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Tech Tidbits Friday: PowerPod’s new $199 model, Fenix 5 (non-Plus) gets Galileo, Tacx lowers prices, Eurobike preview

Ok, rounding up some of the week’s news in sports tech, here’s a few little tidbits that are definitely worth mentioning.  And some of them are hot off the press, primarily the totally unexpected Galileo one!

PowerPod’s new $199 model

PowerPod

This past weekend the folks behind the PowerPod announced a new variant, the PowerPod Lite.  This new model drops the price down to $199 (from $299+) and does away with some of the higher-end features (software focused).  You still get total power transmitted via ANT+, but you only can store a single bike and you can’t use their desktop software to download full files for more advanced analytics afterwards.

As part of this, PowerPod has split things out into five different SKU’s, which, I’ll talk about in a second. Here’s the lineup as it stands now according to a chart on their website:

image

For the vast majority of people, the PowerPod Lite will fit the bill perfectly.  When I look at how I’ve used the PowerPod in the past with testing and such, it’s totally within the confines of the PowerPod Lite features.  And I suspect that’s true for 98% of readers as well.  I think the shift to a $199 option is a great move, especially as WatTeam and 4iiii have gotten to the point in pricing that you’d have to significantly consider them over a PowerPod (when it was priced at $299-$399).

Certainly there are some caveats to be aware of with a PowerPod, but I find that most folks that knock it…haven’t actually tried it anytime recently.  It’s not necessarily the product I’d personally use myself, but I think it does work for a lot of people.

One thing I’d say is that I think the above has too many SKU’s. I’d shorten it to merely three SKU’s: PowerPod Lite at $199, PowerPod ANT+/BLE at $299, and AeroPod at $499.  I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone caring about PowerStroke anywhere within the 1,002 comments left on my PowerPod review.  If folks want it, it should be an easy up-sell.  Speaking of which, as noted above by the chart, most of these things you can actually buy after the fact as software updates.  Thus having multiple SKU’s increases complexity.  Again, just my two cents.

In any case, great to see this price movement here.  This is a price point that’s done really well for them at Black Friday and other major annual sales, so it makes sense to adopt it more permanently.

Garmin Fenix 5 Gets Galileo Beta:

Fenix5Galileo

(Above pic shows the option on the Fenix 5 Plus)

Put this on the pile of ‘Totally didn’t see this coming’ for today.  This afternoon Garmin quietly dropped a beta firmware for the existing/original Fenix 5 series (5S/5/5X) that enables Galileo support.  Galileo is a different satellite network (that’s still coming online, but is largely operational already) that was announced within the Fenix 5 Plus earlier this week.  Garmin also rolled it out to the Edge 130 earlier this spring.  In my testing with Galileo tracks on the Fenix 5 Plus, I’m seeing very good tracks across tough conditions – without question some of the best tracks overall from any device.

Of course, there are hardware changes between the Fenix 5 original series and Fenix 5 Plus series related to the antenna, so as such we may not see identical performance.  But hey – at least having the option is a welcome change.  And also a change I didn’t expect.  While Garmin had previously acknowledged the Fenix 5X was in theory compatible with Galileo (prior to Galileo having enough satellites to matter), I don’t remember them saying it for the rest of the series. After getting an e-mail about it this afternoon from Garmin, I even circled back doing a double-take to ensure it wasn’t a typo for Fenix 5 Plus beta releases. It wasn’t.

In any case, since this just came out I haven’t had the chance to test it.  But since it’s a BETA firmware update, you’ll want to tread lightly anyways (in other words, don’t update it ahead of your Ironman race this weekend).  Here’s the links to the three different units:

Fenix 5S Beta Update
Fenix 5 Beta Update
Fenix 5X Beta Update

Also note – super important – you need to connect to Garmin Express or Garmin WebUpdater and install the GPS-specific update you’ll get offered as well, otherwise it won’t work!  Also note if you’re not familiar with beta updates, you can hit up the Garmin Forums for more details on it and/or for feedback/troubleshooting (5/5S forum post, 5X forum post)

The beta firmware update also has some other minor updates in it too, but the big ticket one here is Galileo support.  Now if we can just get them to add the new smart notification privacy feature found on the Fenix 5 Plus and perhaps ClimbPro, there’d be lots of happy campers.  Obviously, the majority of the other new features on the Fenix 5 Plus require physical new hardware (like contactless payments, or storage for maps/music).

