{"id":281465,"date":"2025-11-14T00:33:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/281465\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T00:33:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:33:30","slug":"is-saving-hundreds-on-a-last-gen-garmin-watch-deal-savvy-shopping-or-a-black-friday-bungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/281465\/","title":{"rendered":"Is saving hundreds on a last-gen Garmin watch deal savvy shopping or a Black Friday bungle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garmin watches have a well-earned reputation for longevity. So when you see how expensive new Garmin watches<\/a> are getting, a years-old Garmin at a steep discount will look mighty tempting. Since Garmin likes to clear out old stock during Black Friday, it’s worth deciding now whether a last-gen Garmin watch is right for you, or if newer is better.<\/p>\n

I’ve covered Garmin watch deals for years, and I always have to weigh whether I should recommend deals on models like the Forerunner 55 or 745 that are years out of date and have noticeable flaws, but let you buy into the Garmin ecosystem for $150 instead of $500.<\/p>\n

Then you have Garmin’s old flagships. Right now, you can get a Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar for $599 ($300 off) <\/a>or 7X Pro Sapphire Solar for $659 ($340 off<\/a>). You’re spending half as much as a $1,300 Fenix 8 Pro<\/a>, with flagship-level specs and battery life. But if you’re planning to make your watch last for years, can you live without the quality-of-life improvements Garmin has introduced recently?<\/p>\n

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Garmin’s most recent generation has focused on what I’d call “mainstream” upgrades. The Fenix 8<\/a> added an AMOLED display, ECG and skin temperature data, and a mic & speaker for calls and commands. Those same features trickled down to cheaper Garmin models, along with the flashlight. Eventually, I’d bet that the Fenix 8 Pro’s LTE-M and satellite tools will come to more watches, too.<\/p>\n

The question becomes, do you need these? I don’t use many of these new features especially often, but I strongly prefer AMOLED to MIP and would have trouble going back. For anyone tempted by smartwatches, you might prefer a much cheaper Vivoactive or Venu to a bulky Fenix 7X that hasn’t modernized.<\/p>\n

For people who use their old Garmin watch for basic workout tracking and glancing at notifications, though, splurging on a last-gen Fenix deal is smarter, because you’re only paying for the fitness perks you’ll care about, not the bells and whistles.<\/p>\n

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\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Michael Hicks \/ Android Central)<\/p>\n

We also have to discuss Garmin’s software gatekeeping. Even if Garmin watch hardware has a reputation for lasting years, they do so as closed-circuit artifacts of their time. At a certain point, Garmin locks off the OS and refuses to add any new features that might disrupt the delicate equilibrium.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that tends to happen within 1\u20132 years, even for Garmin’s Fenix flagships. There was plenty of controversy<\/a> when Garmin stopped giving the Fenix 7 series new features after the Fenix 8 launch; now, anyone buying the Fenix 7X today won’t get running economy<\/a>, evening reports, Strength or Triathlon Coaching, a rucking mode, or other new features that’ve impressed me over the last year.<\/p>\n

But that can’t be helped! Garmin’s strategy is to weaponize FOMO so that you feel tempted to buy the newest model. Then you feel entitled to cutting-edge features, and when they run out, you upgrade again. I guarantee Fenix 8 owners will be complaining about this in 2026, after the Fenix 9 launches.<\/p>\n

Maybe buying an older model that’s already cut off from feature updates is a good way to make sure you don’t pay attention to shiny new Garmin toys, and remain happy with what you have for longer.<\/p>\n

Buying last-gen is fine; focus more on what you need<\/p>\n

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\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Derrek Lee \/ Android Central)<\/p>\n

Today’s best Garmin watches<\/a> are more expensive than ever. Mid-range models like the $550 Venu 4<\/a> and Forerunner 570<\/a> are impressive, but why buy either of them when you can get an Epix Pro (Gen 2) for $499 ($250 off)<\/a>? It’s a question of whether last year’s best features (like offline maps) or 2025’s newest upgrades (like doubled AMOLED brightness) are more important to you.<\/p>\n

It’s an entirely different discussion if you’re looking at lower-end Garmin watches. The Venu Sq 2<\/a> is frequently one of the cheapest models available during deal events, but it’s quite limited in several ways. I’d much rather spend slightly more on a new cheap Garmin like the Vivoactive 6<\/a> (currently $50 off on Best Buy<\/a>) than buy a model that will feel obsolete out of the box.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, if you’re really tempted by some of the best new Garmin watches, you’ll have to be patient. Based on Garmin’s typical deals timeline, we probably won’t see a Fenix 8 or Forerunner 970<\/a> for $300 off until 2027 or 2028.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today’s best Garmin watch deals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Garmin watches have a well-earned reputation for longevity. So when you see how expensive new Garmin watches are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,195,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-281465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}