You can already read my Garmin Edge 1050 review and also my comparison with Edge 1040 Solar.
Although the Garmin Edge 1040 (Solar) was only introduced two years ago, it looks like Garmin has already prepared its successor. The first leaks and rumors of the Edge 1050 are starting to surface.
In this article, you’ll find all the information we know about the Edge 1050 so far and some of my thoughts.
When will the Garmin Edge 1050 be launched?
The launch date is unknown. From a marketing standpoint, I would expect an introduction before or during the 2024 Tour de France, which starts on Jun 29, 2024.
UPDATE: Garmin Edge 1050 was launched on the 25th of July, 2024.
How much will the Garmin Edge 1050 cost?
The price is also up for speculation for now. The Edge 1040’s launch price was $599.99, and the 1040 Solar’s was $699.99. I expect an increase of at least $50 for the Edge 1050. So, the price could be somewhere around $649.99 USD.
UPDATE: Garmin Edge 1050 costs $699.99 (€749).
What Will Be New?
The new form factor is known from the photos so far. The corners are more angular, and it also looks like the edges of the display are curved, similar to how they used to be with Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Personally, I don’t see any practical advantage in this, and maybe it’s just a design feature. We’ll see. I’d rather see smaller bezels and a larger screen-to-body ratio, like the iGPSport iGS800.
According to the fitness-tracker-test.info, Edge 1050 should introduce a few new features. I don’t know what their sources are, but they mention:
- A higher-resolution display should have a resolution of 480×800px (the one on Edge 1040 has 282×470px). I find the Edge 1040 display good enough, but of course, the sharper the display, the easier it is to read and look at, but the higher the battery consumption (more about the battery life below).
- Garmin Pay, e.g., the possibility of paying with your bike computer, sounds cool. But for me, it’s not a deal breaker because I always bring my smartphone with Apple Pay.
- An integrated speaker should provide audible instructions, for example, when you turn on the navigation. This would be cool if implemented correctly and with a natural-sounding voice. Otherwise, it would be just another unnecessary or poorly made feature.
- A larger storage wouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s a common trend across the industry. Going from 32 GB to 64 GB would allow us to download more regions at once.
- Road hazard warnings will probably strengthen the “lock” in the Garmin ecosystem, allowing users to report road hazards (similar to Waze maps). This feature is confirmed by the description of the Taiwanese Garmin website.
The biggest question mark for me is the battery life and the availability of the Edge 1050 Solar. So far, there is speculation of shorter battery life due to the higher resolution display. But shorter battery life would be a step backward. Perhaps Garmin has found a way to maintain or extend battery life with new technologies and a more optimized system.
There is also much speculation about the AMOLED technology that Garmin uses in some of its smartwatches. If the Edge 1050 has an AMOLED display, it would be the first bike computer with this technology. But is an AMOLED display in a bike computer a good idea? Maybe not because its disadvantages include degradation and burn-in.
What Will Remain the Same?
From the information available so far, the 3.5-inch display and USB-C charging port should be retained, and I expect the UI will also remain unchanged. The same can be said for most of the features, such as Climb Pro, Real-Time Stamina, etc.
From the photos available so far, it also looks like the Edge 1050 won’t have all the control buttons like the Edge 540 and 840.
What I Wish 1050 Had?
A new user interface—I don’t know about you, but if there’s anything dragging Garmin Edge bike computers down, it’s the user interface. It’s complicated and confusing. It might not be a bad idea to also consider the usefulness and usability of the various features and slowly start trimming them down. From conversations with cyclists, most don’t even know about most of them anyway or don’t use them.
I’ve already touched on this a bit above, but I wish bike computers with a higher screen-to-body ratio would become more trendy. I absolutely don’t understand why manufacturers don’t try harder to use the space of the head unit more effectively. Maybe it’s a durability issue? Even the best bike computers today still have wide bezels.
What would you like from the Edge 1050? And what do you think of the new form factor? Let me know in the comments.
