This most recent model of the top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece includes a potentially lifesaving feature: phone-free messaging and emergency alerts via 4G LTE or satellite connections.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the previously impressive Fenix 8 by adding cutting-edge cellular tech, along with an available advanced microLED screen in a special edition. It is Garmin's premier device and designed to be the single gadget needed to explore almost any location and track all your movements.
This makes it an extremely expensive option, starting at £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 variant with microLED display – almost twice the cost of the standard Fenix 8.
Users get a significant features for your money, with best-in-class workout, movement and outdoor monitoring. The full offline mapping of the world can automatically guide you return to the path if you get lost without a phone, and look excellent on the sizable, sharp and super-bright display.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, not the more compact 43mm version available in other devices, so it is a large watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as reviewed does have an extra day of smartwatch battery life despite the screen on all the time, lasting a reliable eight to nine days between charges.
Phone-Free Texting, Calls and Real-Time Location
The company uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription plan rather than depending on a watch plan linked to your phone provider, as with other wearables. But unlike competing satellite-enabled products, emergency messaging is not included for free.
Rather, subscriptions start at £7.99 or equivalent a month, which provides unlimited LTE SMS and audio messages, calls and LiveTrack position sharing – so your friends or loved ones can keep an eye on you while engaged in jogging, cycling or similar activities – along with SOS orbital SOS messaging.
Check-ins and messages over satellite are then billed additionally, with higher-tier plans including various allowances of satellite usage, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited plan. The watch includes a 30-day trial period so you can evaluate the functionality.
Once you have completed setup, you simply venture outside without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You cannot use it for streaming music or similar activities, but you are able to place and receive calls, dispatch texts and overall stay connected with your relatives and companions.
Whenever you text someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a random phone number, which they can reply to back to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger application, you can then communicate reciprocally via text or spoken communications, and make voice calls. Your recipient does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, only a phone number is enough to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch functions fine but typing out texts on the small on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It includes a set of personalizable canned responses you can use to speed things up. Spoken recordings and calls perform acceptably, although as with most wearables, you’re unlikely going to want to use it for lengthy discussions as the audio clarity is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can configure to automatically transmit a URL to selected contacts whenever you begin an exercise, so they can follow your real time location on a map. It’s great for following race progress, but it primarily acts as a tool for someone you rely on to know your whereabouts in case an incident occurs. It has generally functioned well, although the actual location has occasionally been delayed when transitioning in and out of good LTE coverage.
These features are accessible on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the satellite kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, location check-ins and emergency SOS.
A on-screen assistance shows you how to find the clear view to the satellite, which then sends and receives messages within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was unexpectedly easy to use and could be a vital safety feature, however it is important to remember that orbital coverage is limited to the US mainland, the majority of Canada, and most of Europe except for regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees north.
Sustainability
The watch is generally repairable with options offered through the customer service site. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its initial power after two years of regular charging. The watch does not contain any reused materials. Garmin offers recycling programs on new purchases.
Price
The Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The additional Garmin inReach subscription packages cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a fantastic outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for messaging, calls and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re out of signal.
Outcome is an even more remarkable adventure tool for those that want to be unplugged. If you wish to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while running after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without requiring anything else.
This is very freeing to be outdoors without a phone, but that functionality comes at quite a price, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach service to provide the features. Fortunately it isn’t reliant on your phone provider so works with all brand of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier device for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when jogging, biking or hiking, but nevertheless desires to be locatable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a significant expense when the superb Fenix 8 already exists.
Pros: LTE and orbital communication, super-bright OLED display, tracks everything with best-in-class GPS, built-in flashlight, phone and offline commands, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline maps and navigation, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touch.
Cons: extremely costly, LTE and orbital features need ongoing subscription, restricted Garmin Pay financial compatibility, speech capabilities are slow, basic smartwatch features compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
