This most recent version of Garmin's top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece includes a potentially lifesaving capability: no-phone messaging and SOS alerts via 4G LTE or satellite links.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already impressive Fenix 8 by adding new cellular technology, plus an optional advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. This is Garmin's top device and designed to be the only gadget required to explore virtually any location and track all your movements.
That positions it as an very expensive proposition, priced from £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 display – almost twice the cost of the standard Fenix 8.
Users get a significant functionality for your money, with best-in-class fitness, activity and adventure tracking. The complete offline mapping of the world can seamlessly guide you return to the trail if you lose your way absent a phone, and look great on the large, crisp and super-bright display.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the more compact 43mm version found in other devices, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as reviewed does have an additional day of watch battery life even with the display on all the time, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charges.
No-Phone Messaging, Calling and Real-Time Location
The company uses its own inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription service rather than depending on a watch plan tied to your phone carrier, as with other smartwatches. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-capable devices, emergency messaging is not provided for free.
Rather, plans start at £7.99 or similar a month, which includes limitless LTE text and audio messaging, calls and LiveTrack location tracking – so your contacts or loved ones can monitor you while out jogging, biking or similar activities – along with SOS satellite SOS messaging.
Check-ins and texts over satellite are then charged on top, with more expensive plans including various quotas of satellite usage, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day trial period so you can evaluate the functionality.
Once you have got it set up, you just head out outside minus your phone and the watch will link to LTE. You cannot use it for streaming music or comparable activities, but you can make and take calls, send texts and generally stay connected with your relatives and companions.
Whenever you message someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can respond to directly to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger app, you can then communicate reciprocally via text or voice communications, and initiate voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, just a mobile number is sufficient to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch works fine but typing out texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It has a set of personalizable canned responses you can send to expedite communication. Spoken messages and calls perform OK, although as with most wearables, you’re unlikely going to want to use it for lengthy conversations as the audio clarity is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful function. You can set it up to on its own send a link to selected contacts every time you begin an activity, so they can track your live location on a map. It’s excellent for monitoring competition performance, but it mostly serves as a tool for someone you trust to know your location in case something happens. It has typically functioned effectively, though the real location has sometimes lagged when transitioning in and out of good LTE coverage.
These features are accessible on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the orbital kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, location updates and SOS SOS.
A on-screen assistance displays you how to find the line of sight to the satellite, which then sends and receives messages within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly easy to use and could be a crucial safety feature, however it is essential to note that orbital coverage is limited to the US mainland, the majority of Canada, and the majority of Europe except for parts of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees north.
Sustainability
The watch is generally serviceable with services available through the support portal. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its original capacity after two years of weekly charging. The watch does not contain any reused materials. Garmin provides 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).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro builds on a fantastic outdoor watch in the regular Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re out of coverage.
The result is an increasingly impressive adventure tool for those that desire to be unplugged. If you wish to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while exercising after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing anything else.
This is very freeing to be outdoors without a phone, but that functionality comes at quite a price, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the monthly subscription of the inReach plan to provide the features. Fortunately it isn’t reliant on your phone carrier so works with any brand of smartphone and carrier.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier device for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when jogging, cycling or trekking, but nevertheless wants to be trackable and contactable. For other users, it is a lot of money when the excellent Fenix 8 is already available.
Advantages: LTE and orbital communication, high-luminance OLED display, monitors all activities with premier GPS, built-in flashlight, phone and offline commands, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, full offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre underwater use, physical controls and touchscreen.
Drawbacks: extremely expensive, LTE and satellite features require monthly payment, restricted Garmin Pay financial compatibility, speech capabilities are slow, limited wearable features versus competing watches.
