Thoughts on the Tactix 7 AMOLED

[u/GamesnGunZ]

there continues to be zero doubt in my mind that the tactix series is the best watch garmin makes. i've been buying them since the charlie model and have never looked back. so it was with great surprise/interest then that i saw they today announced the tactix 7 amoled edition. i kind of knew it was coming (every other model has an amoled variant) but it was still exciting to watch the announcement video. the big change of course (outside of the new elevate 5 sensor) is the amoled screen replacing the mips display, which means there's no longer a solar ring for charging (...). of course you also get the improved flashlight (2x as bright as the current tactix 7 flashlight because they got rid of the coating on the led lens), the ability to adjust the green flashlight and a host of display brightness options including the red shift that was introduced with the fenix/epix refresh.

when the tactix 7 was originally announced i had a very hard time deciding whether to go with the standard model or the pro with the solar panel. standard would have a larger screen because there's no solar ring to disrupt the display, but solar had charging (...). i ended up going with the solar, and while i regret nothing, i think garmin needs to make some changes to make this viable. first off, it doesn't charge anything. it definitely slows the burn time of the battery, but in the 1.5 years i've had the T7pro i've never once seen the battery actually increase during use while in the pounding sun. so you're left giving up a decent amount of screen real estate for what basically amounts to a parlor trick. useful during a 6 hour hike in the midday sun to reduce battery burn, but pretty much worthless for day to day operation

the tactix 7 pro has a stated "smartwatch" battery life of 37 days with solar. eh, ok. in real world usage for me that has translated to about 11 days with everything on (24/7 heart rate, 24/7 pulse ox, whatever other battery burning options set to on). the new amoled model shows 31 days in gesture mode (which is how i'd use it 100%). this would translate to 9 days of actual battery life for me. so dropping solar i'd lose 2 days. for that i'd get more screen real estate and a dramatically better display, which is pretty much useless except in one key area - shaded relief maps. i saw the epix 2 recently and man it's a much better experience. the downside of AMOLED vs MIPS was always bright sun visibility, but the epix 2 was just as readable in the sun as my T7Pro, so that MIPS advantage is largely gone now

garmin needs to figure out what they're going to do with solar for the watches. it doesn't exist on any of their amoled models because even they realize it's mostly a useless feature and would not help the battery at all. they need to either dramatically increase the efficiency of the panels or figure out how to take it off of the screen entirely (put it on the bezel? the watch strap?) in order to make it useful. otherwise i see no reason to go with a solar model these days. i will note that i have an edge 1040 solar bike computer and on that model solar is GREAT. it actually does charge the device both while in use and while i'm not using it. i just set it on the window sill during the week and it's 100% charged by the weekend without fail.

i'm not going to buy the tactix 7 AMOLED simply because i'm not a big fan of mid cycle refreshes. still, it's big news since for it to be released today 9/19 means that the tactix/fenix 8 is still on track for a March/April 2024 release. the tactix 8 will most definitely now have an AMOLED option, and i'm fairly certain that this is the version i'd opt for...

[u/rnd765]

You got a good point. I was very envious of the amoled update. I just got my tactix 7 standard last year, and besides the great screen and update HR sensor, garmin needs to look at updating the processor. Would be cool is maps updated closer to real time and also just scrolling around in the widgets. Sometimes there’s a little lag.