The latest iteration of Garmin's flagship Fenix adventure timepiece includes a life-saving feature: phone-free messaging and SOS alerts using 4G LTE or orbital links.
The Fenix 8 Pro builds upon the previously outstanding Fenix 8 by adding new cellular tech, along with an available advanced microLED screen in a limited edition. This is Garmin's top device and engineered to be the single tool required to explore almost any location and track all your movements.
This makes it an extremely expensive proposition, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED model and climbing to a substantial £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm variant with microLED display – nearly double the cost of the regular Fenix 8.
Users get a lot of features for your investment, with industry-leading fitness, activity and adventure monitoring. The full offline maps of the globe can automatically direct you return to the trail if you lose your way absent a phone, and appear great on the sizable, sharp and high-luminance display.
This Fenix 8 Pro is exclusively offered in 47mm or 51mm case sizes, not the smaller 43mm version available in other models, so it is a big watch for bigger wrists. But the 47mm OLED model as tested does have an additional day of smartwatch battery life even with the screen always active, lasting a solid eight to nine days between charges.
Phone-Free Texting, Calling and Real-Time Location
Garmin uses its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and orbital subscription plan rather than depending on a watch plan linked to your mobile carrier, as with other smartwatches. But unlike competing satellite-enabled products, emergency communication is not provided for free.
Instead, plans start at £7.99 or equivalent a month, which includes unlimited LTE text and voice messages, calls and LiveTrack location tracking – so your contacts or loved ones can monitor you while engaged in running, biking or comparable activities – along with emergency satellite SOS messaging.
Check-ins and texts via satellite are then billed on top, with more expensive plans including various quotas of orbital use, increasing to a £50 a month unlimited subscription. The watch comes with a 30-day free trial so you can test out the functionality.
After you have completed setup, you simply venture the door minus your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for streaming music or comparable activities, but you can place and receive calls, dispatch texts and generally keep in touch with your relatives and friends.
When 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 app, you can then message back and forth via text or voice communications, and make voice calls. Your recipient does not need a Garmin account to use the Messenger app, only a mobile number is enough to sign up for texts.
Messaging on the watch works fine but composing texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is time-consuming. It includes a collection of personalizable canned responses you can send to speed things up. Voice messages and calls work acceptably, though as with most smartwatches, you’re not going to want to use it for extended conversations as the audio clarity is not fantastic.
LiveTrack is the most useful function. You can configure to automatically transmit a link to chosen contacts whenever you start an exercise, so they can follow your live location on a map. It’s excellent for following competition performance, but it mostly acts as a tool for someone you trust to know your whereabouts in case something happens. It has typically functioned well, although the real position has occasionally lagged when transitioning in and out of good LTE coverage.
These capabilities are accessible on other Garmin devices if you carry your phone with you, but in areas where LTE lacks coverage, the orbital kicks in on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, location updates and emergency SOS.
A guide shows you how to find the clear view to the orbital system, which then sends and receives communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly easy to use and could be a crucial lifeline, though it is essential to remember that orbital coverage is restricted to the US continent, most of Canada, and the majority of Europe excluding parts of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees latitude.
Environmental Impact
The watch is generally repairable with options available through the support portal. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its original power after two years of weekly charging. The watch lacks any recycled components. Garmin offers disposal 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 service plans cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).
Verdict
This Fenix 8 Pro takes a fantastic adventure watch in the standard Fenix 8 and incorporates LTE for messaging, calls and LiveTrack – along with satellite communication, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.
The result is an even more impressive adventure device for those that desire to be phone-free. If you want to have someone monitor you remotely while exercising after dark or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without needing anything else.
This is very liberating to be outside without a phone, but that functionality comes at quite a cost, both in terms of the substantial price of the watch and the monthly fee of the inReach plan to provide the service. At least it is not reliant on your phone carrier so works with any make of smartphone and carrier.
This Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who dislikes being weighed down by their phone when jogging, cycling or trekking, but nevertheless desires to be locatable and contactable. For everyone else, it is a lot of money when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.
Pros: LTE and satellite messaging, super-bright OLED screen, monitors everything with premier GPS, integrated torch, phone and offline commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, complete offline mapping and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre water resistance and 40-metre underwater use, physical controls and touch.
Cons: extremely expensive, LTE and orbital functions require ongoing subscription, restricted Garmin Pay financial support, voice features are slow, limited wearable features compared with competing watches.