In any event, go forth and test it out and report back. The DCR Analyzer is of course available to compare tracks side by side if you have other devices.  Or there’s other free options like Golden Cheetah.

Tacx Lowers Trainer Prices

TacxNeoTrainer

Earlier this week Tacx dropped prices on their trainers, in some cases quite considerably. Here’s the lineup of new prices (USD), I don’t know what (if any) Euro or other currency price changes there are:

Tacx Neo Smart: From $1,599 to $1,369
Tacx Flux Smart: From $899 to $799
Tacx Bushido Smart: From $799 to $619
Tacx Vortex Smart: From $549 to $429
Tacx Satori Smart: From $399 to $329

While the Tacx Neo drop will catch peoples attention, I’d argue the Tacx Flux Smart is the most meaningful. It puts immediate pressure on Elite with their Elite Direto trainer that’s been handily dominating that price-point for the last year (at $899).  Of course, it also applies pressure on Wahoo to produce something in the direct drive realm that doesn’t cost $1,100.

Now, as I always say this time of year…now is a horrible time to buy a new trainer.  With Eurobike just two weeks away, that’s the historical grounds for announcing new indoor training products.  Same goes for Interbike (in mid-September), but I don’t expect any holdovers to that show this year.  It just no longer makes sense for the indoor trainer season (which is becoming more and more year-round).  Companies want to secure your dollars earlier in the season, rather than risk late delivers and people switching to other brands.

Still, there are exceptions to this: Most notably if you need/want a trainer now, to use now.  In general, most things announced at Eurobike aren’t available till later on.  There are exceptions though (Wahoo and Elite have historically had some of their announcements available immediately, yet others have been later arrivals).  But it probably goes without saying that if you can wait till July 8th, that’s the best time to evaluate all your options.

Eurobike Lead-Up:

Finally, I know this week has been quiet after Monday in terms of new posts.  Not for lack of things being done around these parts.  Sure, I’ve been with family this week in Florida, but I’ve been also working away at items on this list:

image

What’s this list you ask? It’s my working list for now till roughly July 10th. Eurobike starts on July 8th. Items that are blacked out are new products, obviously, and the post type is what I’m aiming for. Plus, I just realized I forgot at least two products on the above.  But I’m too lazy to add them and re-copy/paste/black-out/etc… My rough definition of post types are:

In-Depth Reviews: Super detailed review based on final product and multiple usages of said product over a longer period of time. You know the drill here.

 

Hands-on Posts: Detailed post where I can use the product in a normal workout setting for one or more times (usually by myself), but the product hardware/software isn’t final, thus I don’t believe it’s right to call it a review.  Also, sometimes I put things (final products) in this category if I have no realistic intention of writing a full review down the road (unless feedback is strong from readers that I should).

 

First Look: These are posts where I’ve had no actual workouts/time alone with the device, and typically are shot on trade-show floors or at/near company.  These are generally fairly last minute in terms of product access or completeness.

Got all that? Good.  Now, I’ve gotta get back to work. Despite being ‘on vacation’, I had companies visit me as well as ship new products each day (in fact, at 7:28PM on a Friday another box just arrived). The trend continues every day next week back in Amsterdam. Gonna be crazy!

With that – have a good weekend, and thanks for reading!

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98 Comments

  1. Patrick

    Hopefully we will hear something about the Kickr Climb…. one day.

    • ms

      I wonder if Wahoo is rethinking the Climb. Maybe some kind of rocker plate trainer. The Climb has been on hold so long it seems like they are equivicating on it.

    • MAGNUS

      Nope, it’s coming… A lot later than expected, but it’s coming.

      Got an email from Wahoo earlier this week they ‘officially’ opened pre-orders. Albeit, on a very limited basis, but they accepted pre-orders.

