Last Updated on March 14, 2024 by Senior Editor
The Garmin Fenix 6X Pro comes in three models; the 6X Pro, 6X Pro Sapphire and 6X Pro Solar, the main difference between these three is that the 6X Pro Solar has a titanium bezel and features solar powering which the 6X Pro and Sapphire lack. It is the first smartwatch from Garmin to have solar. On the other hand, the Sapphire unit comes with a premium sapphire screen and DLC-coated bezel. As a result, the Pro Solar will last a little longer than the 6X Pro and 6X Pro Sapphire. We compare the differences between the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro vs 6X Pro Solar vs 6X Pro Sapphire to help you make a more informed decision.
Note that just like the Fenix 5, the Fenix 6 comes in three sizes; Fenix 6s, 6 and 6x. The 6s comes in at 42mm, while Fenix 6 has a 47mm case size and Fenix 6X has a 51mm case size. This can be easily identified from the naming. As a result of the differences in size, the Fenix 6x has the longest battery life followed by the Fenix 6, while the Fenix 6s has the shortest battery life.
There are 11 units of the Fenix 6 which are listed below.
- Garmin Fenix 6s, 6s Pro, 6s Pro Sapphire and 6s Pro Solar.
- Garmin Fenix 6, 6 Pro, 6 Pro Sapphire and 6 Pro Solar.
- Garmin Fenix 6x Pro, 6x Pro Sapphire and 6x Pro Solar.
The differences between the different units come in the materials, battery life, music storage, maps, and prices. The Fenix Solar and Sapphire units have a more durable build than the Standard units. The Solar units have the longest battery life and are the most expensive.
Meanwhile, the standard units lack features such as Trendline popularity routing, PacePro, ski maps, road/trail maps, and the ability to preload music. As a result, the standard units are the cheapest.
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro vs 6X Pro Solar: Specifications Compared
| Product Info |
 Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Specifications, Features and Price |
 Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar Specifications, Features and Price |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Original price was: $649.99.$519.99Current price is: $519.99. | $849.99 |
| ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE |
| Device name | Garmin Fenix 6X Pro | Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar |
| Device type | Fitness/Sport smartwatch | Fitness/Sport smartwatch |
| Gender | Men | Men |
| Release date | September, 2019 | September, 2019 |
| Predecessor | Garmin Fenix 5X Plus | Garmin Fenix 5 Plus |
| Successor | — | — |
| Versions | — | — |
| BODY | BODY | BODY |
| Dimension | 51 x 51 x 14.9 mm | 51 x 51 x 14.9 mm |
| Weight | 93 grams | 82 grams |
| Shape | Circular | Circular |
| Case material | Fiber-reinforced polymer | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Strap material | Leather, Nylon, Silicone, Titanium | Silicone, Titanium |
| Bezel material | DLC, Stainless steel | DLC, Titanium |
| Strap size | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Interchangeable strap | 26 mm, Yes | 26 mm, Yes |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass DX, Sapphire glass | Power Glass |
| Water resistance | 10 ATM | 10 ATM |
| Durability test | MIL-STD-810G | MIL-STD-810G |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Color | Black | Black, Gray |
| DISPLAY | DISPLAY | DISPLAY |
| Display size | 1.4 inches | 1.4 inches |
| Display type | LCD, Memory-in-pixel (MIP), transflective | LCD, Memory-in-pixel (MIP), transflective |
| Display resolution | 280 x 280 px | 280 x 280 px |
| Pixel density | — | — |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | 5 Physical buttons | 5 Physical buttons |
| CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY |
| Bluetooth | ANT+, Bluetooth | ANT+, Bluetooth |
| Bluetooth calling | No | No |
| GPS | Galileo, GLONASS, GPS | Galileo, GLONASS, GPS |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| MEMORY | MEMORY | MEMORY |
| RAM | — | — |
| ROM | 32GB | 32GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY |
| Technology | None | None |
| SIM type | None | None |
| Band | — | — |
| NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS |
| SMS alert | Yes | Yes |
| Calls alert | Yes | Yes |
| Email alert | Yes | Yes |
| Event reminder | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party apps alert | Yes | Yes |
| Reply to Notifications | - | - |
| MEDIA | MEDIA | MEDIA |
| Audio | mp3/mp4 | mp3/mp4 |
