This latest version of Garmin's premium Fenix adventure watch includes a life-saving capability: phone-free communication and SOS alerts via 4G LTE or orbital links.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already outstanding Fenix 8 by incorporating new cellular tech, along with an available state-of-the-art microLED display in a limited edition. It is Garmin's premier model and designed to be the single tool needed to venture almost any location and track every activity.
This makes it an very 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 display – almost twice the price of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a significant features for your money, with best-in-class fitness, movement and outdoor tracking. Its complete offline mapping of the world can seamlessly guide you return to the path if you lose your way absent a phone, and appear great on the sizable, crisp and high-luminance display.
The Fenix 8 Pro is only offered in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, not the smaller 43mm version available in other devices, so it is a big watch for larger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as reviewed does have an extra day of smartwatch battery life despite the screen on all the time, enduring a solid eight to nine days between charging.
Phone-Free Texting, Calls and Live Tracking
Garmin operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription plan instead of depending on a watch plan tied to your phone provider, as with other wearables. However unlike Apple or Google's satellite-enabled products, SOS messaging is not provided for free.
Instead, plans begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which includes unlimited LTE text and voice messaging, calls and LiveTrack location sharing – so your contacts or family can monitor you while engaged in running, cycling or comparable activities – along with emergency orbital SOS messaging.
Check-ins and texts over satellite are then billed additionally, with more expensive subscriptions offering different allowances of satellite use, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited plan. The watch includes a 30-day trial period so you can test out the functionality.
After you have got it set up, you just venture the door minus your phone and the watch will connect 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 friends.
When you message someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can reply to directly to your watch. If they download the Garmin Messenger app, you can then communicate back and forth using typed or spoken communications, and make voice calls. Your recipient does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a mobile number is sufficient to register for texts.
Texting on the watch functions adequately but composing texts on the small on-screen keyboard is slow. It includes a set of personalizable canned replies you can send to speed things up. Spoken recordings and calls perform OK, though as with the majority of wearables, you’re unlikely going to want to use it for extended discussions as the quality is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the handiest function. You can set it up to on its own transmit a link to chosen contacts whenever you start an activity, so they can follow your live position on a map. It’s great for monitoring competition performance, but it primarily acts as a tool for someone you trust to know your location in case an incident occurs. It has typically worked well, though the real location has sometimes been delayed when moving in and out of good LTE coverage.
All of these capabilities are accessible on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE lacks coverage, the satellite kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, location updates and SOS SOS.
A guide displays 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 unexpectedly straightforward to use and could be a crucial lifeline, however it is essential to note that satellite service is limited to the US mainland, most of Canada, and the majority of Europe excluding parts of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is typically repairable with services offered through the support portal. The battery is certified to maintain at least 90% of its original power after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any reused materials. Garmin offers disposal schemes on new purchases.
Price
This Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach subscription packages begin from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a fantastic adventure watch in the standard Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – plus orbital messaging, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re without coverage.
Outcome is an even more remarkable outdoor device for those that want to be unplugged. If you wish to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing additional gear.
It is quite freeing to be outside without a phone, but that capability carries quite a cost, both in terms of the substantial cost of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach service to provide the features. At least it is not reliant on your phone provider so functions with all make of smartphone and network.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier device for someone who dislikes being weighed down by their phone when running, cycling or hiking, but nevertheless desires to be locatable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a significant expense when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Pros: LTE and satellite communication, high-luminance OLED display, monitors everything with best-in-class GPS, built-in torch, phone and offline voice control, 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 features need monthly payment, restricted Garmin Pay financial compatibility, speech features are sluggish, basic smartwatch features versus competing watches.
