Late in cycle — a new model is likely coming
Best for: Expedition athletes, adventure racers, triathletes, mountaineers, and divers who need the most capable and durable GPS watch Garmin makes. Also for anyone who wants Garmin's best — full stop.
Full details →Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
Best for: Serious runners on a budget who want multi-band GPS accuracy, long battery life, and a training-focused analytics platform (EvoLab) without paying Garmin flagship prices. Also a strong choice for anyone who wants a lightweight race watch with full-featured training data.
Full details →| Garmin Fenix | COROS Pace | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Sports GPS | Sports GPS |
| Platform | iOS & Android | iOS & Android |
| Battery | 18 days | 38 days |
| Always-on display | ✅ | ❌ |
| GPS | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cellular | ❌ | ❌ |
| Health sensors | hr, spo2, hrv, stress, respiration, skin temp | hr, spo2, hrv, training load |
| Released | Aug 14, 2024 | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Cycle length | 938 days | 700 days |
| Cycle advice | bad | bad |
| Deals advice | good | good |
| Next model | Garmin Fenix 9 (Late 2026) | — |
First Fenix to include a speaker — enabling phone calls, Bluetooth audio, and voice prompts directly from the watch.
AMOLED for the best display at 18 days. Solar MIP for up to 48+ days in expedition conditions where charging is impossible.
EN13319 dive mode (up to 40m), MIL-STD-810 shock resistance, and TopoActive maps covering 100+ countries — the most capable outdoor watch in Garmin's lineup.
At 30 grams, the Pace 3 is among the lightest GPS watches available — yet delivers 38 days typical use and 17 hours continuous GPS.
Dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS typically found on $400+ watches — available on the Pace 3 at $229.
Running power, training load, base fitness, threshold metrics, and race predictor — a serious analytics suite that rivals Garmin at a lower cost.