This latest version of Garmin's top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece brings a potentially lifesaving capability: no-phone communication and emergency alerts using 4G LTE or satellite links.
The Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the previously outstanding Fenix 8 by adding new mobile tech, along with an available state-of-the-art microLED display in a special edition. This is the brand's premier model and engineered to be the single tool needed to venture virtually anywhere and monitor all your movements.
That makes it an very expensive proposition, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED version and reaching a colossal £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm edition with microLED screen – nearly twice the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a significant features for your investment, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. The complete offline maps of the globe can seamlessly guide you back to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and look excellent on the large, crisp and super-bright display.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the more compact 43mm version available in other devices, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as tested boasts an additional day of smartwatch battery life despite the screen on all the time, enduring a reliable eight to nine days between charging.
No-Phone Messaging, Calling and Real-Time Location
The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital service service instead of depending on a watch plan tied to your mobile provider, as with other wearables. But in contrast to competing satellite-capable devices, SOS communication is not provided for no cost.
Rather, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides unlimited LTE text and audio messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack position tracking – so your friends or family can monitor you while out running, biking or similar activities – along with emergency satellite SOS alerts.
Location updates and texts over satellite are then charged additionally, with more expensive subscriptions offering various quotas of orbital usage, climbing to a £50 a month unlimited subscription. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can test out the functionality.
Once you have got it set up, you just venture outside without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for playing music or comparable tasks, but you can place and receive calls, dispatch texts and overall keep in touch with your relatives and friends.
Whenever you message someone, Garmin sends 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 message back and forth via typed or voice messages, and initiate voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin account to use the Messenger app, only a phone number is sufficient to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch works fine but composing texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It has a collection of customisable pre-set replies you can use to expedite communication. Spoken messages and calls perform acceptably, although as with most 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 set it up to on its own send a link to selected contacts whenever you start an activity, so they can follow your live location on a map. It’s great for monitoring race progress, but it primarily acts as a tool for someone you rely on to be aware of your whereabouts in case something happens. It has generally functioned well, though the real position has sometimes lagged when transitioning in and out of good LTE signal.
These features are available on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, location check-ins and SOS SOS.
A on-screen assistance displays you how to find the line of sight 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 vital lifeline, however it is essential to note that satellite service is limited to the US continent, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe excluding parts of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees latitude.
Environmental Impact
The watch is typically repairable with options available through the support portal. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its original power after two years of regular charging. The watch does not contain any reused components. Garmin provides recycling programs on recent purchases.
Cost
The Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The additional Garmin inReach subscription plans cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Conclusion
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a excellent outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – along with orbital communication, check-in and SOS SOS for when you’re out of coverage.
The result is an increasingly impressive adventure tool for those that desire to be phone-free. If you wish to have someone monitor you from afar while exercising after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing additional gear.
This is quite liberating to be outside without a phone, but that functionality comes at a significant price, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach service to provide the service. At least it is not dependent on your phone provider so functions with any make of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier device for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when jogging, cycling or trekking, but still desires to be locatable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a significant expense when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Advantages: LTE and orbital messaging, high-luminance OLED screen, monitors all activities with premier GPS, integrated torch, phone and standalone voice control, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, full offline maps and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touch.
Drawbacks: very costly, LTE and satellite functions require monthly payment, limited Garmin Pay bank compatibility, speech capabilities are slow, limited wearable functionality versus Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
