This most recent model of Garmin's premium Fenix outdoor watch brings a potentially lifesaving feature: phone-free messaging and emergency messaging via 4G LTE or orbital connections.
This Fenix 8 Pro builds upon the previously impressive Fenix 8 by adding cutting-edge mobile technology, plus an optional advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. This is Garmin's top model and designed to be the single gadget needed to venture virtually anywhere and track 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 model and climbing to a colossal £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm variant with microLED display – almost double the price of the regular Fenix 8.
Users receive a significant features for your money, with industry-leading workout, movement and outdoor monitoring. The complete offline maps of the globe can seamlessly direct you back to the trail if you get lost without a phone, and look great on the large, sharp and super-bright touchscreen.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the smaller 43mm size available in other devices, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as tested does have an additional day of watch battery life even with the display on all the time, enduring a solid eight to nine days between charging.
Phone-Free Texting, Calling and Real-Time Location
The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription plan rather than depending on a watch plan linked to your mobile provider, like other wearables. However unlike competing satellite-capable devices, SOS communication is not provided for free.
Rather, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which includes limitless LTE SMS and audio messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack location tracking – so your friends or loved ones can monitor you while out running, biking or comparable activities – plus SOS satellite SOS alerts.
Location updates and texts via satellite are then billed additionally, with more expensive plans offering various quotas of orbital usage, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive plan. The watch includes a 30-day trial period so you can evaluate the service.
After you have completed setup, you just head out the door without your phone and the watch will link to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or similar tasks, but you are able to place and receive calls, dispatch texts and overall keep in touch with your relatives and friends.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin sends them an SMS from a random phone number, which they can respond to directly to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger application, you can then message back and forth via typed or spoken messages, and initiate voice calls. Your recipient is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, only a mobile number is sufficient to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch functions fine but typing out texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is slow. It has a collection of customisable pre-set replies you can use to speed things up. Voice recordings 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 less than fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can configure to automatically send a link to selected contacts whenever you start an exercise, so they can follow your real time position on a map. It’s great for monitoring race progress, but it primarily acts as a tool for someone you trust to know your location in case something happens. It has generally functioned well, although the actual location has occasionally lagged when transitioning in and out of strong LTE signal.
These capabilities are accessible on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position check-ins and emergency SOS.
A guide shows you how to locate the line of sight to the satellite, which then sends and receives messages within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly straightforward to use and could be a crucial safety feature, though it is important to note that orbital coverage is restricted to the US continent, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe except for parts of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is generally repairable with services available via the support portal. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its initial capacity after two years of weekly charging. The watch lacks any recycled materials. Garmin provides disposal schemes on recent purchases.
Price
The Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The additional Garmin inReach service packages cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro builds on a excellent outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for messaging, calls and LiveTrack – plus orbital communication, check-in and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
The result is an increasingly impressive adventure device for those that want to be phone-free. If you want to have someone monitor you remotely while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing anything else.
This is quite freeing to be outside without a phone, but that functionality carries a significant cost, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the recurring fee of the inReach plan to enable the features. At least it isn’t reliant on your phone carrier so works with all brand of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a killer device for someone who hates being burdened by their phone when jogging, biking or trekking, but still wants to be trackable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the superb Fenix 8 already exists.
Advantages: LTE and orbital communication, super-bright OLED screen, monitors everything with best-in-class GPS, integrated flashlight, phone and offline voice control, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre diving, physical controls and touchscreen.
Drawbacks: extremely expensive, LTE and satellite functions need ongoing subscription, limited Garmin Pay bank support, voice features are sluggish, limited smartwatch functionality compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
