The most recent iteration of Garmin's premium Fenix adventure timepiece includes a potentially lifesaving capability: no-phone communication and emergency alerts via 4G LTE or satellite connections.
This Fenix 8 Pro upgrades the already outstanding Fenix 8 by adding new cellular tech, plus an optional advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. This is Garmin's premier device and engineered to be the single gadget needed to venture virtually anywhere and track all your movements.
This positions it as an extremely pricey 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 double the price of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a lot of features for your money, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. The full offline maps of the globe can seamlessly guide you return to the path if you lose your way absent a phone, and appear excellent on the sizable, crisp and high-luminance touchscreen.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively available in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, omitting the smaller 43mm version available in other models, so it is a large watch for larger wrists. However the 47mm OLED version as tested does have an extra day of watch battery life even with the display always active, enduring a reliable eight to nine days between charging.
Phone-Free Texting, Calling and Live Tracking
The company uses its own inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription service instead of relying on a watch plan tied to your mobile provider, as with other wearables. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-capable devices, emergency messaging is not provided for no cost.
Rather, subscriptions begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which includes limitless LTE SMS and voice messaging, calls and LiveTrack position sharing – so your friends or family can keep an eye on you while out running, biking or comparable pursuits – along with emergency satellite SOS alerts.
Check-ins and texts via satellite are then billed additionally, with higher-tier subscriptions offering various quotas of satellite use, increasing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate the functionality.
Once you have completed setup, you simply venture outside without your phone and the watch will link to LTE. You can not use it for playing music or comparable tasks, but you can place and receive calls, dispatch texts and generally 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 communicate back and forth using typed or voice communications, and initiate voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, just a mobile number is sufficient to sign up for texts.
Texting on the watch works adequately but typing out texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It includes a collection of personalizable canned responses you can send to expedite communication. Spoken recordings and calls work acceptably, though as with most wearables, you’re unlikely going to wish to use it for lengthy conversations as the quality is not ideal.
LiveTrack is the handiest function. You can set it up to automatically send a link to chosen contacts whenever you begin an exercise, so they can track your live position on a map. It’s excellent for monitoring competition progress, but it mostly serves as a utility for someone you rely on to be aware of your whereabouts in case something happens. It has generally worked well, though the actual location has occasionally lagged when transitioning in and out of good LTE signal.
These capabilities are accessible on other Garmin devices if you bring your phone with you, but in areas where LTE does not reach, the satellite kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position updates and SOS SOS.
A on-screen assistance displays you how to find the line of sight to the satellite, 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 important to remember that orbital coverage is limited to the US mainland, most of Canada, and most of Europe except for parts of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is generally repairable with services offered through the support site. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its original capacity after two years of weekly charging. The watch does not contain any recycled components. Garmin offers recycling programs on recent purchases.
Cost
The Fenix 8 Pro is priced from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach subscription plans cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Conclusion
The Fenix 8 Pro builds on a fantastic adventure watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, call functionality and LiveTrack – along with satellite communication, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
The result is an increasingly remarkable outdoor device for those that want to be phone-free. If you wish to have someone keep an eye on you from afar while exercising after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without requiring anything else.
It is very liberating to be outdoors without a phone, but that capability comes at quite a price, both in terms of the substantial price of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach service to provide the service. At least it isn’t dependent on your phone carrier so works with all brand of smartphone and network.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a killer device for someone who hates being burdened by their phone when running, cycling or trekking, but still desires to be locatable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Advantages: LTE and satellite messaging, high-luminance OLED display, tracks everything with best-in-class GPS, integrated flashlight, phone and standalone commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touchscreen.
Drawbacks: extremely costly, LTE and satellite features require ongoing payment, limited Garmin Pay bank compatibility, speech capabilities are slow, limited wearable functionality compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.
