Garmin Fenix 6 – Your Questions

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Garmin Fenix 6 has been a very successful smartwatch. It is the choice of many athletes, triathlon runners, and fitness enthusiasts. A lot of questions get sent our way about the essential features of Garmin Fenix 6. Many people do have quick queries that get sent to us over email. We thought it may be prudent to compile all such user queries in a consolidated space on our site. Therefore, we bring you exhaustive coverage of the most common user queries that get sent our way. We hope that this would help you in answering your questions, and save you substantial time in locating the desired information.

Fenix 6 compatibility with iPhone

Yes, Garmin Fenix 6 can work well with an iOS device like iPhone. It works equally well with an Android smartphone. Garmin uses the Garmin Connect app on paired smartphones. Garmin Connect app provides all the functionality and feature-rich experience for the Garmin Fenix 6 users.

Garmin Connect app works with iOS devices that are running iOS version 13 or higher. This essentially means that the Garmin Fenix 6 devices are compatible with a lot of iPhone series models. The iPhones that are compatible with the Garmin Connect app and Fenix 6 smartwatches are:

  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE

From time to time, companies change their compatibility matrix for the supported devices. Please do check with Garmin and Apple to know more about the latest Apple iPhone models that can work with the Fenix 6 smartwatches.

Fenix 6 compatibility with Android phone

Yes, Garmin Fenix 6 can work seamlessly with Android smartphones. Fenix 6 uses the Garmin Connect app on the Android smartphone to provide functionality and a rich set of features to the Fenix 6 owners. The Garmin Connect app for Android phones is 164 MB in size. It works with smartphones that are running Android operating system 7 or higher. The current Android operating system version 12 was released in October 2021. This implies that the Fenix 6 devices can work with a lot of legacy Android smartphones.

Android 7 was released in October 2017. So, Android devices from the corresponding period would be compatible with the Garmin Connect app for the Fenix 6 smartwatch. The newer models of Android smartphones would support the Fenix 6 smartwatch anyways.

Fenix 6 Touchscreen

The Fenix 6 smartwatches do not have a touchscreen feature. Fenix 6 watches have a Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) screen. The touchscreen feature got introduced for the first time in the Fenix 7 smartwatch series. The Fenix 7 series was unveiled by Garmin in February 2022. Fenix 6 continues to be a button-based smart fitness watch.

NFC Payments through Fenix 6

NFC card payments are supported on the Garmin Fenix 6 smartwatches. Garmin has its own NFC app to handle wireless payments through the Garmin Pay app. Garmin Pay allows you to create a wallet and link your credit cards with the wallet. At a supporting store, you can use the Garmin Pay wallet to make contactless payments over the counter.

Garmin Pay works well on a Garmin Fenix 6 smartwatch. Therefore, NFC payments through the Garmin Pay app work well on the linked Fenix 6 smartwatch.

Cellular connectivity on Fenix 6

Unfortunately, Garmin Fenix 6 does not have a cellular model offering. Fenix 6 will use the paired smartphone for cellular network connectivity. You will need to carry your phone at all times with the Fenix 6 smartwatch. This is assuming you have a need to make or take calls through the Fenix 6 smartwatch while on the run.

Incidentally, the only Garmin smartwatch that can provide cellular connectivity is the Forerunner 945. Even the latest Fenix 7 does not have a cellular model offering.

At some point, Garmin may make a cellular model for the Fenix series. That is an unfulfilled wish of a few Fenix series fans.

Receiving calls on Fenix 6

Yes, you can take an incoming call on a Fenix 6 smartwatch. But, this feature is only available if the paired smartphone is an Android device. For iPhones, you cannot receive calls through the Fenix 6 smartwatch. When you receive a call on the Android smartphone, the connected Fenix 6 smartwatch will display the name or number of the caller. You can choose to ‘Accept’ or ‘Decline’ the call through the Fenix 6 watch screen.

Music storage on Fenix 6

All Fenix 6 smartwatches come with on-device memory storage capacity. The capacity varies with the model that you have purchased. The standard edition of the Fenix 6 smartwatch has 64 MB of internal storage. So, you will not be able to make much use of it for storing personal music content. The higher-end Fenix 6X Pro or Fenix 6X Sapphire has 32 GB of internal storage. It allows you to store up to 2000 songs on the watch storage.

In other words, leaving aside the Fenix 6 standard edition, you can store music content locally on the other models of the Fenix 6 watch.

Fenix 6 watches with 32 GB internal storage for storing music files locally on the watch storage are:

  • Fenix 6 Pro
  • Fenix 6X Pro
  • Fenix 6S Pro
  • Fenix 6 Sapphire
  • Fenix 6X Sapphire
  • Fenix 6S Sapphire

All these watch models have internal storage of 32 GB and a capacity to store up to 2000 songs on the device storage.

Fenix 6 swim proof ratings

Fenix 6 smartwatches have a water resistance rating of 10 ATM. To put things in perspective, Apple Watches have a water resistance rating of 5 ATM. Fenix 6 watches can take a depth pressure of 10 ATM or 330 feet below the water level. You can also say that the Garmin Fenix 6 watches are ‘100 meters waterproof’, thus allowing you to go up to 100 meters below water level.

For indoor swimming, we perceive no challenges with the Fenix 6 smartwatch. Open seawater swimming can cause damage to the watch body. We seldom advise wearing a Fenix 6 while swimming in seawater. It really makes no sense for the long-term damage you expose your watch to.

For deep water diving or Snorkeling, please do not wear Fenix 6. Fenix 6 is not rated for snorkeling or deep water diving as the pressure at deep points and the intensity of the water could cause damage to the Fenix 6 watch body.

Afib detection on Fenix 6

No, Fenix 6 cannot find instances of Atrial Fibrillation. The Fenix 6 smartwatch does not have the ability to take ECG. It is unable to send you any notifications about a potential heart condition involving Atrial Fibrillation or AFib. Even the Fenix 7 does not have an integrated ECG app or feature to detect the AFib condition.

If you are looking for a robust watch to detect AFib, there can be nothing better than the Apple Watch. Starting from the Apple Watch 4 series, all Apple Watches can take ECG and detect AFib reasonably well. You can read more about how an Apple Watch has saved the lives of people on this page.

Summary

Fenix 6 continues to be a robust watch for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, swimmers, and golf lovers. The Fenix 6 firmware gets updated at a frequent pace. We have already seen two Fenix 6 software updates over the previous 2 months. With a Fenix 6 smartwatch, you can be assured about a quality watch that can easily last for 3 to 4 years without causing any sort of hassles.

You may like to read more about Fenix 6 series smartwatches in the content mentioned herein:

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Helen Kurt - Contributor on TECHEPAGES.COM. Reach me on email.

Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].