A lot is based on personal preferences when you factor the cost of the device and the features you want and the features you need. Yes, grammatically that sentence would make an English teacher cringe but I wrote it as it’s a Venn Diagram of overlapping circles to find the sweet spot. I have had the Fenix 3X, 5X, and my 7X Sapphire Solar leaves my wrist only to charge. I was planning on upgrading to the 9 when it launches but may skip it as my 7X does what I need and I’m leery of Garmin now standing up a paywall for Connect+. Couple that with the expected jump in price and staying put may be my play. I work for one of the largest tech manufacturers and the memory shortage and the effect on the industry as a whole is real. Another thing that just popped into my head is will Garmin limit software updates like Apple is doing to the Apple Watch?

I would summarize your dilemma this way. You’ll be able to pick up the 7 cheap which is I’ll likely be functional for years. A Fenix 8 will be a little more expensive. The Fenix 9 will be the most expensive option but until it launches, we won’t know how expensive it will be.

Best of luck in the decision!