This newest iteration of the top-tier Fenix outdoor watch includes a life-saving capability: phone-free communication and SOS messaging using 4G LTE or satellite links.
This Fenix 8 Pro enhances the previously outstanding Fenix 8 by incorporating new cellular tech, along with an optional advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. It is Garmin's top device and designed to be the single gadget required to venture virtually any location and track every activity.
This makes it an extremely 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 variant with microLED display – nearly twice the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users receive a significant features for your investment, with industry-leading workout, activity and outdoor monitoring. Its full offline maps of the globe can automatically direct you return to the trail if you get lost absent a phone, and look great on the large, sharp and high-luminance touchscreen.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively available in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, omitting the smaller 43mm version found in other devices, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED version as tested boasts an extra day of watch battery life even with the screen always active, lasting a reliable eight to nine days between charging.
No-Phone Messaging, Calls and Live Tracking
The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription service rather than depending on a watch plan linked to your phone provider, as with other smartwatches. However unlike competing satellite-enabled products, emergency communication is not provided for no cost.
Instead, plans start at £7.99 or similar a month, which includes limitless LTE SMS and audio messages, call functionality and LiveTrack position sharing – so your contacts or family can monitor you while engaged in jogging, biking or similar activities – along with SOS orbital SOS alerts.
Location updates and texts over satellite are then billed additionally, with more expensive plans including various quotas of satellite usage, climbing to a £50 a month all-inclusive plan. The watch includes a 30-day trial period so you can test out the service.
After you have completed setup, you simply venture outside minus your phone and the watch will link to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or comparable tasks, but you are able to make and take calls, dispatch texts and generally keep in touch with your family and friends.
Whenever you message someone, Garmin sends them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can respond to directly to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger application, you can then communicate back and forth using text or voice messages, and initiate voice calls. Your contact does not need a Garmin profile to use the Messenger app, only a phone number is enough to register for texts.
Messaging on the watch functions fine but typing out texts on the small on-screen keyboard is slow. It has a collection of customisable canned replies you can use to expedite communication. Voice messages and calls perform OK, although as with most smartwatches, you’re not going to want to use it for extended discussions as the audio clarity is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful feature. You can set it up to on its own transmit a URL to chosen contacts every time you start an activity, so they can track your live location on a map. It’s great for following competition performance, but it primarily serves as a utility for someone you rely on to be aware of your location in case something happens. It has typically worked well, although the real position has occasionally been delayed when moving in and out of strong LTE coverage.
These capabilities are accessible on other Garmin watches if you bring your phone with you, but in locations where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position check-ins and emergency SOS.
A guide shows you how to find the clear view to the orbital system, which then transmits and gets communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was unexpectedly easy to use and could be a crucial lifeline, however it is important to remember that satellite coverage is restricted to the US continent, the majority of Canada, and the majority of Europe except for regions of Scandinavia above 65 degrees latitude.
Sustainability
The watch is generally repairable with options available through the support site. The battery is rated to retain at least 90% of its original capacity after two years of weekly charging. The watch does not contain any recycled materials. Garmin provides recycling 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 service packages cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Conclusion
The Fenix 8 Pro takes a fantastic outdoor watch in the standard Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – along with satellite communication, location update and emergency SOS for when you’re without signal.
The result is an increasingly impressive adventure tool for those that desire to be phone-free. 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 accomplishes this without requiring anything else.
It is quite liberating to be outdoors without a phone, but that capability comes at quite a price, both in terms of the colossal price of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach plan to provide the service. Fortunately it is not reliant on your phone provider so functions with any make of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a top-tier gadget for someone who hates being burdened by their phone when jogging, biking or hiking, but still desires to be locatable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Pros: LTE and satellite communication, high-luminance OLED display, tracks everything with best-in-class GPS, built-in torch, phone and offline commands, 8+ day battery life, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre diving, physical controls and touch.
Drawbacks: extremely expensive, LTE and satellite functions need monthly payment, restricted Garmin Pay bank support, speech features are sluggish, limited smartwatch functionality compared with competing watches.