      My guess is one of those 7/06 ‘In-depth Reviews’ will be for the climb… Or perhaps that’s just my wishful thinking.

    • Jim Sands

      Kinetic is rumored to have a direct drive offshoot of their rock and roll.

  2. Bob Goodman

    I wonder if the Edge 1030 will get Galileo.

  3. Patrick

    i hope this means the 935xt will get galileo too (i think its the same hardware as the F5)
    i’ve been seeing issue with tracking on my 935 which i upgraded to because i was getting poor tracking on my 920 :(

    • Michael Coyne

      I’m also a 935 owner hoping it gets it. I haven’t seen any major tracking issues that I can remember at the moment, but I always having new toys to play with.

    • Hopper

      Crossing my fingers that the 935 gets this and it helps. The 935 works great in all conditions except the trails where it is significantly worse than my old 910xt

    • YuSwa

      And it is available! Just updated my 935, and possible to select GPS + GALILEO now.

  4. Patrick

    I’m getting a 404 with all three of the Garmin Fenix 5 beta links.

  5. Tony Wilson

    Hey Ray. Powerpod and MTB? I see they’ve got a new calibration for this. Any good?

  6. Jf

    So glad PowerPod lowered prices. Now I can add power to my Zwift setup

  7. Ivan Agafonov

    And my 5x just died a day ago going into continuous restart at night. Hard Reset, drive mode with USB cable – nothing worked. Pretty upset with Garmin over the last 5-6 years, as is not the first time.

    Are there any alternatives, besides suunto and polar? Anything new I might have missed.

    • Rui Pereira

      Besides the usual suspects there’s nothing else out there in that segment. Which explains the absurd prices for the new Plus editions…

  8. Dave Lusty

    Haha it almost sounds like a real job for a change!

    I hope one of those blanks is a new Polar high end watch. I won’t buy one, but they were my first, second, third and fourth sports watch (one of which actually had GPS!) so it makes me feel sad seeing them dropping out of the running over the last few years. Hopefully Wahoo will take thier place to offer Garmin a little competition though, I get the feeling Garmin don’t see Suunto as a threat. With the 5 plus pricing we’re in desperate need for competition more than ever!

  9. Eugene Chan

    That’s a lot of new smart trainers/rollers/accessories at Eurobike.

  10. Brian Reiter

    This is a very good sign from Garmin that they value their customers. If they enable feature parity across the F5/F5 plus line where the hardware support exists, that will do a lot for customer good will.

    Getting the smart notifications would be a good sign that Garmin really values their existing Fenix customer good-will but I have notifications turned off, so it would not affect me. I would, however, be super-pleased if the ClimbPro feature came to the 5X or even just the continuous calibration of the barometric altimeter against the DEM elevations in the cartography data. The altimeter drift is one of the weakest points of the f5x.

    It is fascinating that the *new* GPS firmware that enables Galileo is v2.20 and the *current* is v4.30 (and some people seem to have v4.40). That is a major versioning disconnect. I wonder what the version number for the Display, WiFi, Sensor Hub (BLE/ANT/SNS), and WHR are in the Fenix 5 plus series? Maybe the new GPS driver came from the f5 plus series development effort and now they are aligning the software stacks across those two lines where the hardware is actually the same.

    • My FR935 is on GPS v4.40 … i did nothing special to get it.

      (firmware 9.1, wifi2.4, ciq 2.4.4 ble6.2)

    • Brian Reiter

      Fenix 5X:

      – system 9.20
      – GPS: 4.30
      – Display: 2.80
      – WiFi: 2.40
      – CIQ: 2.4.4
      – BLE/ANT/SNS (sensor hub): 6.20
      – WHR: 20.03.31

      No matter how you slice it GPS 2.20 < 4.30 or 4.40, which means something. Normally these version numbers are monotonically incrementing. In general software engineering release practice major version numbers incrementing when there are major features or breaking API changes and minor version numbers are generally bug fixes / performance improvements.

    • Brian Reiter

      Inerestingly,, my wife has GPS 4.40 on her Fenix 5S.

