Garmin Fenix 9 Pro Review

Design and screen

• Slightly redesigned form factor and titanium frame
• 10ATM water resistance and diving support
• Large, bright 1.5-inch AMOLED screen

It might not look like it from the surface – because it still very much looks like a classic Fenix – but there has been a bit of a redesign on the latest 9 Pro. Where older models predominantly used a polymer case capped on the top and bottom with titanium or stainless steel, the Fenix 9 Pro has a titanium case as well. And it just so happens to be a sliver thinner than the 8 series. 

Look closely, and you’ll still see bands of plastic-like material separating the bezel and backplate from the case. The majority is, however, metal. Coming from the Fenix 8, there seems to be a bit of an improvement in the feel of the buttons too. They’re not quite as spongy or mushy, but still use a vibration motor to simulate feedback, so don’t have a mechanical click feel to them.

This mechanism has been in place since Garmin introduced the more diver-friendly, leak-proof inductive button, which uses magnetic sensors to detect a press rather than using a mechanical switch. 

Those leak-proof buttons mean you’ve got diver protection down to 40 metres, a 10ATM water resistance rating (so it can survive freshwater depths to 100 metres) and military-standard protection against heavy impact, vibrations and high or low temperatures. Basically, it’s built to survive everything you can throw at it. 

Combine that with the incredibly scratch-resistant sapphire lens over the display, and you’ve got a watch that should last you years. There is a caveat here in that if you do get this silver, natural titanium variant, you might notice scratch marks appearing over time in the metal. They’re fairly subtle, but there is a darker finish that’s got the diamond-like coating on it to offer better scratch resistance.  

There are three sizes of Pro: 43mm, 47mm and 51mm, offering sizes for a diverse set of wrist sizes. For me, 47mm is the sweet spot, but you might prefer or need a smaller or larger model. And while it is a little thinner than last time – let’s be clear – it’s still a pretty chunky watch, which explains the small scratches I’ve already got on it. It will get banged against things through the day. 

Like the Fenix 8, the Fenix 9 Pro models all have the flashlight built into the top edge so you can use it outdoors to signal to others, or just at home when going to bed and trying to find your way around a maze of discarded clothes on the floor. There’s the addition of a green light now as well, so you’ve got the varying brightness levels of white light, plus the single red or single green setting. 

One of the more notable upgrades on the Fenix 9 Pro is the display. It’s an AMOLED panel capable of reaching up to 3000 nits peak brightness, making it clearly visible outdoors even when it’s under bright, sunny skies. 

It doesn’t quite hit the 4500 nits peak offered by the MicroLED version of the Fenix 8 Pro, but it’s a full 1000 nits brighter than the AMOLED versions of its predecessor. 

As always, the interface and software are quite basic in comparison to the likes of Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watches, but the brightness, rich colour and deep contrast mean that it’s very easy to read when you’re out and about. 

If you get the larger 51mm version, you also get a bigger display than previously, up to 1.5 inches. But the 43mm and 47mm versions have the same-sized screens as before. 

I always appreciate the ability to choose between using buttons and a touchscreen to control it though. It makes it such a convenient watch to use day in and day out, and I’d argue it’s far more practical than the smartwatches from the mainstream tech companies, especially if you happen to be running or hiking. You don’t want to be messing around and trying to tap and swipe on a touchscreen, especially if it’s raining. The buttons mean you can control it easily. 

Typing messages on the screen is quite fiddly, but it’s almost like Garmin knew this would be the case and has enabled a feature in the Garmin Messenger phone app that lets you type it on your phone instead, if you have that handy. 

Features and software

• Smartwatch features focused on outdoors and exercise
• Paid satellite (via InReach) connectivity
• Fast and responsive in general use

Rather than focus on highly interactive smartwatch features like the Apple Watch, where you’re effectively running a mini iPhone on your wrist, Garmin’s feature list is typically aimed at giving you convenient features that help you when you’re out and about, and particularly when exercising. 

And with each new generation, improvements are made to make it more useful to more people.

