The latest version of Garmin's top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece brings a life-saving feature: phone-free messaging and emergency alerts via 4G LTE or orbital links.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the previously outstanding Fenix 8 by adding cutting-edge cellular technology, plus an optional state-of-the-art microLED screen in a special edition. It is the brand's top device and designed to be the only tool required to explore virtually any location and track all your movements.
This positions it as an extremely pricey option, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED model and reaching a colossal £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm edition with microLED display – nearly twice the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a lot of features for your money, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. Its complete offline mapping of the world can seamlessly direct you return to the trail if you lose your way without a phone, and look great on the large, crisp and high-luminance display.
This Fenix 8 Pro is only available in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the smaller 43mm size found in other devices, so it is a large watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED version as tested boasts an additional day of watch battery life even with the screen on all the time, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charging.
Phone-Free Messaging, Calls and Live Tracking
The company uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital service plan instead of depending on a watch plan tied to your mobile carrier, as with other smartwatches. But unlike competing satellite-enabled products, SOS messaging is not provided for no cost.
Instead, subscriptions start at £7.99 or similar a month, which provides limitless LTE text and audio messages, call functionality and LiveTrack location sharing – so your friends or loved ones can keep an eye on you while out jogging, cycling or comparable pursuits – along with SOS orbital SOS messaging.
Check-ins and texts via satellite are then charged on top, with more expensive plans offering different quotas of orbital usage, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate the service.
Once you have got it set up, you simply head out the door without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for playing music or comparable tasks, but you can make and take calls, send texts and generally keep in touch with your relatives and companions.
Whenever you message someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a random number, which they can respond to directly to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger app, you can then message back and forth using typed or voice communications, and initiate voice calls. Your recipient does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, just a mobile number is enough to sign up for texts.
Messaging on the watch works adequately but typing out texts on the small on-screen keyboard is slow. It includes a collection of personalizable canned responses you can use to expedite communication. Spoken recordings and calls perform acceptably, though as with most smartwatches, you’re not going to want to use it for lengthy discussions as the quality is less than ideal.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can set it up to automatically send a URL to chosen contacts whenever you begin an exercise, so they can follow your live position on a map. It’s excellent for monitoring race performance, but it mostly serves as a tool for someone you trust to be aware of your whereabouts in case an incident occurs. It has generally functioned well, though the actual position has occasionally lagged when moving in and out of strong LTE signal.
These features are available on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE does not reach, the satellite activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, position updates and SOS SOS.
A guide shows you how to find the clear view 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 safety feature, though it is essential to note that orbital coverage is limited to the US continent, most of Canada, and the majority of Europe excluding parts of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is generally serviceable with services available through the support portal. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its original capacity after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any recycled materials. Garmin offers disposal schemes on new purchases.
Cost
The Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach subscription packages cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Conclusion
This Fenix 8 Pro builds on a fantastic outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
The result is an increasingly impressive outdoor device for those that desire to be unplugged. If you want to have someone monitor you from afar while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without requiring anything else.
This is very liberating to be outside without a phone, but that functionality comes at a significant cost, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the recurring subscription of the inReach service to provide the service. Fortunately it isn’t dependent on your phone provider so functions with all make of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier gadget for someone who dislikes being burdened by their phone when jogging, cycling or hiking, but nevertheless wants to be locatable and reachable. For other users, it is a lot of money when the excellent Fenix 8 already exists.
Advantages: LTE and orbital communication, high-luminance OLED display, monitors everything with premier GPS, integrated torch, phone and offline commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline maps and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, physical controls and touch.
Drawbacks: very costly, LTE and orbital functions require ongoing subscription, limited Garmin Pay bank compatibility, voice capabilities are sluggish, limited smartwatch functionality compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