| Bluetooth music | Yes | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | No | No |
| Microphone | No | No |
| Camera | No | No |
| Radio | No | No |
| SENSORS | SENSORS | SENSORS |
| Sensor(s) | Thermometer | — |
| ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING |
| Blood oxygen | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Pressure | No | No |
| Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Distance | Yes | Yes |
| ECG tracking | No | No |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes |
| Floors climbed | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Fall detection | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | Yes | Yes |
| VO2 Max | Yes | Yes |
| Swim-tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Underwater heart rate tracking | Yes | Yes |
| On-screen workout | Yes | Yes |
| Sport modes | Yes | Yes |
| BATTERY | BATTERY | BATTERY |
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery capacity | — | — |
| Battery life | Battery saver mode: 80 days, Expedition GPS mode: 46 days, Smartwatch mode: up to 21 days | Battery saver mode: 120 days, Expedition GPS mode: 56 days, Smartwatch mode: 24 days |
| Charging type | Charging dock | Charging dock |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | Yes |
| PLATFORM | PLATFORM | PLATFORM |
| Chipset | — | — |
| CPU | — | — |
| GPU | — | — |
| Operating system | Proprietary OS | Proprietary OS |
| MISC | MISC | MISC |
| Companion app | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect |
| Compatibility | Android 5.0+, iOS 11.0+ | Android 5.0+, iOS 11.0+ |
| Payment system | Garmin Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Voice command | No | No |
| Find my phone | Yes | Yes |
| Box content | Charger, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro, Manual, Straps | Charger, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar, Manual, Straps |
SEE ALSO
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Fitness Tracking Features
| Garmin Fenix 6x Pro | Garmin Fenix 6x Pro Solar | |
| Activity Tracking Features Steps counter, floors climbed, fitness age, Move IQ intensity minutes and distanced traveled. | Yes | Yes |
| Body Battery Energy Monitor Lets you see your body’s energy levels throughout the day so you can find the best times for activity and rest. | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse OX Sensor The Pulse Ox sensor gauges your blood oxygen saturation during the day and as you sleep to show how well your body is absorbing oxygen. | Yes | Yes |
| Stress Tracking Helps you find out if you’re having a calm, balanced or stressful day. Relax reminders will even prompt you to do a short breathing activity when you’re feeling stressed. | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual Cycle Tracking Lets you use the Garmin Connect™ app to track your cycle, log physical and emotional symptoms and learn about training and nutrition during each phase of your cycle. Even get cycle tracking information on your wrist. | Yes | Yes |
| Hydration Tracking Log your daily fluid intake as a reminder to stay hydrated. You can even have an auto goal for hydration that adjusts based on how much sweat you lose during activities — even underwater. | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration Tracking See how you’re breathing throughout the day, during sleep and during breath-work and yoga activities. | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Sleep Monitoring Get a full picture of how you’re sleeping, with a breakdown of your light, deep and REM sleep stages as well as Pulse Ox and respiration data | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Tracking The watch constantly samples your heart rate2 and will alert you if it stays high while you’re at rest. It also helps gauge how hard you work during activities even underwater. | Yes | Yes |
| Mindful Breathing When you want to relax or focus, you can start a breath-work activity, and this watch will track your stress and respiration to help you get a better understanding of how you’re breathing. | Yes | Yes |
| On-Screen Animated Workout Modes Easy-to-follow, animated cardio, strength, yoga and Pilates workouts come preloaded on the watch, and you can download more from the Garmin Connect app. | Yes | Yes |
| Preloaded Workout Modes Track all the ways you move with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps — including walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf and more. | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Coach Get a personal running coach on your wrist, for free, to help you train for your next 5K, 10K or half-marathon. | Yes | Yes |
