Announcement: quatix 5 Marine GPS Smartwatch
Today Garmin announced the quatix 5, its next-generation marine GPS smartwatch that’s specifically designed for life on the water. More than a watch, the quatix 5 provides comprehensive boat connectivity with compatible Garmin chartplotters and other marine electronics to offer autopilot control, remote multifunction display (MFD) waypoint marking, data streaming – including speed, depth, temperature and wind – sail racing assistance, and much more. In addition to preloaded marine-specific feature sets, the quatix 5 also includes a host of built-in activity profiles for land and water sports like running, hiking, biking, swimming, rowing, and paddle boarding to name a few.
With an extended battery life, daily activity tracking, smart notifications, and Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate technology, the quatix 5 can be worn 24/7 and easily transitions from water to land. Built to withstand the harsh marine environment, the quatix 5 measures at 47mm and features a rugged yet sleek design with a stainless steel bezel, buttons and rear case that’s more compact than previous models. Thanks to the new QuickFit bands available in metal, leather or silicone, users can interchange their watchband in seconds and without tools.
“From fishermen chasing billfish or bass to canoeists, kayakers and big sail and power boaters, the quatix 5 was designed for life on the water,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “It combines feature and design qualities from our popular fenix 5 multi-sport watch series with boating, fishing, cruising and sailing capabilities to deliver the most sophisticated and connected general-purpose marine smartwatch on the market today.”
When paired with onboard Garmin electronics, the quatix 5 can stream NMEA 2000 boat data to give users access to important sensor information like speed, depth, temperature, wind data and more – right from their wrist, no matter where they’re at on the boat. What’s more, when the quatix 5 is paired with a GHC 20 autopilot control unit, it can be used to control the autopilot to change heading, engage heading hold, steer to an active GPS route, and initiate patterns so that users can maintain control of the vessel, even if they’re not the one at the helm.
The quatix 5 also makes it easier than ever to mark and save a waypoint from anywhere on the boat – with the touch of a button, the quatix 5 can be used to remotely mark a waypoint on a connected chartplotter(s). And, users can also use the quatix 5 to control their onboard entertainment system thanks to the built-in FUSION Lite app that controls connected StereoActive products as well as other ANT-enabled stereo models.
Specifically designed for the water, the quatix 5 gives mariners up-to-date tide data downloaded for the area they’re in through a smartphone, and will have access to that data for seven days. It’s also equipped with an anchor alarm to warn users of drift and an anchor rode calculator that tells the user the proper length of anchor line to put out. For fishing, a competition timer and fish catch log are available to help users keep track of the fish they’ve caught and the time remaining before getting back to weigh-in. And for sail racing, the quatix 5 features tack assist, race countdown timer, distance to start line, and time to burn.
Water rated to 100 meters, the quatix 5 is built to withstand the elements and features a sunlight-readable color display with an LED backlight so data is easily visible in any light. With an omni-directional stainless steel EXO antenna and high-sensitivity GPS with GLONASS support, it has the ability to track in more challenging environments than GPS alone. The quatix 5 boasts up to 24 hours of battery life in GPS mode, 60 hours in UltraTrac mode and two weeks in smartwatch mode (depending on settings).
In addition to the marine and multi-sport features, the quatix 5 can be worn for daily activity tracking so users can wear their quatix as a daily timepiece. It boasts a variety of connected features and when paired with a compatible smartphone, users can get call, text and email smart notifications right on their wrist. The quatix 5 is compatible with Connect IQ, an open platform for third-party developers to create content for compatible Garmin wearables, so users can customize their watch with apps, widgets, data fields and watch faces.
The quatix 5 is expected to be available in June in two versions: the quatix 5 and the quatix 5 Sapphire. The quatix 5 Sapphire has a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens and includes a stainless steel band as well as a blue silicone QuickFit band. With a suggested retail price of $849.99, it’s also Wi-Fi enabled so users can connect their watch to their home network for automatic uploads to Garmin Connect when within range. The non-sapphire quatix 5 comes with a blue silicone QuickFit band with a suggested retail price of $599.99.
Garmin was recently named Manufacturer of the Year for the second year in a row by the NMEA, an honor given to the most recognized marine electronics company for support of products in the field. Garmin’s portfolio includes some of the industry’s most sophisticated chartplotters and touchscreen multifunction displays, sonar technology, high-definition radar, autopilots, high-resolution mapping, sailing instrumentation, and other products and services that are known for innovation, reliability, and ease-of-use.
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If Saltwater fishing, coastal boating and sailing is more your style, check out @GarminMarine.
