What you need to know about the new Garmin Fenix 5 Plus lineup

Garmin’s Fenix 5, 5S, and 5X offer just about every sensor and feature you could possibly want in a high-end fitness watch, aside from a few small things. For instance, all three devices are lacking contactless payment support, and they don’t come with space for music storage either.

That’s why today Garmin is introducing three new fitness watches that pack in even more features than the originals. Here’s everything you need to know about the Fenix 5 Plus, Fenix 5S Plus, and Fenix 5X Plus.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus, Fenix 5S Plus, and Fenix 5X Plus design

Just like the original Fenix 5 lineup, there are three different devices in this series. The Fenix 5 Plus is the same size as the original, complete with a 47mm case size. The Fenix 5S Plus is the smallest of the three devices sporting the same 42mm case as the original 5S. This time around, Garmin made the 5S Plus’ display almost 20 percent larger but kept the same case size. Finally, the Fenix 5X Plus still has the big 51mm case size as the original. 

Because all the case sizes are the same, the QuickFit bands Garmin introduced last year will work with this new lineup of devices.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus series specs and features

As you would expect with the “Plus” moniker, these are iterations on the Fenix 5 series — not full-on upgrades. Still, there’s a plethora of new features and specs to dig through. Here’s what you need to know about the new features:

• Garmin Pay: All three watches have support for Garmin Pay, the company’s contactless payment system.
• On-device music storage: All three watches offer on-device music storage for up to 500 songs. You can load up your own downloaded music, or choose playlists from streaming services like iHeartRadio or Deezer.
• Galileo support: All three watches now come with support for Galileo that should help users track in more challenging environments, such as deep canyons or urban environments.
• Pulse oximeter: Only on the Fenix 5X Plus, the built-in pulse oximeter will assess your blood oxygen levels. This should help users better understand how their blood oxygen saturation is affected by different types of workouts.
• Full-color maps: Full-color topographical maps are pre-loaded on all three watches. Previously, only the Fenix 5X had this feature. Now, you’ll be able to use these maps for location tracking, search for new courses, and more. This also means all three watches come with Garmin’s Trendline feature, which helps users understand the popularity of a particular route. For instance, Trendline will let you know if you’re about to go down a well-traveled trail, or one that’s never been explored by other users.

Aside from a few other changes, these are the same devices as the original Fenix 5 series. That means each one comes with a full-color Chroma display, 5ATM water resistance, up to 20-day battery life (depending on the model), and support for smartphone notifications.

Garmin Fenix 5 Plus price and release date

Here’s where it gets rough. The Fenix 5 Plus series goes on sale in Q2 2018, with prices starting at $699.99. That means the base model Fenix 5 Plus device costs $150 more than the standard Fenix 5 did at launch. I’m not sure if these upgrades warrant a $150 price increase, but we’ll have to see when we get one of these in for review.

Detailed pricing information can be found below:

• Fenix 5S Plus: $699.99
• Fenix 5S Plus Sapphire Edition: $799.99
• Fenix 5 Plus: $699.99
• Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire Edition: $749.99
• Fenix 5X Plus: $1,149.99

If you’re interested in checking them out, head to the Garmin.com links below for more information. Stay tuned for our full review in the weeks to come!

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