    • the5krunner

      yep @brian. agreed

      interestingly i’ve just done an hour run with the 4.4 GPS stuff in fairly tricky gps conditions and the 935 looks pretty good. Better than i’d have normally expected AND I wore it on the underside of my arm (for a variety of reasons i won’t go into)
      also it seemed to get some GPS track parts ‘correct’ where gps reception was impossible. perhaps there is a NEW FusedTrackesque thing going on with the Garmin accelerometer??? DCR might know.

      so maybe, just maybe, it’s made regular gps better?

      dont get excited. i’m probably imagining it at this stage. but other readers just might want to have a little look…just in case.

    • Jarda

      The 4.40 to 2.20 “downgrade” seems weird until you realize that Fenix 5 plus line ships with GPS v2.20. I think they basically broke continuity to bring these two in alignment. In other words, it would seem that what they did is they took GPS firmware for Fenix 5 plus and used it for 5. Which might indicate they actually use same/close enough chipset to run on the same firmware. Which might be even better news since then Fenix 5 can profit from any updates done for 5 plus GPS.

  11. Also liking the heart rate monitoring in the beta, lets hope both come to the 935!!

    Added abnormal heart rate alerts. Enable these in Heart Rate widget > Heart Rate options > Abnormal HR alert. An abnormal heart rate will be detected if your heart rate exceeds the entered threshold for an extended period of time while sedentary.

    • Michael Coyne

      Does this work the way I think it works? In that if your lowest recorded RHR for the day is higher than ___ for 2 or 3 days in a row, it alerts you?

      When I monitor it closely, I’ve noticed that EVERY time that happens, I’m about to get sick. If I’m monitoring it closely I’m even able to act proactively, but otherwise it’s usually too late to act. Getting a notification would a godsend…

    • I’ve not seen it but I think it’ll be more like alert if your HR is > 120 bpm when sedentary rather that RHR alerting.

  12. TizzleDK

    Someone’s going to be busy :)))))))

    • Scott E

      No joke, he won’t have enough time to retrofit the new industrial DCR cave. Got to love the fact he is working from an Excel sheet. Wonder what the other list from The Girl looks like.

  13. Tim

    Hi Ray,

    have you heard anything about FR935 and Edge 1030 getting Galileo as well?

    Excited for what else is to come
    Thanks
    Tim

  14. DANIEL

    Im very looking forward to see a garmin 820 update since this unit had quite a lot of flaw or bad reputation and also kind of near the end cycle

  15. Heather Riley

    What about the Forerunner 935, since it is basically a less rugged and lighter version of the Fenix 5?

  16. Mirko Surf&Run

    Will also the FR35 (without 9) have Galileo? I’m also a Garmin customer :-)

  17. Guillermo Guerini

    Also hoping to get the Galileo update on the 935. Come on Garmin!!

  18. Pat

    I did not connect to Garmin Express and was still able to get the Galileo update.

    On the 5x, after disconnecting from the computer and restarting the device, I went to:

    Menu
    Settings
    System
    Software Update

    And it was able to pull the GPS update (also have the watch connected to WiFi)

  19. Michal

    Do I understand correctly that with PowerPod Lite there is no access to all the useful weather/environment data it measures and no ability to fine tune it with Isaac software? Well, that doesn’t sound very useful.

    • Luke

      My real question is how the powerpod lite is going to handle different bikes if it doesn’t have access to Isaac. On the regular powerpod it seems like you could just set up speed sensors on a couple of bikes and move the pod, have it recognize the sensor on the new bike, and go from there. With only one profile on the new powerpod moving to a different bike will also require editing the weight etc in isaac, except that Ray’s table above implies you don’t have isaac access. Am I thinking about this wrong…?

    • That’s my understanding, I’ll ask the PowerPod folks to confirm here (they e-mailed a few hours ago on something else). The chart as noted is directly from their page.

    • You can fine tune PowerPod Lite with Isaac software.

      Some cyclists love the environmental data PowerPod measures, some…not so much. PowerPod Lite provides the same both-leg power measurement of every other power meter.

      If you have a PowerPod Lite, a firmware upgrade will add some, to all, of the capabilities of its “big-brother” variants.

