This newest iteration of Garmin's top-tier Fenix outdoor timepiece includes a potentially lifesaving feature: no-phone messaging and emergency alerts using 4G LTE or satellite connections.
The Fenix 8 Pro enhances the already impressive Fenix 8 by incorporating cutting-edge cellular technology, along with an available state-of-the-art microLED screen in a limited edition. It is the brand's top model and designed to be the single tool required to venture virtually any location and monitor all your movements.
That makes it an extremely pricey proposition, starting at £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED version and reaching a substantial £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm edition with microLED screen – almost twice the price of the standard Fenix 8.
Users receive a lot of functionality for your money, with industry-leading fitness, movement and adventure tracking. Its full offline mapping of the globe can seamlessly direct you back to the path if you lose your way absent a phone, and look excellent on the large, sharp and high-luminance touchscreen.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively available in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the more compact 43mm version available in other models, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as tested boasts an extra day of watch battery life even with the screen on all the time, enduring a reliable eight to nine days between charges.
Phone-Free Messaging, Calling and Real-Time Location
The company uses its own inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription plan instead of relying on a watch plan tied to your phone carrier, as with other smartwatches. However unlike competing satellite-enabled products, SOS communication is not included for no cost.
Rather, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which includes unlimited LTE SMS and audio messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack position tracking – so your contacts or loved ones can keep an eye on you while out running, biking or comparable pursuits – plus emergency orbital SOS messaging.
Check-ins and messages over satellite are then billed on top, with higher-tier subscriptions including various quotas of orbital usage, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate the functionality.
After you have got it set up, you just head out outside without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or comparable activities, but you can make and take calls, send texts and overall keep in touch with your relatives and friends.
When you text someone, Garmin sends them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can reply to back to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger application, you can then message back and forth using typed or spoken messages, and initiate voice calls. Your recipient does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, just a phone number is sufficient to sign up for texts.
Messaging on the watch works fine but typing out texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is slow. It includes a collection of personalizable canned replies you can send to speed things up. Voice messages and calls perform acceptably, although as with most wearables, you’re unlikely going to want to use it for lengthy conversations as the quality is less than fantastic.
LiveTrack is the handiest feature. You can configure to on its own send a link to selected contacts every time you start an activity, so they can follow your real time position on a map. It’s excellent for monitoring competition performance, but it primarily serves as a utility for someone you trust to know your location in case something happens. It has typically functioned well, although the actual location has sometimes been delayed when transitioning in and out of strong LTE signal.
All of these capabilities are accessible on other Garmin watches if you bring your phone with you, but in areas where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, location updates and emergency SOS.
A on-screen assistance shows you how to find the clear view to the satellite, which then transmits and gets communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly straightforward to use and could be a crucial safety feature, though it is essential to remember that satellite coverage is limited to the US mainland, most of Canada, and most of Europe excluding regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is typically repairable with options offered via the customer service site. The battery is certified to maintain at least 90% of its initial power after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any recycled components. Garmin offers disposal programs on recent purchases.
Cost
This Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The additional Garmin inReach service plans begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Conclusion
This Fenix 8 Pro builds on a excellent outdoor watch in the regular Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re without signal.
The result is an increasingly remarkable adventure device for those that desire to be phone-free. If you want to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without needing additional gear.
This is quite liberating to be outside without a phone, but that functionality comes at a significant cost, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the recurring subscription of the inReach service to enable the features. At least it is not reliant on your phone carrier so functions with any make of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier gadget for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when jogging, biking or hiking, but nevertheless wants to be trackable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the excellent Fenix 8 already exists.
Pros: LTE and orbital communication, super-bright OLED display, monitors all activities with premier GPS, integrated torch, phone and standalone voice control, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre diving, buttons and touchscreen.
Drawbacks: very expensive, LTE and orbital functions require ongoing payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank support, speech capabilities are slow, basic smartwatch features compared with competing watches.
