Garmin Fenix 8 Pro It’s here, the new Garmin Fenix 8 Pro & Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED. These two new watches add in both LTE & two-way satellite messaging connectivity, as well as brighter displays for both, including the first wearable to use a MicroLED display. But there are some catches; most notably the disappearance of a smaller-sized Fenix unit, as well as the pricing jumping up another $200, to an entry point of $1,199 for the cheapest Fenix 8 Pro LTE model.
This release is all about connectivity (and displays). There are no additional new software features, aside from the gigantic boatload of features released a week or two ago that I outlined below.
Table of Contents
Note, this is not a full in-depth review. That’ll come later-ish with a bit more time on the devices and cellular testing. Both my wife and I have units we’ve started testing, with me doing my best to find what works well and doesn’t. And her training for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 8 weeks.
What’s New:
Now, the first thing to remember about Garmin’s Fenix naming conventions is that the ‘Pro’ moniker doesn’t mean it’s some new level ‘above’ the existing Fenix watches. Instead, it means it’s the next iteration. That’s just the silly way Garmin works, which confuses buyers everywhere, especially first-time buyers. So yes, while it’s clearly a better watch, it’s not intended to be a second-tier Fenix, but rather, the next generation of Fenix.
Fenix 8 Pro pricing and availability
The Fenix will be available to order on Monday, Sept. 8, and starts at $1,200 for the 47mm version and $1,300 for the 51mm option (both with AMOLED screens). There’s also a $2,000 51mm option with that bright micro-LED display.
Garmin charges $8 per month for LTE and InReach (satellite) connectivity and subscriptions, without an activation fee and a free 30-day trial to get started. Messages sent over satellite are billed separately on a per-use basis.
Fenix 8 Pro LTE connectivity and satellite communication
The Fenix 8 Pro’s headline feature is what Garmin calls “connectivity without compromise.” Polar says that its new tracker can keep tabs on your heart rate, sleep, and daily activity while remaining incognito on your wrist. You can instead check your stats from the smartphone app. Of course, the list of available features is less than you’d find in a subscription-based fitness tracker system, but some folks like it simple.
Fenix 8 Pro battery life
There are three versions of the Fenix 8 Pro, a 47mm and 51mm AMOLED version, and a 51mm version with that upgraded micro-LED screen. Garmin says the AMOLED version of the Fenix 8 Pro (the 51mm variant) promises up to 27 days in smartwatch mode, while the micro-LED version can get up to 10 days on a charge — still far beyond the one- or two-day max you’ll get from mainstream smartwatches like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch or the Apple Watch.
LTE Cellular Connectivity:
Next, Garmin has finally delivered on putting LTE in a Fenix watch. Up till now, it’s really been occasional forays by the Venu team (Vivo active 3 Music Cellular in 2019), and then the Forerunner team (Forerunner 945 LTE in 2021), and most recently, the kids-focused Garmin Bounce watch in 2022, which my daughters love.
Finally, they’ve done it. Though it’ll ultimately be like you’d expect from other Garmin watches: Really a safety and basic messaging focused feature, rather than some full stack of cellular features like you might find on an Apple, Google, or Samsung watch. This is designed to cover the main athletic use cases of tracking and basic messaging to friends/family when out on a workout. For example, up till now, my wife would often do late-night runs after the kids went to bed…stealing one of their Garmin Bounce watches to use as a LTE run tracker (she hates bringing her phone). Given she already was wearing a Fenix, this now solves that.
In addition, they also offer satellite text messaging, more on that in a second. Notably, the watches are cross-region compatible due to LTE-M. Meaning, you can use your European model in the US for LTE-M (and satellite), and vice-versa.
As you can see, this is all about telling your friends/family where you are and checking in with them. That said, the two-way voice calls is a good place to start, which isn’t really limited to being a workout feature.
Satellite Connectivity Features:
Next up, the next piece here is Satellite features via Garmin InReach-like functionality, when out of cellular range.
In Garmin’s case, this falls into a bucket of three core satellite features:
– Satellite Messaging (basic texting)
– Satellite position/location check-ins
– Satellite Emergency SOS (via Garmin Response)
This is more extensive than what Google launched two weeks ago with the Pixel Watch 4, since that was only for satellite emergency SOS (though ironically, it does use Garmin’s Response Center). Further, while these new features definitely have more capability than Google, they fall short of a traditional Garmin InReach device in that they aren’t continuous tracking features, or continuous messaging features, since they require you to position your arm in a specific way to send/receive messages.
With the Fenix 8, the antenna now allows for on-demand connectivity to GEO satellites, which is different than the much larger antenna form factor of a typical InReach device. This means that, unlike a typical InReach device, this will only send messages to the satellite when you position your arm in a specific orientation. That’s because it needs to point to an exact satellite, whereas a typical InReach device has a huge antenna to find the correct satellites in virtually every orientation. The traditional Garmin InReach Iridium devices use LEO satellites, about 66 of them, and much closer to earth. Whereas GEO is more limited in-service areas: Covering a specific area of the earth, focused on a specific area of the earth, and thus, a specific coverage area.