| Price | $599 | $349 | $499 | $449 | $399 | $499 |
| Product Announcement Date | Jan 4th, 2017 | May 11th, 2016 | Mar 29th, 2017 | Jan 6th, 2014 | July 10th, 2014 | Jan 4th, 2017 |
| Actual Availability/Shipping Date | March 2017 | May 11th, 2016 | Mar 29th, 2017 | May 2014 | Sept 2014 | Mar 31st, 2017 |
| GPS Recording Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Transfer | USB/Bluetooth Smart/WiFi (Sapphire only) | USB/Bluetooth Smart | USB/Bluetooth Smart/WiFi | USB, BLUETOOTH SMART | USB & Bluetooth Smart | USB & Bluetooth Smart |
| Waterproofing | Yes - 100m | Yes - 50m | Yes - 50m | Yes - 30m | Yes - 50m | Yes - 100m |
| Battery Life (GPS) | Up to 24hrs in GPS-on, up to 75hrs in UltraTrac GPS | 14 hours in GPS-on | Up to 24hrs in GPS-on, up to 50hrs in UltraTrac GPS | Up to 50 hours | 25 hours | Up to 50 hours |
| Recording Interval | 1S or Smart | 1S OR SMART | 1S or Smart | 1s | Variable | Variable |
| Alerts | Vibrate/Sound/Visual | Vibrate/Sound/Visual | Vibrate/Sound/Visual | Vibrate/Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual | Sound/Visual/Vibrate |
| Backlight Greatness | Great | Good | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| Ability to download custom apps to unit/device | YEs | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc...) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (no steps though) | Steps only (not distance/sleep) |
Music | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Can control phone music | Yes | Yes | YEs | No | No | No |
| Has music storage and playback | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Streaming Services | No | | No | No | | |
Payments | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Contactless-NFC Payments | No | | No | No | | |
Connectivity | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Bluetooth Smart to Phone Uploading | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc...) | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live Tracking (streaming location to website) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Group tracking | Yes | | Yes | No | | No |
| Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in cellular chip (no phone required) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Cycling | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Designed for cycling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter Configuration/Calibration Options | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Power Meter TSS/NP/IF | Yes | Yes | YEs | NP | No | No |
| Speed/Cadence Sensor Capable | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strava segments live on device | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Crash detection | No | No | No | No | | No |
Running | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Designed for running | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Footpod Capable (For treadmills) | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes (internal accelerometer) | Yes |
| Running Dynamics (vertical oscillation, ground contact time, etc...) | WITH RD POD, HRM-TRI OR HRM-RUN (NOT VIA OPTICAL HR) | YEs | WITH RD POD, HRM-TRI OR HRM-RUN (NOT VIA OPTICAL HR) | No | No (but does work with Stryd for running power) | No |
| Running Power | With extra sensor | | WITH RD POD, HRM-TRI OR HRM-RUN (or 3rd party Stryd/RunScribe) | With extra sensor | | |
| VO2Max Estimation | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Race Predictor | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes, via Race Pace | No | No |
| Recovery Advisor | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | YEs | Yes |
| Run/Walk Mode | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes, via timers | no | No |
Swimming | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Designed for swimming | Yes | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Openwater swimming mode | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lap/Indoor Distance Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Record HR underwater | WITH HRM-TRI/HRM-SWIM (Not with optical HR) | WITH HRM-TRI/HRM-SWIM | WITH HRM-TRI/HRM-SWIM (Not with optical HR) | With Certain Polar Straps | Yes | Yes |
| Openwater Metrics (Stroke/etc.) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indoor Metrics (Stroke/etc.) | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indoor Drill Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Indoor auto-pause feature | No (it'll show rest time afterwards though) | No | No (it'll show rest time afterwards though) | Yes | No | No |
| Change pool size | YEs | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indoor Min/Max Pool Lengths | 14M/15Y TO 150Y/M | 17M/18Y TO 150Y/M | 14M/15Y TO 150Y/M | 20M/Y to 250 m/y | 15m/y to 1,200m/y | 15m/y to 1,200m/y |
| Ability to customize data fields | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Captures per length data - indoors | Yes | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indoor Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | No | No |
Triathlon | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Designed for triathlon | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multisport mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Workouts | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Create/Follow custom workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Barely with 3rd party apps | No |
| On-unit interval Feature | YEs | Yes | YEs | Yes | Barely | Yes |
| Training Calendar Functionality | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Functions | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Auto Start/Stop | Yes | YEs | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Partner Feature | YEs | Yes | YEs | Yes | No | No |
| Virtual Racer Feature | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Records PR's - Personal Records (diff than history) | Yes | Yes | YEs | No | No | No |
| Tidal Tables (Tide Information) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Weather Display (live data) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | no |
Navigate | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints) | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Markers/Waypoint Direction | Yes | Saved locations only | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS) | Yes (5X Only) | No | No | No | No | No |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Impromptu Round Trip Route Creation | Yes (5X Only) | No | No | No | No | No |
| Download courses/routes from phone to unit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Download pre-created only | Yes |
Sensors | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Altimeter Type | Barometric | GPS | Barometric | Barometric | GPS | GPS |
| Compass Type | Magnetic | GPS | Magnetic | Magnetic | Magnetic | Magnetic |
| Optical Heart Rate Sensor internally | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| SpO2 (aka Pulse Oximetry) | No | | No | | | |
| Heart Rate Strap Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT+ Heart Rate Strap Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Footpod Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Power Meter Capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | no |
| ANT+ Lighting Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Bike Radar Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Remote Control | No (can control VIRB though) | No | No (can control VIRB though) | no (but can control GoPro) | No | No |
| ANT+ eBike Compatibility | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| ANT+ Gear Shifting (i.e. SRAM ETAP) | Yes | | YEs | No | No | No |
| Shimano Di2 Shifting | Yes | Yes | YEs | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth Smart HR Strap Capable | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence Capable | Yes | NO | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth Smart Footpod Capable | Yes | nO | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes (+ Stryd Running Power Meter) |
| Bluetooth Smart Power Meter Capable | YEs | nO | YEs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Temp Recording (internal sensor) | Yes | No | YEs | Yes | No | Yes |
| Temp Recording (external sensor) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Software | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | PC Application | Garmin Express | Garmin Express | Garmin Express | Polar Flowsync - Windows/Mac | Moveslink Agent | PC/Mac |
| Web Application | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect | Garmin Connect | Polar Flow | Movescount | Suunto Movescount |
| Phone App | iOS/Android/Windows Phone | iOS/Android/Windows Phone | iOS/Android/Windows Phone | iOS/Android | iOS/Android | iOS/Android |
| Ability to Export Settings | No | No | No | No | Yes (online) | No |
Purchase | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Amazon | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Backcountry.com | Link | | | | | |
| Competitive Cyclist | Link | | | | | |
| REI | | Link | | | | |
DCRainmaker | Garmin Fenix 5 (5/5S/5X) | Garmin Forerunner 735XT | Garmin Forerunner 935 | Polar V800 | Suunto Ambit3 Sport | Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR | | Review Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link | Link |