– Improved antenna/communications chipset performance, should resolve sensor dropouts issues for mostly 3rd party sensors – Change GPS algorithms in conjunction with new hardware for claimed better edge case handling – Added Galileo GPS support via new GPS chipset (initially seen Galileo in Garmin Edge 130) – Added contactless NFC payments to watch (initially on Garmin Vivoactive 3, then other units since) – Slightly improved Bluetooth headphone connectivity reception over Garmin FR645 Music. – Added music capability to watch (both direct music files and iHeartRadio/Deezer offline sync, started on Garmin FR645 Music first) – Added ability to use known elevation data from onboard maps + known GPS coordinates to calibrate altimeter – Added Garmin Trendline popularity routing data to map sets (first seen in Edge 1030 last summer) – Added up to 16GB of full-color maps to all three Plus watches – 5/5S/5X (only 5X has maps previously) This is simply aimed to be a consolidated pile for those wanting to quickly get up to speed:

Of course I dive into everything in this list (good and bad) throughout the review. Where new features originated with other Garmin watches, I’ve noted that. Nonetheless, I’m going to itemize everything ‘new’ in the below list, which is largely in comparison to the existing Fenix 5 (non-Plus).

I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t, because I think it undercuts just how much new stuff is here. While this product is technically named the Fenix 5 Plus, in reality there’s enough new stuff here that Garmin could easily have called it a Fenix 6. As usual though, once I’m done with these loaner units for this review I’ll be sending them back to Garmin, then going out and getting my own elsewhere. Add to that the usual complement of swim/bike/run, and I’ve got a gaggle of test data to work with. I travelled specifically to the peaks of the French Alps to test this watch and the also recent entrant Suunto 9 on fairly demanding trails. I’ve been using three final production loaner units for more than two months now across a wide variety of landscapes and sports. Atop all that are a pile of new software features, most heavily focused on the hiking realm, but also applicable to other sports as well. Meanwhile, the higher end Fenix 5X Plus also gets new Pulse Oximetry hardware/software solution that’s even likely to be approved as a medical device. Additionally there’s new Galileo GPS support for higher accuracy, new smart notification privacy features, and locking the GPS altitude to the elevation data in the maps themselves, among other features. Today Garmin announced the new Fenix 5 Plus series, which takes the existing Fenix 5/5S/5X and injects full onboard color mapping, onboard music, and contactless payments.

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