Is the Garmin Fenix 6 worth it over the Forerunner 945?

There are several Fenix 6 models, but looking at the specs, the closest device would be the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro which has an RRP of £600 while the Forerunner 945 is £519.99.

There is clearly a significant design difference, the Fenix range does a much better job of being a casual day to day watch than the Forerunner 945.

With the Fenix range being the flagship model for Garmin’s consumer lineup is it worth it over the Forerunner 945 which is often seen as an affordable Fenix?

What’s new on the Garmin Fenix 6

While the Fenix 6 offers lots of additional features compared to its predecessor, most of these features are bringing it line with the Forerunner 945.

• Split product line into two portions: Pro and Base. Pro has WiFi, Maps, Music, Golf Maps
• There are three sizes of watches: 42mm (Fenix 6s), 47mm (Fenix 6), 51mm (Fenix 6X)
• Adds solar charging to Fenix 6 Pro Solar: Termed “Power Glass”, this will increased battery life on sunnier days
• Adds Trendline Popularity Routing Visibility (Pro): This allows you to actually see the ‘heatmaps’ on your device
• Adds map display themes: This includes high contrast, popularity, marine, dark, and outdoor.
• Adds new widget glances concept: Basically shrinks widgets to 1/3rd the screen size, so you can see three at once
• Adds new PacePro feature: This replaces old-school paper race pace bands, creating pace targets for race based on grade/reverse splits/etc…
• Adds new Power Manager feature: Gives detailed information about the impacts/tradeoffs of features on battery life
• Adds new Power Modes feature: Allows you to create custom power/battery modes, with time remaining per activity
• Adds new MARQ Expedition ultra-long mode: For multi-week GPS activities. Basically shuts off everything except reduced rate GPS tracking
• Adds ski resort maps: These started on the MARQ series, with 2,000 ski resorts worldwide
• Adds golf maps pre-loaded: Previously you had to manually load these one by one, also, more detailed golf features
• Adds support for wrist based swimming HR: This was teased recently on the FR945 beta updates
• Adds new ultra-low battery mode: Gets up to 80 days of battery life, but super basic watch functionality only
• Revamped ClimbPro with new coloring: Now matches the Edge 530/830 styling
• Increased data fields per page: Up to 8 fields on the 6X, and up to 6 fields on the 6S/6
• Increased screen size and reduced bezel (varies by model, but up to 36% bigger screen size on the 6X
• Reduced ‘lug to lug distance’ on Fenix 6S: This should help those with smaller wrists, more on this later
• Reduced thickness of all devices. The 6S shrunk by 10%, the 6 by 7%, and the 6X by 15%.
• Changed from MediaTek GPS chipset to Sony GPS Chipset: Like every other new Garmin 2019 device
• Battery life increased: Up to 80 days in battery saver mode for 6X, and up to 120hrs in max battery mode for 6X, all before solar (see full chart below)

What does the Garmin Fenix 6 have that the Forerunner 945 does not?

There are a lot more choices with the Fenix range as always. This obviously affects the price.

• Screen sizes for the Fenix 6 (1.3) and Fenix 6x (1.4)
• Increase in pixels for the Fenix 6 (240 x 240) and Fenix 6x (280 x 280)
• Increase in battery life performance and new power-management modes – the Fenix 6 Pro matches the FR945 in normal use but the extended modes offer significantly longer performance.
• PacePro. This is grade-adjusted pace guidance throughout your activity.
• Solar charging on the Fenix 6x Solar edition via a feature called Power Glass.

It is important to know that the standard Fenix 6 models (none-pro) lack both music and Wi-Fi.

It is also worth noting that the FR945 is due for a firmware upgrade to give it PacePro and new battery modes, two of the main features of the Fenix 6 series.

Price comparison

For the like by like comparison the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro which has an RRP of £/$599.99 while the Forerunner 945 is $599.99 & £519.

Design and weight differences

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A lot of people seem to have an issue with the weight of the Fenix range, I have only used the Fenix 5S for an extended period of time, so don’t have much experience with the difference.

The Garmin Fenix 6 Pro comes in at 83g while the Forerunner weights 50g, that is a 66% increase in weight, so quite a big difference.

The Fenix 6 and above now have larger screens with an increased resolution. The Fenix 6 Pro will have 1.3″ at 260 x 260 pixels vs 1.2″ at 240×240.

The overall size of the watch is almost identical, but it is the metal bezel and metal rear of the watch that will add a significant amount of weight.