    • PowerPod Lite has full Isaac access for profile creation, customization, and selection.

      You can store as many profiles in Isaac as you wish, for all your different bikes. To use them, you’ll select the profile you want in Isaac for today’s ride, then transfer it to PowerPod Lite.

    • Luke

      Thanks John, thats great followup, almost certainly getting one soon…

  20. John

    Second line on that PowerPod chart should technically read combined “left and right leg power”?

    • Agreed. We normally use the short hand phrase “both-leg power” which, of course, is the “combined left-and-right leg power.” We will update the chart.

  21. scooter23

    Just loaded the Garmin Fenix 9.53 beta update. I was able to move the files where they needed to be on my MacBook even though the installation instructions only mentions “IBM compatible…” On the watch, I did end up having to push both the light and down buttons (like a hard reboot) to proceed with the install.

  22. Aben

    Why cant F5x non plus not get music update? Plenty of memory available

    • Brian Reiter

      That doesn’t necessarily mean it has everything necessary. There is likely a hardware decoder for mp3, AAC/mp4 to do efficient low-power playback that may or may not exist in the 5x.

      I think it is fair enough to have the “plus” SKU mean NFC payment and music. I am pleased to see the Galileo support added to the original 5 series and would be very pleased to see continuous calibration of the barometric sensor against the TOPO map data and ClimbPro added to the 5x.

    • Xander

      Beacuse it needs a stronger/better BT to continiously broadcast music. One of the upgrades to ‘+’ models is a ‘better’ BT meant for music connectivity.

  23. Sebastian Haager

    Any expected announcements re power meters at Eurobike? Thinking of grabbing some Assioma’s but may wait if there’s stuff coming down the pipe.

  24. RTellis

    There’s been some discussion around the Garmin forums regarding the use of Galileo in the US. It seems that the government wants anyone who wants to do any sort of GNSS system they have to jump through some hoops to get approval or it can’t be made available to areas within the US.

    It would appear that some cell phones that already have Galileo support turn it off when the phone knows it’s in the States to avoid this issue. Do you know how Garmin is handling this?

  25. Hey All-

    A number of you asked about other Garmin devices, including the FR935, and whether or not they too would be getting Galileo support. I went back to Garmin and got the full list of planned device updates (these will/are be merely software updates, it won’t require new hardware or anything).

    Galileo support is scheduled to be in the FR935 release planned for this Wednesday, June 27 as a production release (not beta like the Fenix 5 release was).

    Additionally, the following other Fitness/Outdoors devices over the last year or so (basically, newer GPS chipsets), will also be getting Galileo support (no specific timeframes yet):
    • Forerunner 645/Forerunner 645 Music
    • Vivoactive 3
    • Vivoactive 3 Music
    • Edge 820
    • Edge 520 Plus
    • Edge 1030

    Cheers.

    • Guillermo Guerini

      That’s awesome!! Thanks for sharing. Has anybody seen improvements related to instante pace with the new beta update the enables Galileo on the Fenix 5??

    • Anthony LoSasso

      Fantastic! Thanks for finding out about this!

    • Hans

      Is it a big thing, the Galileo support? Will it perform better or is it just good to have more options?

    • Brian Reiter

      Fascinating that the FR935 team goes once more into the breach with production firmware rollout while the fēnix team is in beta with the same feature on very similar hardware. I have the distinct impression that the fēnix team is has grown more cautious in 2018.

    • Luís Pinto

      What newer chipsets did you mention? F935 have v.4.40 gps chipset M5(1621), the same version has founded in F645. It is Mediatek3333?

    • Garmin generally doesn’t discuss/release specific chipset versions these days. Instead, as noted above it lists the actual units being updated.

    • Luís Pinto

      I know that. F5, F935, F645 share the same GPS chipset firmware M5 (1621), now v.4.40: link to www8.garmin.com. Just see on System of watch. Version M5 (2957) io don’t know which devices have this firmware: link to www8.garmin.com

    • Brian – One minor thing to remember is that last Monday was the culmination of close to a year of work for the Fenix 5+ team. In other words: My guess is that they were busy getting that newer product out the door, versus focusing on the previous units (logical for any company trying to get a new product out the door). Most folks at Garmin in that division would have been wearing daily the F5+ series to try and catch/fix any last minute bugs.