One of the biggest new features is the integration of its InReach system. Previously, InReach was a service only available on dedicated InReach devices. Think of these as essentially dedicated satellite communication tools to get in touch with people when you’re out in the wilderness and have no mobile signal. These devices kind of look like fancy walkie-talkies with big antennas.

It’s impressive then that Garmin has built some of their functionality right into the Fenix Pro watch series. Or at least, they have on the InReach models, which cost more than the non-InReach ones. 

Using satellite and LTE connectivity, you can stay in touch with people or communicate with the emergency services, even when your phone has no signal. You can also use it for the LiveTrack feature, which lets you share your live location with a specific person using your own dedicated live-tracking custom URL. And there’s check-in, which uses the Garmin Messenger platform to send a quick preset message and your current location to a loved one. The downside is that these InReach features need a subscription. 

The lowest tier costs £6.49/$7.99 per month, but this gives you very little in terms of the number of messages and check-ins. Think of this basic tier as if you’re paying Garmin instead of your network provider for connectivity. You effectively then have to pay per check-in message, or text message: 10p per check-in and 50p per text. There are other tiers too, all giving you unlimited check-ins, but with tiered limits on additional features like Live Tracking and text messages.

For unlimited everything, you’re looking at £44.99 or $49.99 per month. But this is really designed for those who are out for days or weeks at a time and need connection in the most remote of places. Most people will likely be fine with one of the more affordable tiers, and they’re easy enough to pause or cancel whenever you want. So you can plan a long hiking or expedition trip, you can activate the subscription and set it up before you leave, and then cancel or pause when you get home. 

Then there’s that fact that, in order to make use of it, you have to set it up, which requires downloading the Garmin Messenger app on your phone, going through the subscription sign-up process, linking it to your watch, and getting your closest contacts to install Garmin Messenger on their phones so that you can message them easily. Convenient and user-friendly, it is not. 

Compare that with an Apple Watch Ultra, which only requires iMessage and an active LTE connection, or the Emergency SOS feature via satellite, and it feels quite cumbersome by comparison. 

As for actually using it when you’re out and without your phone, you just launch into Garmin Messenger and start sending a message as normal. First it’ll try to send over LTE, but if that’s slow or there’s no signal, you can tap it and choose the option to send over satellite instead. Choose this option, and you’ll be directed to point your watch and angle it for the best signal to the satellites. 

It’s a process that can take a little bit of time. Unsurprisingly, it struggles to get a signal if you’re under tree cover or anything that could be blocking a clear signal to the skies. But if you’re out in the open, with nothing but sky above, it should find that signal and send within 10-20 seconds or so.

Still, in general, it all performs pretty well. You don’t get the classic smartwatch fluidity and smoothness from a Garmin watch, but the company has been working on making its watches more responsive and loading the more graphically rich elements faster. 

With the Fenix 9 Pro, Garmin improved the processor, loaded the watch with more RAM and doubled the storage so that everything loads faster and so that you can download more content for offline use. Whether that’s music playlists from supported services like Spotify or Amazon Music, or for loading maps. 

If you upgrade from a Fenix 8 or 8 Pro, you might not notice that performance increase immediately, but it definitely feels faster and smoother than anything that came before the 8 series, and the maps themselves do feel smoother and quicker to load than before. 

Health and fitness

• 24/7 health and fitness tracking
• A wealth of sport modes to track, with great GPS performance
• Optional Garmin+ subscription for basic AI insights

While other parts of the Fenix have been upgraded, the core fitness and health tracking hardware and sensors are all largely the same as before. 

Like the Fenix 8 series, it has the Elevate Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor makeup on the underside. It’ll give you 24/7 heart rate monitoring, as well as HRV measurements during sleep and blood oxygen saturation readings. 

As I found with the Fenix 8 and Venu 4, it’s a generally very solid heart-rate reader. Still not quite as accurate as a chest strap, but it keeps up with quick changes in heart rate when doing things like HIIT sessions or weight-based repetitions. 

More important is the new processor, and how it’s used to interpret the data. It’s not a huge change, but the stamina and endurance functions during a workout like a run have been updated to give you accurate real-time information during your session. 

