Garmin event live: get the coverage from Garmin's 'Play Harder' YouTube broadcast, possible Fenix 9 announcements & more
Will the Fenix 9 drop today?
It's Garmin launch day! Following Garmin's surprise stealth scheduling of a live YouTube event (which it's calling on X a "groundbreaking launch event") details are scarce, but there's one thing we know for sure: we'll find out today. It's likely to be an addition to the best Garmin watches range — and the smart money is on the hotly-anticipated Fenix 9.
Garmin's 'Play Harder' event will air on YouTube at 4am PT and 7am ET in the US, 12pm BST in the UK, and 9pm AEST in Australia. Stay tuned to TechRadar for all the coverage as it happens, along with rumors before and reactions after the broadcast drops.
Tons more leaks are hitting the net, with Gadgets & Wearables spotting an official listing of the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro via the company's Taiwan website, before quickly being taken down.
The Fenix 9 Pro 47mm listing, according to Gadgets & Wearables, gets a fully titanium case rather than the Fenix 8 Pro's titanium bezel and backplate, with a plastic middle.
It also sports Garmin's familiar five-button design, LED flashlight, sapphire lens, speaker and microphone.
What's it going to look like?
According to leaks, we're getting not one, not two, but three new Fenix 9 watches, with multiple versions of each.
These include a regular Fenix 9, a Fenix 9 Pro with more advanced features, including, reportedly, Garmin's Power Glass solar charging tech, with the duller, more battery-efficient memory-in-pixel display now restricted to Pro models.
Finally, if rumors are true, we'll get a Pro fitted with Garmin's InReach satellite communications technology, like the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro. Garmin's InReach technology is useful in the great outdoors as it reaches satellite networks even if your phone has no signal.
Each of these watches would likely come in three sizes (43mm, 47mm, and 51mm if previous releases are anything to go by).
Why do we all think it's the Garmin Fenix 9?
For one thing, we saw comments from CEO Cliff Pemble earlier this year during a Garmin quarterly earnings call, about how he expected Garmin's growth to "accelerate" in the back half of the year due to "the timing of product launches".
Garmin's got several categories it sorts its watches into, with the Garmin Forerunner line sorted into the "sports" category. "Outdoor" includes Garmin Instinct, Fenix and Enduro watches due to their emphasis on navigation and trail features.
For another, we've been seeing more retailer and communications databases leaks over the last month, suggesting a launch is imminent.
"Get ready to Play Harder"
On the Garmin website, the announcement page reads:
"Your playground is calling. Now’s the time to answer. Set a reminder below to join us at 12 p.m. on 25 August, 2026 for a groundbreaking launch event on YouTube Premiere."
12pm BST, of course, is 4:00am Pacific Time (sorry) or 7:00am Eastern Time in America. For Australian watchers, it's a more reasonable 9:00pm AEST.
What could this mean? I imagine it's something about the great outdoors being your playground, and technology to enable that.
The picture of a trail runner wearing a hydration vest, on the other hand, suggests it's going to be an adventure watch with sporty and navigation capabilities. Hmm...
Welcome to our Garmin liveblog
Hello, Matt Evans (TechRadar's Senior Fitness & Wearables Editor) here! I'm on hand to see you through until today's Garmin live event in a few hours' time.
We're all expecting the Garmin Fenix 9 to debut, but really, anything could be on the table, from Edge cycling computers to InReach communicators.
However, I've been writing about and covering Garmin for years, and this is the first big YouTube live event product launch I've seen from the popular watch brand, so we're expecting a high-profile unveiling.