Garmin today unveiled its new Edge 1050 cycle computer, which it bills as "the brightest and smartest cycling computer ever."

The Garmin Edge 1040 Solar is listed in our Best Cycle Computer Buyer's Guide, but we understand it will still exist as a solar option alongside the Edge 1050.

MSRP is £649.99/$699.99/€699.99. This makes the Edge 1050 £200 more expensive than the recently released third generation Hammerhead Karoo and puts the new 1050 at the top end of the cycling computer market.

The Edge 1050 has a touchscreen display and a claimed battery life of 20 hours, or 60 hours in battery-saver mode. However, it falls short of the latest ultra-long battery-powered computers such as the Coros Dura.

The Edge1050 has a slightly improved design and interesting new features such as contactless payment support.

Dan Bartel, Garmin's Vice President of Global Consumer Sales,

said, "With the Edge 1050, we are pleased to introduce our most capable, high-performance cycle computer to date. Offering an exceptional in-ride experience, superior navigation, and community-focused features, our newest cycling computer is built to keep cyclists motivated whether they are planning a group ride with friends or a long solo adventure We do this."

The new Garmin 1050 is said to feature a redesigned, angled housing and durable all-metal buttons. It also has an interchangeable quarter-turn mount and a 3.5-inch LCD display.

The Edge 1050 will also support Garmin Pay contactless payments, a technology favored by Garmin smartwatches to compete with Apple pay on the Apple Watch. This technology will allow owners to leave their cards at home and their cell phones in their back pockets and use their cycle computers to pay at cafes.

A speaker is also built in, allowing riders to hear workout and navigation prompts, Garmin said. It also includes a bicycle bell to alert other road users of their presence.

The new on-device course creation feature allows owners to create courses and routes on the device. According to the brand's press release, paved and unpaved surfaces can also be easily viewed on the screen.

Wifi connectivity allows users to add, swap, and update additional maps using the Map Manager feature, and ride-specific routing is available for mountain, gravel, and road riding.

The GroupRide feature has also been improved according to the brand, allowing riders to communicate via messaging during rides. Live location and accident detection alerts can also notify other riders of cyclists in need of help and route them. Riders can also receive danger alerts reported by fellow riders, such as fallen trees or potholes. These alerts will soon be available on the Edge 540, Edge 840, and Edge 1040.

Garmin devices have earned a reputation for powerful fitness training features, and the Edge 1050 seems to support this.

The device includes free Garmin training plans and real-time stamina insights. The Power Guide feature takes into account wind data and the rider's current stamina level to make real-time power target adjustments.

Training Insights are provided by First Beat Analytics, including training status, heat and altitude acclimation, and V02 Max. In addition, Trendline popularity routing helps riders find the most used routes by other Garmin cyclists. Users can also send pins from Apple Maps to navigate to their location.

ClimbPro displays climbing metrics such as time required and gradient, while ClimbExplore displays nearby climbing spots on the device or in the Garmin Connect app. MTB riding metrics are also covered with jump count, jump distance, Grit, Flow, and other specific metrics covered.

The Edge1050 will also include safety features such as live tracking and accident detection for selected contacts. It is also compatible with Garmin's smart radar and light series, Varia products.