As has been the case for a few years, it also feeds all your activity, effort, rest and recovery data into its training readiness and body battery features. These are designed to help you understand when it is a good day to push, and when you should take a chill day and rest.

The multi-band GPS system is pretty much the same as before too, and is generally pretty accurate and consistent. I don’t live in a hugely built-up area, but do often run under tree cover, which can be a problem for route-tracking on some watches. Not for the Garmin. 

Similarly, sleep tracking has improved over the years. I still find it a little weaker than the Oura ring for detecting broken nights where I’ve woken up a few times in the night but not left my bed or moved around. But it has a good handle on my rest and recovery levels in general, and that’s what matters most. 

If there’s an area Garmin could improve a little, it’s in the design of its app. It’s not really changed all that much in years. On the plus side, there’s a wealth of data available, which is a good thing. But finding what you’re looking for isn’t always the easiest. 

It’s also quite basic in its presentation, and doesn’t always contextualise that data into easy-to-understand actions. When I think of Google Health, as an example, it will always proactively look at ways of engaging with you based on your sleep from the night before, activity (or lack of it), and give personal, specific suggestions for things to try today. 

Oura’s app for its fitness tracking ring is another example. It’s designed to be polished, easy to understand, and is more than just a dashboard of data points. It’d be great to see Garmin pivot more towards this approach, with the strength and quality of the data that’s available from its watches. 

There is the Connect+ subscription (£6.99 per month or £69.99 per year), which can give you some of this. But it’s not part of the default, free Garmin plan. When you’re paying four figures for a watch, that additional ongoing cost is a little hard to swallow. 

Still, it’s a platform that offers a lot of versatility. Almost anyone is catered for. The new watches have a dedicated diving app available, and advanced metrics for all the usual sports like hiking, running, cycling, golfing and even archery. 

Like the last few generations, the offline maps are a core part of the experience. Kick into any outdoor tracking – whether it be running or hiking, for example – and you’ll be able to scroll down and see a full-screen map of your location and the route you’ve taken, so that you can follow it back to the start again if you get lost. 

I’m also a big fan of the coaching sessions, which adapt based on my activity and performance in previous sessions, helping me get back up to fitness when I’ve lost it. And now there are coaching plans for more than just running. There are cycling, strength training and triathlon training plans available now. And these aren’t an additional extra, premium feature; they’re included in the free, basic plan. 

Battery life 

• Up to 18 days of use
• Between seven and nine days with AOD and other features
• Up to 30 hours of GPS tracking

One of the other improvements claimed by Garmin over the previous models is battery life, largely thanks to a more efficient processing platform. What I will say about this is that with the always-on display enabled (on this 47mm model), you’re looking at about an extra day of use from a full charge. 

With my own personal usage, I’d get between seven and nine days from a full charge with the always-on display enabled, depending on the frequency and the length of any GPS-based activities like tracking runs. Still, a full week from a full charge isn’t hard to achieve. And if you’re happy to have the always-on display disabled, it can go as long as 18 days on a full charge. For me, that figure was closer to 15 or 16 days. 

Regardless of how long you want it to go for, it is generally much longer battery life than a fully-fledged smartwatch like the Apple Watch Ultra or Galaxy Watch Ultra could even dream of managing. It is, to my mind, one of the biggest reasons to pick a Garmin over those more mainstream tech brands, especially if having to remember to charge it every day, or every other day, is frustrating to you. 

It is worth noting here that battery life is dependent on the size of the watch you get. I’ve got the 47mm model as mentioned, but the 43mm model gets you about half the battery life, and the 51mm version takes you up to 16 days of always-on display use, or 31 days with the display off most of the time. 

It’s similar when comparing battery life for single GPS activities; though you do have to take into account the extra battery life drained by the LTE connectivity if you have that enabled. Still, even with the smallest model, you’re looking at about 18 hours of continuous tracking. If LTE is disabled, it’s up to about 30 hours. 

Clearly then, it’s a watch designed to handle long endurance sessions with all the detailed tracking you’d want from those sessions. 

Should you buy it?