New Garmin watches in 2026: what has shipped and what is coming

Shipped so far in 2026

The spring wave belonged to runners. In May Garmin launched the Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 170, entry-level running watches with 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreens and the traditional five-button layout, the 170 also in a Music variant with on-watch storage for offline listening (Garmin's announcement). They effectively reset the bottom of the Forerunner line: AMOLED and buttons at a price that used to buy a MIP screen.

Expected next: the Fenix 9

The headliner of the fall window. Garmin's CEO has called 2026 "a very active year for outdoor", and the Fenix line has launched in the August-to-October window for several generations running. A model reference has already surfaced in Garmin Connect code. We track the evidence, the realistic release window and the expected features in our dedicated Fenix 9 page, which we update as facts land.

Traced in code and filings

Two more names have left footprints without an announcement. Enduro 4 appears in Garmin Connect app code (version 5.26), a logical successor in the ultra-endurance line (Garmin Rumors tracks the traces). And a regulatory filing describes CIRQA, a band-style wearable aimed at recovery, stress and alertness tracking rather than sports (Notebookcheck's summary). Both are evidence that hardware exists, not that a launch is near; code names have historically preceded launches by months.

How to read a Garmin year

Garmin's cadence is unusually predictable for a hardware company: running and fitness launches cluster around the spring marathon season, outdoor flagships arrive before the holiday quarter, and feature updates flow to existing watches in monthly software waves in between. The practical takeaway for buyers: a watch bought mid-cycle keeps receiving features for years, and a watch bought the week before a successor launches still does. The only expensive move is buying the outgoing flagship at full price in early fall.

Frequently asked

Should I wait for the Fenix 9 or buy a Fenix 8 now?

If your current watch works, waiting through the fall window costs you little. If you need a watch today, the Fenix 8 is a mature, heavily updated platform, and previous generations have historically seen price drops once a successor lands. Either way your Connect IQ faces and purchases carry over.

Do Connect IQ watch faces work on brand-new models right away?

Only after each developer adds the new model to their compatibility list, which for actively maintained faces happens within days or weeks of the SDK supporting it. We add new models to ours as soon as Garmin ships simulator support.

How reliable are names found in Garmin Connect app code?

Historically quite reliable as evidence that a device exists internally, and useless for dates. Products appear in app code months before launch, and some never ship under the codename found.

Last verified: 2026-07-18 · sources linked per claim; rumor items labeled as such