      Thus, after Monday, attention turned (a bit anyway) to getting other editions up to date. Whereas the Forerunner division could have been focusing on that a while.

      While the company now shares code between divisions, they are still very much separate divisions. In talking to Garmin yesterday about the Galileo thing, apparently it’s been in the works for a really long time for a lot of products. Just sorta where it landed when all their internal testing was finally green to go more public.

    • Luís Pinto

      :) thank you!

    • Jeremy

      I would love a peek into Garmin’s source control management. I’ve always wondered if they share common code and libraries among devices. With tools like Git and NuGet, you would think this would be a no brainer for them.

    • Brian Reiter

      I understand that the Forerunner is a separate division from Outdoor (or something) but that seems like a weird historical artifact that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me today. It’s beyond me why they would have more than one division making wearables that essentially compete with each other but are supposed to share resources. It doesn’t seem like a good alignment of incentives and is a bit worrisome.

      What division(s) are responsible for the more sport-specific watches derived from the fenix: Quatix, Tactix, D2, and Descent?

    • Those watches are all part of the Outdoor division (same as Fenix). Well, I’m not sure who technically owns the D2 actually, but the others are Outdoor.

      Part of the big reason is revenue distribution. By separating it they can obscure revenue lines a bit better from an investor standpoint.

      To be clear, those divisions work very closely together, and are ‘owned’ by a single person on an org chart. But ultimately, in any product you need to have a line in the sand as to who owns a product when you get low enough down the org chart. Just like how in Microsoft, Server and consumer versions are windows all have the same codebase* – but eventually you find the split in divisions and how those divisions are managed.

      (*super over simplification)

    • Brian Reiter

      That sounds about like I thought. The premise being essentially to obscure the balance sheet doesn’t tend to inspire a lot of confidence. ?

      Funny. Microsoft is often used by business analysts as a dysfunctional divisional organization — at least pre-Satya. There is a cartoon org chart that shows all of the divisions holding a gun to all of the other divisions. ?

    • I don’t think the premise started off that way. After all, the Fenix lineup started off on its own back in the day (F1), with the functionality and nuances generally identical to that of the handheld lineup (for better or worse). It was a few years until they got where they are today.

      But, around the same time is when I think someone got smart and realized it allowed them to show growing profits in the ‘Outdoor’ division (one of the 5 major official Garmin divisions: PND/Auto, Marine, Aviation, Fitness, Outdoor). Just like VIRB quietly moved over to PND/Auto a year or two back. That made it more even compared to it just being only Fitness that was growing like crazy.

      Side note you may not realize: I worked at MSFT for a a dozen years before finally making DCR my full time job. Not all cartoons are accurate, though, some are. I think in general most people simplify Microsoft far too much. They know Windows, Office, and Xbox (and maybe have seen a paid Surface ad in a TV show), but fail to realize just how many other products (software) are made (or, have to be supported for a decade or longer). Especially in the enterprise space. It’s mind-boggling how many products. I’d bet that no Microsoft employee could name them all – or even get 50% of all actively ‘shipped’ products. Hundreds and hundreds of them, many components you’ve never heard of in your life and never will have a use for. But likely powers billion dollar business every day.

    • Brian Reiter

      > I worked at MSFT for a a dozen years before finally making DCR my full time job.

      I actually did know that you worked for Microsoft, but I didn’t realize it was quite so long. Counting on my fingers and toes means you are older than you look. Well done. ?

      I still think there is something questionable about the divisional structure at Garmin where the Forerunner and Fenix wearables are in different *divisions*. The watches depend on pieces first released across divisions. The FR935 is essentially identical except for the case to the F5.

      History aside, the current situation of having the “high end” watch case SKUs being in the Outdoor division and the others being the Fitness division is perverse.

