Garmin 920TX – my first impressions

10 days ago, I was able to pick up my new Garmin 920XT at Tempo-Sport. I was curious about this new model since it’s announcement early October. Thanks to DC Rainmaker, I already got a good impression from his detailed and interesting review about what to expect. I want to share my personal impressions with the new 920XT.

Garmin 920 XT Photo by Markus Fehr
Garmin 920 XT

The first positive impression is the weight of the watch. It’s interesting that 11 g down to 61 g can make a difference: It feels (and is) much lighter than the 910XT.

When going for a run with my 910XT, I was used to wait a moment until the GPS signal is found. This time is now significantly reduced and now takes a few seconds only. The first two exercises, I forgot to press the start-button. The reason is that the “enter” and “start” function are with the same button. When you select your desired sport (run/swim/bike/your own), the display shows up with your heart rate, etc. Initially, I did not look any further, assumed that the exercise already started.

One of the most convenient additions is the automatic upload of training data to Garmin Connect. When coming back home, my data is uploaded before I even open the door as soon as the watch detected my home WLAN. If I am not at home, the same happens as soon as my watch recognises my iPhone and data is synchronised this way (through a Bluetooth connection).

You can also use the Garmin 920XT as a smart watch, linked up with your iOS device. All notifications from the iPhone show up on your watch, alerted by a vibration. Interestingly, the event occurs on the watch first, before it appears on the iPhone. – It made me aware, how many notifications my Phone is generating. Based on this experience, you might want to change the way notifications appear on your iPhone (and the 920XT consequently) or turn this functionality off on your watch.

For the first few days, I used to wear my 920XT on a daily basis. I have charged my watch once, a week ago. Since then, I trained a total of about 7 hours. The battery still shows about ⅓ of capacity available. It is nice to see that the battery is better so the watch requires less frequent charging.

The only thing I don’t like was the initial setup. Actually, this us the second user experience after holding the light watch in your hand… The setup does not ask which measuring units I prefer. It asked me about my weight in pounds and my size in feet and inches. – After the setup, I then changed the units to my preference. As a result, the auto-lap took place at 1,6 km in  the next run… – Garmin, this can be done better! – I noticed that my watch is a “European model”. So it would make sense to set the default value of measuring units to kg and metric as most countries in Europe use these units. – Garmin, I am willing to help beta testing for your next new units.

A few days ago, Garmin announced an update of the firmware for the 920XT. It adds some additional modes for ski/snowboarding. According to DC Rainmaker, it also adds some Connect IQ features which enhance the functionality of the watch even more. This demonstrates that “there is more to come”, making the watch even more powerful in the near future.