Garmin’s flagship Fenix 9 Pro has no MicroLED version, and the company has now said why: it cannot yet get enough of the panels. Its chief operating officer, Brad Trenkle, also warned in the same interview that watch prices could go up because some components now cost far more than a year ago.
The Fenix 8 Pro was sold with a MicroLED screen, which is much brighter than AMOLED but drains the battery faster. The Fenix 9 Pro comes only with an AMOLED or a MIP display, so anyone who wanted the brighter panel has nothing to buy this generation.
Garmin chose to give the Fenix 9 Pro a brighter AMOLED panel instead, rated at up to 3,000 nits, and a first-ever titanium case for the line. The 51mm model gets Garmin’s first 1.5-inch AMOLED screen, and satellite and LTE messaging through inReach is now offered on all three sizes. Garmin rates the solar models at close to two months between charges. The Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED, by comparison, reached 4,500 nits, at the cost of shorter battery life.
Trenkle said Garmin still sees promise in the technology, but it has too few suppliers and they cannot ramp up fast enough. MicroLED makers also appear unable to produce panels in several sizes: the Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED came only in 51mm, while the Fenix 9 Pro AMOLED is sold in 43, 47 and 51mm. The panel maker behind the Fenix 8 Pro, AUO, is preparing a new generation of MicroLED panels for 2027, according to what it has told investors. Trenkle gave no date for a comeback, and he does not expect a MicroLED Fenix before the next generation of the line.
On prices, Trenkle said components Garmin paid $4 or $5 for a year ago now cost almost ten times as much, though he did not name them. Garmin’s CEO had already said on the company’s earnings call that higher prices were one of the options. Trenkle’s view is that Garmin’s high margins let it absorb more of the increase than rivals can, since a tenfold jump in one part is a bigger blow to a cheap $199 model than to a $999 flagship. “We’re not immune to it,” he said.
No increase has been announced. The Fenix 9 launched in August at $999.99, the same starting price as the Fenix 8 in 2024, and the Fenix 9 Pro at $1,099.99. For comparison, the Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED, which launched at $1,999.99, is listed on Garmin’s site at $1,599.99 after price cuts.
