This latest model of Garmin's flagship Fenix outdoor timepiece includes a life-saving feature: phone-free messaging and SOS messaging using 4G LTE or satellite links.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already outstanding Fenix 8 by incorporating cutting-edge mobile technology, along with an available advanced microLED display in a special edition. It is Garmin's top device and engineered to be the only gadget needed to explore virtually any location and monitor all your movements.
This positions it as an extremely expensive option, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED version and climbing to a colossal £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm edition with microLED screen – almost twice the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a significant features for your investment, with best-in-class workout, movement and adventure monitoring. Its full offline maps of the globe can automatically guide you return to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and look great on the sizable, crisp and super-bright touchscreen.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, 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 extra day of watch battery life even with the screen always active, enduring a solid eight to nine days between charging.
No-Phone Messaging, Calling and Live Tracking
Garmin operates its own inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription service instead of relying on a watch plan linked to your phone provider, like other smartwatches. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-enabled products, SOS communication is not included for no cost.
Rather, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides unlimited LTE SMS and voice messaging, calls and LiveTrack position tracking – so your contacts or loved ones can monitor you while engaged in running, cycling or similar pursuits – along with SOS satellite SOS alerts.
Check-ins and messages over satellite are then billed additionally, with more expensive plans offering different allowances of orbital usage, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive plan. The watch includes a 30-day trial period so you can test out the functionality.
Once you have completed setup, you just head out the door without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or comparable tasks, but you can make and take calls, dispatch texts and overall stay connected with your relatives and friends.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a random phone number, which they can respond to back to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger application, you can then message reciprocally using text or voice communications, and make voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a mobile number is enough to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch functions fine but typing out texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is slow. It has a set of personalizable canned replies you can use to expedite communication. Spoken recordings and calls perform acceptably, although as with most wearables, you’re not going to want to use it for lengthy conversations as the audio clarity is not ideal.
LiveTrack is the handiest feature. You can set it up to automatically send a URL to selected contacts every time you start an activity, so they can follow your real time position on a map. It’s great for monitoring race progress, but it primarily serves as a utility for someone you rely on to know your whereabouts in case an incident occurs. It has typically functioned well, though the real location has occasionally lagged when transitioning in and out of strong LTE signal.
All of these capabilities are accessible on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position updates and SOS SOS.
A on-screen assistance displays you how to locate the clear view to the orbital system, which then transmits and gets communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly straightforward to use and could be a crucial lifeline, however it is essential to remember that satellite coverage is limited to the US continent, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe excluding regions of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees latitude.
Environmental Impact
The watch is typically serviceable with options available through the customer service site. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its initial capacity after two years of regular charging. The watch lacks any reused components. Garmin offers disposal schemes on new purchases.
Price
This 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).
Conclusion
This Fenix 8 Pro builds on a excellent adventure watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – plus satellite communication, check-in and emergency SOS for when you’re without signal.
The result is an increasingly remarkable adventure tool for those that desire to be unplugged. If you wish to have someone keep an eye on you remotely while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing additional gear.
It is quite liberating to be outdoors without a phone, but that functionality carries a significant price, both in terms of the substantial cost of the watch and the recurring fee of the inReach plan to enable the features. Fortunately it is not dependent on your phone carrier so functions with any make of smartphone and network.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when running, biking or trekking, but nevertheless desires to be locatable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a significant money when the excellent Fenix 8 is already available.
Advantages: LTE and satellite messaging, high-luminance OLED screen, monitors everything with premier GPS, built-in torch, phone and offline voice control, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, physical controls and touch.
Drawbacks: very costly, LTE and satellite functions require ongoing payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank support, voice features are sluggish, basic wearable features compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