	Dimensions	Weight	Screen Size	Screen Resolution
Garmin Fenix 6S	42 x 42 x 13.8 mm	58 g	1.2"	240 x 240 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6S Pro	42 x 42 x 13.8 mm	61 g	1.2"	240 x 240 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6S Sapphire	42 x 42 x 13.8 mm	61 g	1.2"	240 x 240 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6	47 x 47 x 14.7 mm	80 g	1.3"	260 x 260 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro	47 x 47 x 14.7 mm	83 g	1.3"	260 x 260 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire	47 x 47 x 14.7 mm	83 g	1.3"	260 x 260 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro	51 x 51 x 14.9mm	93 g	1.4"	260 x 260 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire	51 x 51 x 14.9mm	93 g	1.4"	280 x 280 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6X Solar Sapphire Titanium + Silicone wristband	51 x 51 x 14.9 mm	82 g	1.4"	280 x 280 pixels
Garmin Fenix 6X Solar Sapphire Titanium + Titan wristband	51 x 51 x 14.9 mm	82 g	1.4"	280 x 280 pixels
Forerunner 945	47 x 47 x 13.7 mm	50 g	1.2"	240 x 240 pixels

Battery life

The Fenix 6 series introduces 2 new smartwatch battery modes that significantly improve battery life, how useful these are to you is another question. For me, they will be handy on holiday if/when I forget my charger, but day to day use I want access to all the health tracking features too.

	6S Basic / Pro / Sapphire	6 Basic / Pro / Sapphire	6X Pro / Sapphire	6X Sapphire Solar	Forerunner 945
GPS	25 h	36 h	60 h	60 + 6 h	36h
GPS + music	6 h	10 h	15 h	15 + 1 h	10h
UltraTrac	50 h	72 h	120 h	120 + 28 h
Smartwatch mode	9 days	14 days	21 days	21 + 3 days	14 days
Exposure mode	20 days	28 days	46 days	46 + 10 days
Economy mode	34 days	48 days	80 days	80 + 40 days

Availability & Current Prices

The Forerunner is available right now for £519.99 via Wiggle, Garmin and many other retailers.

Ther Fenix 6 series is available for pre-order from Amazon

Which is the best to buy?

There is not a lot of difference between the two models, you pay a premium the improved looks of the Fenix 6 Pro, and some minor spec improvements. This comes at a cost of weight.

Serious runners/swimmers may be better off with the Forerunner just for the weight advantage. People that do multiday endurance events will likely prefer the 6X Pro. Beyond that, it will be a subjective choice.

Comparing the Fenix 6 Pro to the FR945, I think the £70 is justifiable for the premium build and better screen. Garmin has already done well with the Fenix crossing over into the casual/style market and this is obviously their aim here.

I suppose one argument could be made that the Fenix 6 Pro is a bit pointless, the looks are not that different, and the features are the same. It is the Fenix 6S with its stylish looks and smaller form or the 6X Pro with its incredible battery life that are the two watches that really differentiate the Fenix 6 series from the Forerunner 945.

Full Comparison Table

I have tried my best to make the below accurate. Garmin has been rolling down features from the Fenix to the Forerunner, but there can be some conflicting information on what is and what is not currently available.

Model	Forerunner 945	6S Pro	6S Sapphire	6 Pro	6 Sapphire	6X Pro	6X Sapphire	6X Solar
Size	47mm	42mm	42mm	47mm	47mm	51mm	51mm	51mm
Glass	Gorilla Glass DX	Gorilla Glass 3	Sapphire	Gorilla Glass 3	Sapphire	Gorilla Glass 3	Sapphire	Gorilla Glass 3
Solar	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Price	520	600	700	600	700	650	750	849.99
Resolution	240x240	240x240	240x240	260x260	260x260	280x280	280x280	280x280
Smartwatch Battery	Up to 2 weeks	Up to 9 days	Up to 9 days	Up to 14 days	Up to 14 days	Up to 21 days	Up to 21 days	Up to 21 days +3 days*
GPS	Up to 36 hours	Up to 25 hours	Up to 25 hours	Up to 36 hours	Up to 36 hours	Up to 60 hours	Up to 60 hours	Up to 60 hours +6 hours**
GPS and Music	Up to 10 hours	Up to 6 hours	Up to 6 hours	Up to 10 hours	Up to 10 hours	Up to 15 hours	Up to 15 hours	Up to 15 hours +1 hour**
Max Battery GPS Mode	72 hours	50 hours	50 hours	72 hours	72 hours	120 hours	120 hours	120 hours + 28 hours**
Expedition GPS Activity	28 days	20 days	20 days	28 days	28 days	46 days	46 days	46 days + 10 days**
Battery Saver Watch Mode	48 days	34 days	34 days	48 days	48 days	80 days	80 days	80 days + 40 days*
Water Rating	5 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM	10 ATM
Memory/History	16 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB
Golfing Features	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery Saver Modes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ski Maps	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sight 'N Go	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PacePro	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Expedition GPS Activity	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Underwater Wrist-Based Heart Rate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Advanced Vector Support	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Swimming/Running Profile	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Data Fields Visible	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	8
Widgets Visible	1	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Trendline Popularlity Vis	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Map Themes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Last update on 2024-12-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API