Garmin announces Quatix 7 series: A premium marine smartwatch for boaters, anglers, and sailors | ZDNet

Garmin continues to impress with its lineup of wearables that are optimized for various outdoor activities. The fantastic Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar provides long battery life and an integrated LED flashlight for all of your outdoor adventures while the Epix offers a similar experience with less battery life and a brilliant AMOLED display. Now there are three new editions of the Garmin Quatix 7 watch that are optimized for those participating in activities on the water.

I served on USCG ships for a couple of years, sailed while in college, and have been fishing for many years so I enjoy spending time on the water while also appreciating the importance of being aware of your operating conditions. Garmin is known for it extensive and innovative marine electronics that are mounted on boats around the world. The new Garmin Quatix 7 watches are designed to connect to compatible marine gear, monitor the environment you are sailing in, and track the specifics of your body for weeks at a time.

The Garmin Quatix 7 series launches with three editions:

Quatix 7, Quatix 7 Sapphire, and Quatix 7X Solar. The Quatix 7 and Quatix 7X Solar both incorporate sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) displays while the Sapphire edition incorporates the same 416 x 416 pixels resolution AMOLED that we just saw released on the Garmin Epix. These watches are similar to the Fenix 7 and Epix devices but have more extensive integration, support, and apps for the marine environment.

Also: Best sports watch 2022: Garmin, Coros, Polar, and more

Some of these marine features include:

• Control for autopilot and Fusion Entertainment systems right from the watch
• Stream key data from the boat, including water depth, engine RPM, wind, and other data you select
• Supports BlueChart g3 coastal charts or LakeVü g3 lake maps
• Anchor drag alarm
• Tide alerts
• Multi-band GPS for more accurate positioning (available on the Sapphire and Solar models)

In addition to the enhanced marine support, these watches support the extensive Garmin ecosystem with advanced tracking of running, HIIT, cycling, hiking, and much more with more than 30 sports apps provided without even setting the watch up with Garmin Connect IQ. SkiView maps are preloaded, as well as more than 42,000 golf courses with extensive golf support on the watch. In addition, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, Body Battery, detailed sleep tracking and scores, Garmin Pay, onboard streaming music service support, smartphone notifications, and more are included.

Also: Epix (2nd Gen) review: Garmin’s best modern GPS sports watch

The Garmin Quatix 7 is available for $699.99 with a silver bezel, black body, red highlights, and a cool marine blue silicone band. It has a touchscreen display, along with the traditional five-button Garmin navigation system. 

The Quatix 7 Sapphire has the same color watch with a navy blue silicone band and that brilliant AMOLED display under sapphire glass, available for $999.99. I bought an Epix for the same price and wish I had known this was coming as it offers a bit more for those interested in boating while not appearing to give up anything in return. 

The Quatix 7X Solar model is available for $1,199.99 and comes in a similar watch body with a power sapphire display that is capable of solar charging. Both titanium and silicone bands are included with the purchase of this high-end model Quatix 7 watch. It is also the largest at 51mm while the other two are 47mm in diameter.

While all three watch editions have a silver bezel and black body, the Quatix 7 has a Gorilla Glass lens and stainless steel casing. The Sapphire and Solar models have a sapphire lens and diamond-like carbon-coated titanium casing. The Quatix 7X Solar also offers an integrated LED flashlight, just like the Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar model.