Earlier this week, Garmin teased a new luxury watch with a brief snippet of video showing a device with a black metal bracelet and built-in flashlight. The video caused a stir on X (formerly Twitter), with several people speculating that the new device might be the hotly anticipated Fenix 8, but turning on the audio revealed that it was in fact a watch designed specifically for pilots.
The company said that the mystery watch would arrive "bright and early", but the Garmin D2 Mach 1 Pro eventually touched down yesterday afternoon at around 4pm ET.
As the name suggests, this is an updated version of the original D2 Mach 1 aviator watch, which landed in March 2022, with a few significant upgrades. First of all, it has Garmin's new heart rate sensor, as featured in the Fenix 7 Pro, Epix Pro, and Venu 3. This features sensors spread over a wider area for more accurate readings, and support for Garmin's ECG app if you live in the US.
Huge battery boost
Despite its dark appearance, the D2 Mach 1 Pro isn't a new entry in Garmin's Carbon Collection. Instead, its case and vented bracelet are made from titanium with a scratch-resistant diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coating. It also comes with a silicone band, so you can switch it for something more practical when you're working out.
The new watch's case is 4mm larger in diameter than the original D2 Mach 1, giving you more screen space and housing a larger batter that extends its maximum battery life to 25 days in smartwatch mode, and 46 hours in fly mode. That's a huge jump from 11 days in smartwatch mode and 24 hours in fly mode for the original device. Of course, using the OLED screen's always-on mode will reduce this significantly.
As the teaser trailer hinted, the D2 Mach 1 Pro also has a built-in LED flashlight, which has three brightness settings and a red mode. The screen also has a red shift option for use after dark.
The D2 Mach 1 Pro is available to buy now direct from Garmin for $1,399.99, which while certainly expensive, is only $100 more than the original D2 Mach 1.
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