The Fenix Chronos is Garmin’s attempt to cater to the upmarket outdoor crowd. With the core function of a Fenix, the Chronos features a metal housing topped by a sapphire glass and polishes the EXO Antenna with a Tachymeter. The appearance is something we’d associate with luxury watches but the functionality is downright Garmin. This is a watch that’d have no issues accompanying you on all your activities from the sweaty outdoors to the sombre meeting boardroom.
Garmin is selling three variations of the watch, one with leather strap ($899.99), a brushed stainless steel strap version ($999.99) and the priciest titanium versionretailing for $1499.99 USD.
I had the GARMIN WATCH Chronos with brushed stainless steel band for 3 weeks and here’s what I have to say.
The Fenix Chronos was provided by Garmin Singapore for the purpose of this review. The staff were extremely helpful with the software updates and provided answers to my queries about the Fenix Chronos where possible.
FENIX CHRONOS IN SHORT
Pros:
24/7 fitness tracker. Tracks steps, distance, calories, floors climbed and sleep
Optical heart rate sensors measure all day heart rate and heart rate during tracked activity sessions
Plethora of activity profiles with option to customise and create more, including multi-sport modes
Altimeter, barometer, electronic compass and in built temperature sensor
EXO antenna GPS+GlONASS inscribed with Tachymeter
Full metal casing with stainless steel bezel
Sunlight readable Chroma display with LED back light and sapphire lens
3D Speed and Distance with customisable auto lap distance
Vibration and audio beeps enabled for smart notifications, alarms, move alerts
Expand and read messages on display
Pick up phone calls from watch
Heavily customisable in terms of display fields and usage within each activity profile
Garmin Connect IQ compatible for apps, widgets and watch face downloads
VO2 Max score, recovery advisor, race time predictor, stress score, performance indicator, lactate threshold, odometer.
Navigation functions
Training functions such as intervals, Virtual racer, racing past activityand more.
Water resistant to 10 ATM
Up to 1 week worth of use in watch mode, 13 hours in GPS mode and 25 hours in Ultratac mode.
Create workouts, plan training on Garmin Connect web platform
Compatible with Vector power meter for cycling
ANT+ and Bluetooth enabled
Plays music, controls VIRB camera and Dog Track
Cons:
Price
No record of stress test or recovery HR tracked over time
Lack of variety in changeable watch straps
Light vibrations which is unadjustable
Small fonts in certain aspects such as review of activity
LOOK AND FEEL
The Fenix Chronos ships in a wooden box that slides to reveal the prized watch within. Whichever variation you purchase, Garmin will throw in a silicon band which is necessary for workouts. Beautiful isn’t it?
I like the look of the Fenix Chronos. It’s slightly smaller than a Fenix 3 and weighs a tad heavier but it’s definitely manageable. You need to strap up real tight as the weight of the watch will cause it to sag to the edge of your wrist during runs.
Due to the nature of my work, I use the silicon band for all day wear which comes in particularly useful during exercise.
The Chronos should fit people with smaller wrists like without eliciting looks of bewilderment from onlookers. It’s also got that luxury look usually associated with watches that costs thousands but retains that ruggedness you get from that $50 bucks Casio G-Shock from 1995.
Plus it will survive the High Altitude High Opening Parachute jumps, the occasional non extreme mountaineering trips you might have in mind and some sunny sailing dinghy expeditions. (Water resistant to 10 ATM) Anything else you fancy doing?
The display is identical to that of the Fenix 3 but the fonts differ. It appears sharper and gives the impression of a larger screen. Sapphire screen appears gorgeous under bright sunlight and back light with adjustable levels of brightness ensures ease of use in the night.
There’s some inconsistency in the fonts which can get ridiculously tiny and faint such as when I wanted to view the details of my run. It isn’t un-viewable but bigger fonts would have enhanced the experience. Ironically fonts for smart notifications appear larger than than for training details.
Controls and scrolling are much more responsive on the Fenix Chronos compared to the Fenix 3. It’s nowhere near that of smart watches such as the Apple Watch Series 2 but it’s a welcomed improvement nonetheless. I understand this speed boost came up a faster processor.
The tachymeter inscribed on the EXO antenna gives the watch another avenue to appear luxurious. Even the rumoured Fenix 5 doesn’t feature tachymeter.
The back of the Fenix Chronos houses the optical heart rate sensor (OHR) which is identical to that found in more recent series of Garmin watches. In this edition, it appears more flush compared to its predecessor. The orientation of the OHR has also changed and interestingly, the orientation is switched again in the Fenix 5series.
Here’s a press picture of the Fenx 5 series OHR for comparison. Perhaps Garmin is experimenting with the OHR position with regard to accuracy.
I was told by the Garmin product manager that despite the difference in appearance of the OHR, the innards essentially feature the same algorithm.
Watch straps are fitted with a quick release latch, a first for Garmin. I’ve read rumours that the company is also in the process of finalising a QUICKFIT clasp system for watch straps. This has been confirmed with the Fenix 5 announcement. This should make changing of the straps even easier in future.
Whichever version you purchase, an extra silicon strap will be provided; the strap of choice for workouts with the slight stretch ideal for the optical heart rate sensors.
Like all Fenix series, there are a total of 5 buttons which fulfil different functions. You can also designate 2 of the buttons as hot keys, offering quick access to a few select features such as chronograph, saved location and more. These are the functions of the buttons:
Top right: START/ ENTER (Hot Key possibility)
Bottom right: BACK (Hot Key possibility)
Top left: Back light/ Power
Center left: SCROLL UP/ Long hold to expand for more functions
Bottom left: SCROLL DOWN
All Day Activity Tracker
As with all Garmin fitness devices, the Fenix Chronos comes backed by years of activity tracking experience.
Basic stats such as step count, calories burned, intensity minutes, floors climbed and sleep form the staple of this capable all day activity tracking GPS watch.
The tracked stats are then synced to the Garmin Connect mobile app for further scrutiny. The manual sleep function is available in the Fenix Chronos so naps can be tracked.
