Garmin Edge 840 Series In-Depth Review: 21+ Things To Know!

Garmin has just announced the new Edge 840, as well as Edge 540 units. And like last year, with the more expensive Edge 1040, both the 540 and 840 get Solar variants. However, the changes go far beyond just sunny-side-up or not. In fact, arguably, the solar piece is really the least important change. Here’s all the new things:

- Edge 840 has BOTH touchscreen and full button set (previously only had partial button set)
- Added multiband/dual-frequency GPS
- Added solar panels for Edge 540/840 Solar editions
- Added USB-C connection for charging/sync
- Made it slightly chubbier to accommodate solar panels (non-Solar edition is also same new dimensions)
- Completely revamped the user interface everywhere (matches Edge 1040)
- Added Power Guide race/training pacing feature
- Added ClimbPro Free-Ride mode, which automatically triggers ClimbPro without a route
- Added Climb Explorer dashboard for finding nearby climbs
- Added Connect IQ Widget Glances to Homepage/Dashboard
- Added Training Status 2.0
- Added full automatic race/event suggested workouts using a periodized/phased daily plan leading up to event, inclusive of any Garmin wearable data shifts (e.g., automatically reducing planned workout if you got no sleep on a redye flight)
- Added Course Demands to compare course features to ride needs
- Added Real-Time Stamina to show energy/distance/duration left during workout
- Added Location Search Widget
- Added ‘Recent Finds’ from navigation panel (so things you recently searched for)
- Added new ‘Bike Shops’ & ‘Water Stops’ categories for navigation search (and completely re-did other categories to mostly get rid of auto stuff)
- Added Post-Ride ClimbPro Splits on device
- Added re-scheduling of primary workouts
- Added support race/event driven Daily Suggested Workouts (expanded from initial Edge 1040 launch)
- Added paired sensor information to summary page (even for non-Garmin sensors)
- Added support for Shimano STEPS sensor type (eBike component)
- Added new consolidated post-ride Highlights screen with PRs
- Added estimated battery remaining when toggling Battery Saver mode
- Added manual WiFi sync all button (a ‘do it now’ option, but removed single-ride upload option)
- Added phone-based config of data fields/data pages
- Added ability to use phone for typing text on Edge
- Added ability to manually transfer sensors and device profiles to Edge from phone at any time (not just first setup)
- Added Garmin Connect IQ App Store on-device marketplace
- Changed nearby POI/Things search to be virtually instant
- Far faster route calculation/recalculation times
- Increased ClimbPro coloring to show more gradient definition
- Now automatically changes map popularity type to match activity (I.e., Road vs MTB)
- Changed screen background default from black to white for improved “readability”
- Removed horrifically unreliable duplicate Bluetooth pairing process for phones
- Removed Varia Vision sensor support
- Removed device transfer (sharing between units)
- Same 2.6” touchscreen size/resolution as before, however, Garmin says it has improved contrast ratio and color filters
- Weight is 90g for Edge 840 solar (up from 80g for Edge 830)
- Battery life up to 48 hours non-solar, 78 hours solar. Up to 34 hours with Multi-Band GPS mode with Solar (battery chart lower down)
- Simplified Bluetooth phone pairing to single connection (versus previous dual legacy BT and BT smart)

Additionally, while this is offered on the Edge units, it came much later, but it is still present on the newer units, and wanted to call it out:

- Paired sensor transfer from existing Garmin Edge units
- Activity Profile settings transfer from existing Garmin Edge units

But, let's jump into the video instead!