The most recent iteration of Garmin's top-tier Fenix outdoor watch includes a life-saving capability: no-phone messaging and emergency alerts via 4G LTE or satellite connections.
The Fenix 8 Pro enhances the already outstanding Fenix 8 by incorporating new cellular tech, plus an optional advanced microLED screen in a special edition. This is Garmin's premier device and designed to be the single tool needed to venture virtually any location and track all your movements.
This makes it an extremely expensive option, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED model and reaching a substantial £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm variant with microLED screen – almost twice the price of the standard Fenix 8.
Users get a significant functionality for your investment, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure tracking. The full offline mapping of the globe can automatically direct you return to the trail if you lose your way absent a phone, and appear excellent on the large, crisp and high-luminance touchscreen.
The Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, omitting the smaller 43mm version available in other devices, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. However the 47mm OLED version as reviewed boasts an extra day of watch battery life despite the screen always active, enduring a reliable eight to nine days between charges.
No-Phone Texting, Calling and Live Tracking
The company operates its own inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription service rather than relying on a watch plan tied to your phone provider, like other smartwatches. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-enabled devices, SOS messaging is not included for no cost.
Instead, plans begin from £7.99 or similar a month, which provides unlimited LTE SMS and voice messages, calls and LiveTrack location sharing – so your friends or family can keep an eye on you while engaged in running, cycling or similar pursuits – along with emergency orbital SOS alerts.
Location updates and texts via orbital are then billed additionally, with higher-tier subscriptions offering different quotas of satellite use, climbing to a £50 a month all-inclusive subscription. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can test out the service.
Once you have got it set up, you simply venture the door without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You cannot use it for playing music or comparable activities, but you are able to place and receive calls, send texts and generally stay connected with your relatives and friends.
When you message someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a random 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 via typed or voice messages, and initiate voice calls. Your contact is not required to have a Garmin profile to use the Messenger application, just a mobile number is enough to sign up 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 responses you can use to speed things up. Spoken messages and calls perform acceptably, although as with the majority of smartwatches, you’re not going to wish to use it for extended conversations as the audio clarity is not ideal.
LiveTrack is the handiest function. You can configure to on its own send a URL to selected contacts every time you start an exercise, so they can follow your live position on a map. It’s great for following race performance, but it mostly acts as a tool for someone you rely on to know your location in case something happens. It has typically worked effectively, although the real position has sometimes lagged when moving in and out of strong LTE coverage.
These features are available on other Garmin watches if you bring your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to transmit texts, location updates and SOS SOS.
A guide shows you how to find the clear view to the satellite, which then sends and receives communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was unexpectedly straightforward to use and could be a vital lifeline, though it is important to remember that satellite service is restricted to the US continent, most of Canada, and most of Europe except for regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is typically repairable with options offered via the support portal. The battery is certified to retain at least 90% of its initial capacity after two years of regular charging. The watch does not contain any recycled materials. Garmin offers recycling programs on recent purchases.
Cost
The Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach service plans cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
The Fenix 8 Pro builds on a fantastic outdoor watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack – plus satellite messaging, check-in and emergency SOS for when you’re without signal.
The result is an increasingly remarkable adventure device for those that desire to be phone-free. If you wish to have someone monitor you from afar while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin does so without needing additional gear.
This is very freeing to be outdoors without a phone, but that functionality comes at a significant cost, both in terms of the substantial cost of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach plan to provide the features. Fortunately it is not reliant on your phone carrier so functions with any brand of smartphone and carrier.
The Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who dislikes being burdened by their phone when jogging, biking or trekking, but still desires to be trackable and reachable. For other users, it is a significant expense when the excellent Fenix 8 is already available.
Pros: LTE and satellite messaging, high-luminance OLED display, monitors everything with premier GPS, integrated torch, voice and offline commands, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, full offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre underwater use, buttons and touchscreen.
Cons: extremely costly, LTE and satellite features need ongoing subscription, limited Garmin Pay financial compatibility, speech capabilities are sluggish, basic smartwatch features compared with competing watches.
