactate threshold, which can give you an indication of whether your fitness is moving in a positive or negative direction.
And after each workout, you receive an evaluation of how the workout affected your fitness.
Garmin Fenix 6 also has all the more advanced training features, such as Training Status, Training Load, Load Focus, and Recovery Time. These features all help you evaluate whether your training is organized in a beneficial way. In other words, whether you have a good balance between the different types of training you can expose your body to.
In the image below we have Low Aerobic, High Aerobic, and Anaerobic training effect - and the dotted boxes indicate the optimal range your load should be within. The watch can even suggest what type of training you should do more of to improve your fitness positively.
Garmin Fenix 6 also has heat and altitude acclimation, which can tell you how well your body has adapted to changes in temperature or altitude. This can be useful if you travel a lot, for example, for competitions, and want to know when your body is ready to perform best.
And there is also a ”Race Predictor”, which provides estimates for your performance over various distances. The race predictor has become significantly more accurate in newer watches, but in my experience, you need to train continuously with the watch for several weeks and months to get a reasonably accurate picture.
Recent Activities, Activity Tracking, and Smartwatch Features
In the widget overview, you can also see your recent activities. In my case, it's mostly runs. Here you can see a lot of data about your run. You can see what training physiological benefit this specific run has given you. You can see how your heart rate has been distributed across different zones. You can see lap times or kilometer times. And you can see a map of the run. And the elevation profile for the run.
Activity Tracking with Garmin Fenix 6
In addition to these training features, Garmin Fenix 6 of course also has all the activity tracking features you can imagine: Steps, distance, sleep, heart rate, floors, and calories, etc.
Here you can see heart rate, current stress level, and Body Battery, which indicates the body's fatigue and energy level.
Garmin Fenix 6 also has a Pulse OX sensor. Here the watch measures the oxygen saturation in the blood.
Calendar, Smart Notifications, and Built-in Music in Garmin Fenix 6
There is a calendar function, smart notifications, and a music function. The watch has capacity for up to 2000 songs, and if you have a premium account with Spotify or Deezer, you can transfer music, podcasts, and playlists directly to the watch.
It is also possible to add more widgets among those already on the watch, but you can also download entirely new widgets in Garmin's Connect IQ store.
Control Menu and Settings
If I hold down the top left button, the control menu opens.
Here I can, among other things, toggle battery saver mode on and off.
I can open my Wallet and use Garmin Pay to pay with the watch anywhere contactless payment is available.
There are timers and alarms.
And I can quickly save my current position. For example, if I want to navigate back here later.
In the control menu, there are also alternative time zones and the "Find my phone" feature, which I can use to locate my phone if I can't find it.
You can also add other functions to the control menu, depending on what you use most often.
The general settings on the watch can be accessed by holding down the middle button on the left. Here in the menu, you can configure all settings.
Activity Profiles
When I want to start an activity, I press the top right button. First, you see the preferred activity profiles I've chosen – Running, Trail Running, and Mountain Biking. But you can add many other profiles, as you can see here. New additions include Indoor Climbing, Bouldering, and Surfing.
Navigation and Maps
Here, you also find Navigation. Fenix 6 has built-in maps, so you can navigate various things. For example, different points of interest and nearby places. But the navigation features I, as a runner, use the most are Back To Start, Courses, and Round-Trip Course.
Back to Start is useful if you've run off on a route and want the quickest way back to your start point.
In Courses, you can load a route to follow. It can be one you create in Garmin Connect, or you may have a GPX file with route data you load into Garmin Connect and then transfer to the watch.
Round-Trip Course is especially ingenious if you want to run a certain distance and are unfamiliar with the area. You just enter how far you want to run, say 10 km, in which direction to start, say east, and the watch calculates 3 route suggestions, about 10 km (plus/minus), which you can then navigate through. Just like a car GPS.
You can also follow routes you've previously run. Or navigate by saved locations, a specific direction, specific coordinates, or mark a point on the map.
There's also Expedition mode, which can track you on a longer trip over several days.
More Data Fields on Garmin Fenix 6
Under the different activity profiles, I can make all sorts of settings for my running activity profile. For example, I can change my data fields. New in Fenix 6, you can have up to 6 data fields in the same view on the Garmin Fenix 6 and Fenix 6S, while in the larger model, Fenix 6X, you can have up to 8 data fields on a single screen view. I can easily decide which data I want to show in the individual fields.
Just as you can download new Widgets and Watch Faces, you can also download new data fields in Garmin Connect IQ.
Interval Training and PacePro
It is also possible to create a simple round of interval training directly on the watch. In this case, I have made 5x1000 m with 2 min rest in between. When I start the run, the watch will guide me through the intervals.
If you want to make it a bit more advanced, you can create workouts in Garmin Connect, either on mobile or online, and transfer the workout to the watch. Doing it this way allows for more advanced workouts, and it's possible to determine how fastif you want to run at specific intervals, the watch will tell you if you're running too fast or slow, etc.
PacePro is one of the cool new features in Fenix 6. You create a route in Garmin Connect, like a half-marathon or marathon route, and set a desired finish time or average pace.
The genius is that PacePro accounts for the route's elevation profile and guides you on how fast (or slow) to run each section to achieve your desired finish time. It tells you how much faster to run downhill and slower uphill, optimizing your energy for the best finish time.