| Safety and Tracking Features When your watch and phone are paired, your live location can be sent to your contacts manually or — during outdoor activities — automatically with built-in incident detection. Also Livetrack, Group LiveTrack and Live event sharing allow you to invite other to join you in your training. | Yes | Yes |
| Gym & Fitness Equipment Available gym profiles; Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Pilates and Yoga. | Yes and more | Yes and more |
| Training, Planning and Analysis Features Available run profiles; Running, Treadmill Running, Indoor Track Running, Trail Running. GPS speed and distance, customizable activity profiles, advanced training, VO2 Max., heat and altitude acclimation, training load, training effect, auto and manual mutisport activities, Garmin and Strava live segments. | Yes and more | Yes and more |
| ClimbPro Feature Use ClimbPro ascent planner on downloaded courses to see real-time information on your current and upcoming climbs, including gradient, distance and elevation gain. | Yes | Yes |
| Outdoor Recreation Features Outdoor recreational features include hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, XC skiing, stand up paddleboarding, rowing, kayaking, jumpmaster, tactical | Yes and more | Yes and more |
| Multi-GNSS Support Access multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone. | Yes | Yes |
| TOPO Maps Preloaded Topographical (TOPO) maps allow you use TOPO maps with Trendline Popularity Routing to find the best routes and navigate your adventures effortlessly | Yes | Yes |
| Ski Maps Preloaded Ski maps allow you view run names and difficulty ratings for 2,000 worldwide ski resorts. | Yes | Yes |
| Round-trip Routing Enter a distance you want to travel, and get suggested routes that will bring you back to your starting point. Trendline™ popularity routing helps you find the best local paths. | Yes | Yes |
| Turn-by-turn Navigation Follow a route or course with help from turn-by-turn directions, which let you know ahead of time when the next turn is coming. | Yes | Yes |
| ABC sensors Navigate your next trail with ABC sensors, including an altimeter for elevation data, barometer to monitor weather and three-axis electronic compass | Yes | Yes |
| Running Features Available run profiles include running, treadmill running, indoor track running, trail running | Yes and more | Yes and more |
| PACEPRO Technology A first-of-its-kind PacePro feature helps keep you on pace with grade-adjusted guidance as you run a course. | Yes | Yes |
| Golf Courses Access full-color CourseView maps for more than 41,000 golf courses around the world, and get button targeting and the PlaysLike Distance feature. | Yes | Yes |
| Swimming Features Available swimming profiles; pool swimming, open water swimming, swimming/running. Other features include; tracks metrics such as distance, pace, stroke count, stroke distance and SWOLF. | Yes | Yes |
| Underwater Wrist-based Heart Rate Tracking Features underwater wrist-based heart rate tracking that helps you manage your swimming intensity. | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter Floors climbed | Yes | Yes |
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro vs 6X Pro Solar: Battery Life
| Fenix 6X Pro | Fenix 6X Pro Solar |
| Smartwatch: Up to 21 days GPS: Up to 60 hours GPS and Music: Up to 15 hours Max Battery GPS Mode: 120 hours Expedition GPS Activity: 46 days Battery Saver Watch Mode: 80 days | Smartwatch: Up to 21 days +3 days GPS: Up to 60 hours +6 hours GPS and music: Up to 15 hours +1 hour Max battery GPS mode: 120 hours + 28 hours Expedition GPS activity: 46 days + 10 days Battery saver watch mode: 80 days + 40 days |
What’s the Difference?
The difference between the Fenix 6X Pro, 6X Pro Sapphire and 6X Solar comes in the build material, battery life and prices. While the 6x pro has a corning gorilla glass with stainless steel bezel, the Sapphire unit has a sapphire glass and DLC coated bezel. Meanwhile, the solar unit has a power glass alongside a titanium bezel.
The solar unit with solar power has a slightly longer battery life than the other two units. As a result, the solar unit is priced a little higher than the sapphire unit, while the standard unit is the cheapest.
Otherwise, every other feature is the same.
Bottom line, if you looking for a monster battery life and durable build, the solar unit is the best choice.