This newest version of Garmin's flagship Fenix adventure timepiece brings a life-saving feature: no-phone communication and SOS messaging via 4G LTE or orbital links.
The Fenix 8 Pro enhances the previously outstanding Fenix 8 by incorporating cutting-edge mobile technology, along with an optional advanced microLED display in a special edition. This is the brand's premier device and designed to be the single tool needed to explore virtually any location and monitor all your movements.
That makes it an very expensive proposition, priced from £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 edition with microLED screen – nearly twice the cost of the standard Fenix 8.
Users get a significant functionality for your money, with industry-leading workout, movement and adventure monitoring. Its full offline maps of the globe can automatically guide you back to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and look great on the sizable, crisp and super-bright touchscreen.
The Fenix 8 Pro is only available in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, not the smaller 43mm size available in other models, so it is a big watch for larger wrists. But the 47mm OLED version as reviewed does have an additional day of smartwatch battery life even with the screen on all the time, lasting a reliable eight to nine days between charges.
No-Phone Messaging, Calling and Real-Time Location
The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and satellite service plan instead of relying on a watch plan tied to your mobile carrier, as with other wearables. However unlike competing satellite-enabled products, emergency communication is not provided for free.
Rather, plans begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides unlimited LTE SMS and audio messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack location tracking – so your friends or loved ones can monitor you while out jogging, biking or comparable pursuits – along with emergency orbital SOS messaging.
Check-ins and messages via orbital are then charged on top, with more expensive subscriptions offering different quotas of orbital use, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day trial period so you can test out the functionality.
After you have completed setup, you just venture the door without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or similar activities, but you are able to make and take calls, dispatch texts and overall stay connected with your family and companions.
When you message someone, Garmin sends them an SMS from a arbitrary number, which they can reply to back to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger application, you can then message back and forth via typed or voice communications, and initiate voice calls. Your contact does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a mobile number is enough to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch functions adequately but composing texts on the small on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It has a set of personalizable canned replies you can send to expedite communication. Spoken recordings and calls work OK, although as with most wearables, you’re not going to want to use it for lengthy conversations as the quality is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can configure to automatically send a link to selected contacts whenever you begin an exercise, so they can track your real time position on a map. It’s excellent for following race progress, but it mostly serves as a utility for someone you trust to know your location in case an incident occurs. It has typically worked well, although the real location has occasionally lagged when transitioning in and out of good LTE signal.
These features are available on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the satellite activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, position updates and emergency SOS.
A on-screen assistance shows you how to locate the line of sight to the orbital system, which then sends and receives messages within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was unexpectedly easy to use and could be a vital lifeline, though it is essential to remember that orbital service is limited to the US continent, most of Canada, and the majority of Europe excluding regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is typically serviceable with services available via the customer service site. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its initial power after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any reused components. Garmin offers recycling schemes on new purchases.
Price
The Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The additional Garmin inReach service packages begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro takes a excellent outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and adds LTE for messaging, calls and LiveTrack – along with orbital messaging, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
Outcome is an increasingly impressive outdoor device for those that want to be unplugged. If you want to have someone monitor you from afar while running after dark or in the remote areas, the Garmin does so without requiring anything else.
This is quite freeing to be outside without a phone, but that capability carries a significant cost, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the monthly subscription of the inReach plan to provide the features. Fortunately it is not dependent on your phone provider so works with any make of smartphone and carrier.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a killer device for someone who hates being burdened by their phone when jogging, biking or hiking, but still wants to be locatable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a significant money when the superb Fenix 8 already exists.
Advantages: LTE and orbital messaging, super-bright OLED display, monitors everything with best-in-class GPS, built-in flashlight, phone and standalone commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touchscreen.
Cons: very costly, LTE and orbital functions require ongoing subscription, restricted Garmin Pay bank support, voice capabilities are sluggish, basic smartwatch features versus Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
