The Garmin Edge 1050 was unveiled today, making it the fifth generation of the brand’s top-end cycling computers.
The flagship product finally gets the addition of Garmin Pay. It’s been a long time coming, now that the best smartwatches have been supporting this feature for a few years now.
Billed by the brand as the most capable and best performing GPS computer, the launch of the Garmin Edge 1050 felt decidedly soft, with little fanfare for the newcomer herald.
It’s a big change from a usual refreshed product reveal, but perhaps when designing digital clocks you assume that the model will do the hue innabulation itself.
Yes, because the other big problem is that the Garmin Edge 1050 has a digital bell.
The brand would probably argue that the brighter and clearer screen is the biggest headline, but as someone who has written about the love of bicycle bells and has tried to buy a café stop coffee with a Garmin in the past, these updates top the step to a liquid crystal display and a significantly improved screen resolution.
Garmin Edge 1050 vs Edge 1040
Coincidentally, today also marks almost two years since the brand launched its last top cycling computer, the Garmin Edge 1040, which presented major hardware updates such as solar battery charging and the addition of multi-band GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) technology.
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This time around, the changes between this and the outgoing model are significantly less. To that end, most of the new features are in the software, which mimics many of the new features on your mobile, making it user experience focused.
While Garmin has built on the well-laid foundations left by the Edge 1040, it’s interesting to see that some key features aren’t being carried over. It is a curious move to launch a model with less technical performance than the existing version, highlighting solar charging and thus significantly reducing battery life.
The new Garmin Edge 1050 predicts up to 20 hours of battery life under heavy use, compared to up to 45 hours on the Edge 1040. The battery saver mode also drops by about forty percent to just 60 hours. And no, there’s no word yet from Garmin that a 1050 Solar model is waiting on the sidelines.
Garmin Edge 1040 (left) next to the new Garmin Edge 1050 (right) (Image credit: Garmin)
This battery life hit is partly due to the new larger, brighter and more detailed screen, which now features 480×800 pixels compared to the outgoing model’s 282×470 pixels.
When you visually compare this new model with the Edge 1040, there is little to tell apart. It’s what Garmin calls a ‘refreshed design’, as opposed to a redesign, meaning the body is now slightly more angled and sleeker. The knobs are now all metal and the quarter turn fastener is now replaceable for a longer lifespan.
But the focus of the new Garmin Edge 1050 is mainly on the driving experience. According to the brand, the GroupRide feature, which historically allowed Edge-equipped riders to message each other, share locations and do incident detection, has been updated.
In addition to allowing fellow riders to stay connected through in-ride messaging, live locations and incident detection, you can now set up alerts that can notify fellow riders and lead them to a cyclist in need of help.
Leaderboards and prizes
(Image credit: Garmin)
The brand has also added a fun side to the Garmin Edge 1050, with leaderboards during the climb and post-ride rewards. Garmin says these include titles like ‘Speed Racer’ for the fastest maximum speed, ‘Chatterbox’ for the rider who uses the GroupRide messaging feature the most, and ‘Worker Bee’ for the rider who spent the most time acclimating to pedaling , again assuming riders have the compatible sensors.
The safety features of the Edge 1050 GroupRide feature have also been upgraded so that road or trail hazards reported by other users of the technology appear on the screen. Of course, there is also the option to mark this yourself.
If you’re concerned about the danger of hazard warnings, don’t worry. With the addition of a built-in speaker, users are now audibly alerted to warning signals. The speaker even provides training and navigation directions.
In theory, this is a useful feature for keeping your eyes on the road (or trail), although the drill-sergeant approach to cycling may be a bit poor for your fellow cyclists and communities, as horns and passive-aggressive GPS signals tell your ride.
Improved navigation
Speaking of ride navigation, the new Garmin Edge 1050 also has a course creator on the device. The brand says this will allow users to create courses directly on the device using the responsive touchscreen.
This course creation feature is supported by practical features such as surface type to choose paved or unpaved roads while driving and benefit from audible warnings of upcoming unpaved sections.
Garmin says you can even share the new ride data with other devices, assuming they support the feature.
Statistics
All the usual features are still present of course, with dozens of riding data, many of which are free from Garmin, with Firstbeat Analytics providing training insights on VO2 Max, training status, heat and altitude acclimatization to help evaluate your training.
Garmin also says the built-in power guide now takes into account wind data and the rider’s current endurance to make real-time adjustments to power targets.
Further data viewing and recording features should help you analyze your ride at a detailed level, but this isn’t exactly new territory for the brand built on its data-exploitation capabilities.
The question then is: is the latest Garmin Edge 1050, with a price tag of £649.99 / $699.99, worth upgrading to just for the software updates and a better screen?
There’s no doubt that the new features of this latest model will be of great benefit to Garmin fans. However, the lack of solar power and declining battery life will be a concern for some.
The brighter, higher resolution screen is very welcome, and the built-in course creation can almost eliminate the need for a Strava and Komoot membership. And now that Garmin Pay is included, you could almost leave your cell phone at home… if only you didn’t need a phone to get all the bells and whistles working.