      Other than the Descent, there seems to be zero reason for the other derivative brand SKUs of the fenix series to exist. The quatix and tactix are literally just different colors, watch faces, and default widget configuration. The D2 is a little bit more of a fork of the OS, but that sucks if you are a D2 Charlie owner hoping to get the new f5 features that keep rolling out. The main purpose of these SKUs seems to be attempting to identify market segments that can drive up the ASP with a minimum of differentiation. That said, the D2 Charlie and Descent Mk1 do have cooler bezel designs.

      Sorry… starting to ramble on there.

    • Drew

      I’ve connected my 935 to Garmin Express and it’s still saying the latest firmware version is 9.2. Nothing about 9.6. Is this a rolling release?

    • Same here. Still waiting for the updated.

    • Andrew

      How about BeiDou support on EDGE1030???

    • Andrew

      How about BeiDou support on EDGE1030???
      MTK chip support, bun no any China regional firmware with it! (((

  26. JP

    Wow, is anyone else shocked the 2 year old (and often panned) Edge 820 is getting Galileo? My Garmin arsenal of the 820 and 935 seems reaffirmed as the best options out there – most of the bugs worked out and getting the key features for sport. Thanks Ray for getting the confirmations.

    • Julien

      Agreed ! I have the same setup and so far delighted.
      My 820 is couple years old I think, and my 935 about 6 months (as replacement for Fenix 3 that I found too heavy).

    • Dan G

      Yep came here to post this. Really surprise at the 820 getting Galileo.

  27. simon

    Great that garmin have enabled it but after a few runs I’m seeing zero difference between gps+glonass and gps+galileo on an F5x Sometimes tracks are good and sometimes tracks wander a bit

    on the 5x try using the Mapp application – you find yourself wandering across roads and rivers just the same.

    I’m in the uk if it makes any difference – varied terrain – open fields and woods etc.

  28. Renaud

    I’m a bit disappointed seeing that the Edge 520 which is hardware-wise the same as the 520 Plus will not get Galileo support.

    • simon

      you’re assuming it’s the same hardware-wise (apart from the extra storage – so it’s obviously NOT the same hardware-wise) – but that’s just a guess. It’s entirely possible/probable that they use a different GPS chipset in the plus as they have been in all recent devices.

      FWIW I’ve never had a problem with satellite lock on ANY of the edge series, although that’s mainly road cycling. I have had problems with various forerunner/fenix devices, but as I mentioned in another reply I’ve not seen any improvement or change with Galileo

      TLDR: – I wouldn’t worry too much about galileo support in the edge series

    • Renaud

      You may be right, but above all it also shows that Garmin is giving away the Edge 520 in terms of update…

  29. Patrick Utrecht

    I know you don’t generally cover the outdoor devices from garmin like the etrex and/or the Oregons, but do you happen to know if they’ll be getting the Galileo support? After all they’re outdoor devices and some models aren’t too old (yet). Would love to find more info about these, still hoping you’d do an in depth review of them ;)

    • I didn’t ask specifically about those products, and my question was technically directed to the Fitness team, rather than the full Outdoors team. Though, I believe the question ended up in the hands of the GPS engineering group for answer.

      Nonetheless, I’ll circle back and ask if any other Outdoor units are getting anything.

    • Allan

      +1 for coverage on the Garmin outdoor line. I’m still happy that I chose the Oregon 750 over the Edge 820 when it came out (I explained why in the comments for the 820 review). I can even get power data on the Oregon now via ConnectIQ.

    • Patrick Utrecht

      I know you’re really busy swimming and testing and enjoying the great summer we’re having here. But any chance you checkup up about those other outdoor devices (oregon / etrex) about them getting galileo? If not, can you ask around at eurobike?
      Thanks in advance again and hope you dont mind the reminder :)

  30. Martin

    Ray, on your ‘to do’ list there are two items “hands on” scheduled for 26th June, but there have been only one (Kinetic) – shall we expect anything more in short time? ;)

    • (& Magnus from below)

      I ended up consolidating the Kinetic Road Machine Smart 2 into the Kinetic inRide 2 post. Just ran out of time to write two separate posts that use the same pod and were done on the same hardware. That was the only one on the list that could have been consolidated a bit.

