This newest version of the top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece includes a potentially lifesaving feature: no-phone communication and SOS messaging using 4G LTE or satellite links.
This Fenix 8 Pro enhances the already impressive Fenix 8 by adding new cellular tech, along with an available advanced microLED display in a special edition. It is Garmin's top model and engineered to be the single tool required to venture virtually anywhere and monitor all your movements.
That positions it as an extremely pricey 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 display – nearly twice the price of the regular Fenix 8.
Users receive a lot of features for your investment, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. Its full offline maps of the globe can automatically guide you return to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and appear excellent on the sizable, sharp and high-luminance display.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, not the smaller 43mm size found in other devices, so it is a large watch for larger wrists. However the 47mm OLED model as tested boasts an additional day of smartwatch battery life despite the display always active, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charging.
No-Phone Texting, Calls and Live Tracking
The company uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription plan rather than relying on a watch plan tied to your mobile carrier, as with other smartwatches. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-enabled products, emergency messaging is not provided for free.
Instead, plans start at £7.99 or equivalent a month, which includes limitless LTE SMS and voice messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack location tracking – so your contacts or family can keep an eye on you while engaged in jogging, biking or comparable activities – along with SOS satellite SOS messaging.
Location updates and texts via orbital are then charged additionally, with more expensive subscriptions including different allowances of satellite use, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate the service.
After you have got it set up, you just venture outside without 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 overall keep in touch with your relatives and companions.
Whenever you message someone, Garmin dispatches 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 using typed or voice communications, and make voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a mobile number is sufficient to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch functions adequately but composing texts on the small on-screen keyboard is slow. It includes a collection of personalizable canned responses you can send to speed things up. Spoken messages and calls perform acceptably, though as with most smartwatches, you’re unlikely going to want to use it for lengthy conversations as the quality is less than ideal.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can configure to automatically send a link to selected contacts every time you start an exercise, so they can track your real time location on a map. It’s great for monitoring race progress, but it mostly serves as a tool for someone you trust to know your location in case something happens. It has generally worked effectively, though the actual position has occasionally lagged when moving in and out of good LTE signal.
All of these capabilities are accessible on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position updates and SOS SOS.
A guide displays you how to find the clear view to the satellite, which then sends and receives communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly easy to use and could be a crucial lifeline, however it is essential to remember that orbital service is limited to the US continent, most of Canada, and most of Europe excluding regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees north.
Environmental Impact
The watch is typically repairable with services available via the support site. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its original power after two years of weekly charging. The watch does not contain any recycled materials. 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 additional Garmin inReach subscription packages cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a excellent outdoor watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack – plus orbital communication, check-in and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
Outcome is an increasingly remarkable adventure tool for those that want to be phone-free. If you want to have someone monitor you from afar while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without requiring anything else.
This is quite liberating to be outside without a phone, but that capability carries a significant price, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the recurring subscription of the inReach service to provide the service. At least it isn’t reliant on your phone carrier so functions with any make of smartphone and network.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who dislikes being burdened by their phone when running, biking or trekking, but still desires to be trackable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a significant expense when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Pros: LTE and orbital messaging, high-luminance OLED display, monitors all activities with best-in-class GPS, built-in flashlight, phone and standalone voice control, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline maps and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touch.
Drawbacks: very expensive, LTE and satellite features require ongoing payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank compatibility, voice capabilities are slow, basic smartwatch functionality versus competing watches.
