The most recent version of the premium Fenix adventure watch brings a life-saving capability: no-phone communication and SOS alerts via 4G LTE or satellite connections.
The Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already outstanding Fenix 8 by adding new mobile tech, plus an available advanced microLED display in a special edition. This is Garmin's premier model and designed to be the only gadget required to explore almost anywhere and monitor all your movements.
That makes it an very 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 – nearly twice the price of the regular Fenix 8.
Users receive a lot of functionality for your money, with best-in-class fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. The full offline maps of the world can automatically guide you back to the path if you get lost without a phone, and appear excellent on the sizable, crisp and high-luminance display.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, not the smaller 43mm size found in other devices, so it is a big watch for larger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as tested does have an additional day of smartwatch battery life despite the screen on all the time, lasting a reliable eight to nine days between charges.
No-Phone Messaging, Calls and Live Tracking
The company uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital service service rather than depending on a watch plan linked to your mobile provider, as with other wearables. However unlike Apple or Google's satellite-capable devices, SOS communication is not provided for free.
Instead, plans begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides limitless LTE SMS and audio messages, call functionality and LiveTrack position sharing – so your friends or loved ones can keep an eye on you while out running, cycling or similar pursuits – along with emergency satellite SOS alerts.
Location updates and messages via orbital are then charged additionally, with more expensive plans including various quotas of satellite use, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can test out the functionality.
After you have got it set up, you simply head out outside without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or comparable tasks, but you are able to place and receive calls, send texts and generally keep in touch with your family and companions.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can respond to back to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger application, you can then communicate back and forth via text or spoken messages, and make voice calls. Your contact does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a phone number is enough to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch functions fine but composing texts on the small on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It has a set of personalizable canned replies you can use to speed things up. Spoken recordings and calls perform acceptably, although as with the majority of wearables, you’re not going to wish to use it for lengthy conversations as the audio clarity is less than fantastic.
LiveTrack is the handiest feature. You can set it up to automatically send a URL to chosen contacts every time you start an exercise, so they can track your real time position on a map. It’s excellent for following competition progress, but it mostly serves as a tool for someone you rely on to know your location in case something happens. It has generally functioned well, although the actual location has occasionally been delayed when transitioning in and out of good LTE coverage.
All of these features are available on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE does not reach, the satellite activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, location updates and SOS SOS.
A guide shows you how to locate the clear view to the orbital system, which then sends and receives communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly straightforward to use and could be a crucial lifeline, though it is important to remember that satellite coverage is restricted to the US mainland, most of Canada, and most of Europe excluding regions of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees north.
Environmental Impact
The watch is generally repairable with options offered via the customer service site. The battery is certified to maintain at least 90% of its initial capacity after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any recycled materials. Garmin provides recycling schemes on new purchases.
Cost
This Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach service plans begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro builds on a fantastic outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re without signal.
The result is an even more remarkable adventure device for those that want to be unplugged. If you want to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while running out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without requiring additional gear.
This is quite liberating to be outdoors without a phone, but that functionality comes at quite a price, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the recurring subscription of the inReach service to provide the service. At least it isn’t dependent on your phone carrier so works with all make of smartphone and carrier.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who dislikes being weighed down by their phone when jogging, biking or hiking, but still desires to be trackable and contactable. For other users, it is a lot of expense when the excellent Fenix 8 already exists.
Pros: LTE and orbital messaging, high-luminance OLED display, tracks all activities with best-in-class GPS, built-in torch, phone and standalone commands, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touch.
Drawbacks: extremely expensive, LTE and satellite functions need monthly subscription, limited Garmin Pay bank compatibility, speech features are sluggish, limited wearable features versus competing watches.
