This most recent model of Garmin's top-tier Fenix outdoor timepiece brings a potentially lifesaving feature: no-phone messaging and SOS alerts using 4G LTE or orbital connections.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already impressive Fenix 8 by incorporating cutting-edge mobile tech, along with an optional advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. This is Garmin's premier model and engineered to be the only tool needed to venture almost any location and monitor every activity.
This makes it an very expensive option, 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 – nearly double the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a significant functionality for your money, with best-in-class workout, activity and adventure tracking. Its complete offline maps of the globe can seamlessly guide you back to the path if you lose your way without a phone, and appear excellent on the sizable, sharp and super-bright touchscreen.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, not the more compact 43mm version found in other devices, so it is a large watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED version as reviewed does have an extra day of watch battery life despite the screen on all the time, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charges.
No-Phone Texting, Calling and Live Tracking
The company uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital service plan instead of relying on a watch plan linked to your phone provider, like other smartwatches. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-capable devices, SOS communication is not included for free.
Instead, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides limitless LTE SMS and audio messages, call functionality and LiveTrack location sharing – so your friends or loved ones can keep an eye on you while engaged in jogging, cycling or comparable activities – plus emergency orbital SOS alerts.
Location updates and texts over orbital are then billed additionally, with higher-tier plans including different quotas of orbital use, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive plan. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate the functionality.
Once you have got it set up, you just venture the door minus your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You cannot use it for streaming music or comparable activities, but you can make and take calls, dispatch texts and generally stay connected with your family and companions.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin sends them an SMS from a arbitrary number, which they can respond to directly to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger app, you can then communicate back and forth via text or voice messages, and initiate voice calls. Your recipient is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, just a mobile number is sufficient to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch works fine but composing texts on the small on-screen keyboard is slow. It has a set of customisable canned replies you can send to speed things up. Spoken messages and calls work OK, though as with the majority of smartwatches, you’re not going to wish to use it for extended discussions as the quality is not ideal.
LiveTrack is the most useful function. You can configure to on its own transmit a link to chosen contacts every time you begin an activity, so they can follow your real time location on a map. It’s great for following competition progress, but it primarily serves as a tool for someone you trust to know your whereabouts in case something happens. It has typically worked well, although the actual location has sometimes been delayed when transitioning in and out of strong LTE coverage.
All of these capabilities are accessible on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE lacks coverage, the satellite kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, location check-ins and SOS SOS.
A guide shows you how to locate the clear view to the orbital system, which then transmits and gets messages within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was unexpectedly easy to use and could be a crucial lifeline, however it is essential to note that satellite service is restricted to the US continent, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe excluding parts of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees north.
Sustainability
The watch is typically serviceable with options available via the support portal. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its original capacity after two years of regular charging. The watch does not contain any reused components. Garmin provides recycling schemes on recent purchases.
Price
This Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach service packages begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro takes a fantastic adventure watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – along with satellite communication, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re out of signal.
Outcome is an even more impressive adventure device for those that want to be phone-free. If you want to have someone monitor you from afar while running out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without needing additional gear.
It is quite freeing to be outdoors without a phone, but that capability comes at a significant cost, both in terms of the substantial price of the watch and the monthly subscription of the inReach plan to enable the features. Fortunately it isn’t reliant on your phone provider so works with all brand of smartphone and network.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when running, biking or trekking, but nevertheless wants to be trackable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the superb Fenix 8 already exists.
Pros: LTE and orbital messaging, super-bright OLED screen, monitors everything with premier GPS, integrated torch, phone and standalone voice control, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline maps and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre diving, physical controls and touch.
Drawbacks: very expensive, LTE and orbital functions need monthly payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank compatibility, voice capabilities are slow, limited wearable features versus competing watches.