While creating the PacePro strategy in the Garmin Connect app, you choose how hard to push uphill. Personally, I prefer it easy uphill, recouping time downhill. You can also choose to run a “negative split,” speeding up closer to the finish. Or vice versa. The changes you make affect the split times you need to run.
Training suggestions – Daily workout suggestion
All watches in the Garmin Fenix 6 series have received the new feature, Daily Suggested Workouts, added in the latest update, first introduced with Garmin Forerunner 745.
Daily Suggested Workouts lets Garmin Fenix 6 act as your personal running and cycling coach, providing SPECIFIC recommendations for SPECIFIC workouts based on your current fitness and training load, plus sleep, stress, and recovery status. It's quite brilliant, if you ask me.
Crash detection and tracking
Like most newer Garmin watches, the Fenix 6 Pro Solar has this safety and tracking feature, which can notify your contacts if you feel unwell, have an accident, or are in a situation where you want someone to know your location.
You can manually hold the top-left button for about 5 seconds to send the notification. The watch can also send a message if it detects a strong impact followed by a period of no movement, such as a bike crash.
In both cases, a live-track link will be sent to your contacts, letting them know your location. It's a function you hope never to need, but it's nice to have. Note that this feature only works if the watch is connected to your smartphone and it's nearby. Crash Detection only works when you've started an activity like a run or bike ride.
Battery life continued – Garmin Fenix 6 Pro SOLAR
Back to SOLAR and battery life.
A common misconception is that the watch can be charged via the solar cells. It can't. It's not practical, as it takes too long. You still need to charge it occasionally with the included USB cable. But the solar cells can extend battery life between actual charges. That's what I've found in my informal test...
SOLAR's impact in smartwatch mode
To illustrate what the solar cells can do, I left the watch in smartwatch mode in direct sunlight on a clear day, and after 7 hours, it had gained 2% extra battery. This shows the solar cells can maintain the battery level more or less constant (in Smartwatch mode) as long as exposed to sunlight. But it's impossible to do this all the time.
SOLAR's impact in GPS mode
In another test, I again placed the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar in direct sunlight on a clear day, started a GPS activity, and left it in the sun for 3 hours. The watch was charged to 25%, because the SOLAR function doesn't activate when the battery is near 100%, so I chose 25%.
After 3 hours, I recharged the watch to 25% and repeated the test, but this time with the screen facing down, so SOLAR couldn't affect the battery level.
The result of my little test was that in full sun for 3 hours, it went from 25% to 19% (in GPS mode). While with the screen down (without SOLAR) it also went from 25% to 19% (in GPS mode). What? No difference?
Photos from Test WITH SOLAR charging
Ready for test - full sun:
Test started - Battery at 25%:
After 3 hours - 19% battery left:
100% Solar intensity during all 3 hours:
Photos from Test WITHOUT SOLAR charging
Ready for test WITHOUT SOLAR - Battery at 25%:
Test position:
After 3 hours - 19% battery left:
0% Solar intensity during all 3 hours:
I've looked into it more, and the best explanation is that 3 hours isn't long enough to show a real difference. Looking at numbers provided by
, they say Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar lasts up to 36 hours in GPS-mode WITHOUT SOLAR and up to 40 hours WITH SOLAR. That's about an 11% increase in battery life in GPS-mode under ideal conditions.
In my small test, where 6 Pro Solar in shade lost 6% power, the watch in sun should theoretically have lost about 5.4% power (an 11% improvement over shade). But since the difference is so small (under 1%) and Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar shows battery in whole numbers (no decimals), I see no difference in my test.
Perhaps the result would have been different if the test lasted 8 or 10 hours. But anyway, we're down to small differences. I've seen other tests and reviews where people found a bigger Solar charging effect, but I can only conclude based on my own small study.
Battery life in everyday use
Using Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar daily, spending most hours indoors, Solar has little impact on total battery life in Smartwatch mode.
During the test period, I wore both a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar and a Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire, subjecting them to the same conditions. Fenix 6 Sapphire (without SOLAR) ran out of power on the 10th day, while Fenix 6 Pro Solar lasted about 12 hours more, extending battery life by about 5%.
Over these 14 days, I ran 8 times, depleting the battery significantly, and averaged 2-3 hours outdoors daily. That's simply not enough for a significant SOLAR effect living in Denmark (with no constant sunshine). So I haven't fully utilized SOLAR.
But from individual tests, I see SOLAR has potential to extend battery life if you spend enough time outdoors (and the sun shines).
Garmin states under ideal conditions, battery life in smartwatch-mode can extend two days – from 14 to 16 days. Ideal conditions mean “3 hours daily with at least 50,000 lux light.”
To put that in perspective, over 100,000 lux occurs on a clear summer day - so SOLAR can have an effect without clear skies. On a day with thin clouds or few clouds, I still get full watch effect.
On what I'd call a regular cloudy day, where I can't see the sun directly but know its location, I get about 30% effect. On a fully cloudy and rainy day, there's zero effect.
Even if the everyday effect is limited, I still think SOLAR is a cool feature, sending a positive message in 2020/2021, when climate issues are prominent. Even the small...
things count.The Solar function can truly make a real difference, as seen in one of Garmin's other watches - specifically the Solar. Here, the solar cells occupy a much larger part of the watch face, and therefore the effect is also significantly greater. In smartwatch mode, under ideal conditions, battery life can be more than doubled...
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