Garmin's first new watch of 2023 might arrive very soon, according to new documents published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and it's likely to be a premium model with a price tag to match.
Before they can be sold in the US, all devices capable of wireless communication (including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) must be tested and approved by the FCC. The results of these tests are published online, and although many details are redacted, we can often glean some interesting insights from them/
On December 30, the FCC published a report describing a "Garmin Extremity Worn Digital Transceiver", with the ID IPH-04578. The device actually received the green light on December 16, but Garmin requested that the agency defer approval. The same device is also listed by the Singaporean telecoms agency, which describes it as a multisport GPS smartwatch with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and ANT+ connectivity.
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The report doesn't give away much information about the watch's design (other than the fact that it's wrist-worn, with the back side of the device in contact with the human skin), but it does mention that it was tested using both silicone and metal bands, both of which were supplied by Garmin.
This is interesting because most of the company's watches are only supplied with a silicone strap. The inclusion of a metal band suggests we might be looking at a premium device that's supplied with both, like the Marq Aviator.
The new watch certainly seems to be different to the Garmin Vivomove Trend, which we're also expecting to launch early this year. The Trend (which has the ID code A04224) will be a hybrid watch like the recently launched Instinct Crossover, but is expected to have less advanced sports tracking tools, no Wi-Fi connectivity, and a more affordable price tag.
According to the FCC's testing reports, it'll also be the first Garmin watch to feature wireless charging, allowing wearers to power it up without plugging in a cable.
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