    • MAGNUS

      Thanks… July 3rd posts?

      Eagerly awaiting all the upcoming announcements.

  31. Niko

    Damn, I just ordered Tacx Neo since it was sligthly discounted. Hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass, although my Turbo Muin started making weird noise after last ride.

  32. MAGNUS

    Where’s the second ‘Hands-on’ post from yesterday (06/26)?

  33. Henning

    Hi
    I have just updated to Beta 9.71 from 9.2
    But I do not get Galileo support.
    Under about it says GPS 4.40 (!)

    Any ideas what it means and what to do?

    • Jarda

      Henning, go to Settings -> System -> Software Update. There should be another update for GPS 2.2.

    • Henning

      Thanks
      Yes there was an update that I have to run manual
      Funny that the version have a lower number 2.2 where the original was 4.4

  34. And my 5x just died a day ago going into continuous restart at night. Hard Reset, drive mode with USB cable – nothing worked. Pretty upset with Garmin over the last 5-6 years, as is not the first time.

  35. Guillermo Guerini

    I updated my 935 to 9.60 but I still don’t have GPS + Galileo. Looking at the release notes, it says I need to have GPS 2.20 but I’m on 4.40 with an exclamation point next to it: “GPS: 4.40 (!)”. This is the release notes:

    “Added GPS + GALILEO support (Activity Settings > GPS). (Requires GPS version 2.20)”

    What’s going on here?? There isn’t another update available my watch.

  36. I’m using PowerPod and I’m happy with this. Its not necessary to spend to much money and ideal for two bikes

  37. Martin

    Hello, I write this post from Argentina and my English is not so good, I’m sorry. If I use this pod with a fenix 5, the vo2 max of cycling is calculated or I must use a vector. Thank you

  38. Luca

    Ray,
    I think it’s time for you to dig a little on Garmin top watches (Fenix 5 and Forerunner 935) Firmware updates.
    In the last month Garmin has released a lot of updates and every new one has introduced new bugs.

    With the Galileo update they completely messed up the open water swimmimg gps traking, then they made a new update to solve the problem and now workouts uplaod via Garmin Connect Mobile doesn’t work again (that problem already showed up with another firmware update last spring).
    It seems to me they are loosing control on their softwares.

    Maybe you could speak with someone at Garmin and understand what’s going on…

    • Thanks Luca-

      On the OW swim bit, I actually made an entire video last month about it (the issue) – though, the scope of that was it breaking the Fenix 5+ rather than the existing F5/935. It’s only after that video that people started letting me know it also recently broke on the 935/F5 too.

      I actually shot yet another OW swim video yesterday using the latest firwmare, but that too is still broken (better, but still sucky).

      I’m not sure I understand the GCM bit you mention though. I’ve got a FR935 that uploads just fine to GCM (yesterday’s workout in fact). Or am I missing something?

      That said, I do agree that it appears there isn’t a strict test protocol on some of these things. Anyone who’s gone out and swam just a simple 1,000m would have seen the swim issues.

    • Things do seem to have taken a turn for the worse. Run workout pacing also seem broken perhaps since 9.60 firmware on the 935?

      normally follow a planned workout on my 935 at least once a week when I go for a run, that will typically have section(s) with a pace target. Lets say 4:50-5:10.

      It used to be the case with earlier firmware that on the workout screen during that segment, there’d be a display of the current lap average pace, whilst the Red-Green-Red bar around the top of the screen would have an arrow that gave an indication of the current pace. This was very useful as it let you know if you were currently going fast or slow right now, whilst the lap-average pace let you know how you were tracking for that segment overall.

      However, the new behaviour has the Red-Green-Red bar just give an indication of the lap-average pace as well, so there’s two data displays telling you the same thing.

      I’m hoping this is a bug and not desired behaviour as having instant pace and workout avg pace were extremely useful prior to the recent firmware updates.

  39. Cypher

    Hey Ray,
    I could imagine that you are quite busy due to Eurobike but I saw by coincidence that Velocomp has a PowerPod V3.
    I was always very pleased with the first generation and wonder if there is a good reason to upgrade and if you will do at least a little review of it?