This most recent model of Garmin's premium Fenix adventure timepiece brings a potentially lifesaving feature: no-phone messaging and SOS alerts using 4G LTE or satellite links.
This Fenix 8 Pro enhances the already impressive Fenix 8 by adding new cellular tech, plus an optional state-of-the-art microLED display in a special edition. It is Garmin's top model and designed to be the single tool needed to explore almost any location and track every activity.
This positions it as an extremely expensive proposition, 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 screen – almost double the price of the standard Fenix 8.
You do receive a significant functionality for your money, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure tracking. The full offline mapping of the globe can seamlessly direct you back to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and appear great on the large, crisp and high-luminance display.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the more compact 43mm size available in other models, so it is a large watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED version as tested does have an additional day of smartwatch battery life even with the display always active, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charging.
Phone-Free Messaging, Calls and Live Tracking
The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital service service instead of depending on a watch plan linked to your phone carrier, like other smartwatches. But unlike competing satellite-enabled products, emergency messaging is not provided for no cost.
Instead, plans begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides limitless LTE SMS and voice messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack location sharing – so your contacts or loved ones can monitor you while engaged in running, biking or comparable activities – along with emergency satellite SOS messaging.
Location updates and messages via orbital are then billed additionally, with higher-tier subscriptions offering various allowances of satellite use, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day trial period so you can test out the service.
After you have got it set up, you simply head out the door minus your phone and the watch will link to LTE. You cannot use it for streaming music or comparable tasks, but you are able to place and receive calls, send texts and overall keep in touch with your family and companions.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a random number, which they can reply to back to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger app, you can then message back and forth via text or spoken communications, and initiate voice calls. Your recipient is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, only a phone number is sufficient to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch works fine but composing texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is slow. It includes a collection of customisable canned replies you can send to speed things up. Spoken recordings and calls work OK, although as with most smartwatches, you’re unlikely going to wish to use it for extended discussions as the quality is less than ideal.
LiveTrack is the handiest feature. You can configure to automatically transmit a link to selected contacts every time you begin an exercise, so they can follow your live location on a map. It’s excellent for monitoring race performance, but it mostly acts as a utility for someone you trust to know your whereabouts in case something happens. It has generally worked well, though the real location has sometimes been delayed when moving in and out of strong LTE signal.
All of these capabilities are available 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 SOS SOS.
A on-screen assistance displays you how to locate the line of sight to the satellite, which then transmits and gets 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 remember that satellite service is limited to the US mainland, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe except for regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is typically repairable with options available through the customer service site. The battery is certified to retain at least 90% of its initial power after two years of weekly charging. The watch lacks any recycled materials. Garmin offers recycling programs on new purchases.
Price
This Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach subscription plans begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a excellent adventure watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – plus orbital communication, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of coverage.
The result is an increasingly impressive adventure tool for those that desire to be unplugged. If you want to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while exercising after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without requiring anything else.
It is very freeing to be outside without a phone, but that capability comes at a significant cost, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the recurring subscription of the inReach plan to provide the service. At least it is not dependent on your phone provider so functions with any brand of smartphone and carrier.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier gadget for someone who dislikes being weighed down by their phone when running, biking or hiking, but nevertheless desires to be trackable and contactable. For other users, it is a significant expense when the excellent Fenix 8 already exists.
Pros: LTE and satellite communication, super-bright OLED screen, tracks everything with best-in-class GPS, integrated flashlight, voice and offline commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline maps and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre diving, physical controls and touch.
Drawbacks: extremely costly, LTE and satellite functions require ongoing payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank support, speech features are sluggish, basic wearable functionality versus Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
