Live Science Verdict
The Garmin Fenix 8 is a watch you will want to own , but whether you should buy one needs more mentation . A world - class wearable that fetch smartwatch skills to what is belike Garmin ’s most worthful series , it ’s vivid — the only proceeds being slightly slower - to - triangulate Global Positioning System than we are used to . Just do n’t forget that many of the most significant feature of speech are also available in Garmin ’s more affordable lines .
needlelike , bright OLED screen
Apple Watch Ultra - style dive skills
The Fenix 8 is one of the most expensive watches in the Garmin’s line-up.
Encyclopedic fitness feature film
tenacious assault and battery life
GPS is wearisome to triangulate
The side buttons use haptic feedback instead of a mechanical click.
Expensive
Modern supporter features not essential
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The Garmin Fenix 8 is a pleasure to wear.
This is the prominent one . Fenix is not Garmin ’s most expensive sentinel serial , but for many people it is the most important . The Garmin Fenix 8 sees AMOLED screen tech come to the series for the first time — something that ’s been on the card since 2019 , when the original Garmin Venu proved smartwatch displays and a gamy - end fitness lookout man experience need not be strangers .
Do n’t desire OLED ? A classic transflective model is also available . But if you want that , then you should also seriously consider the Garmin Enduro 3 , which has incredible battery life and does most of the same stuff .
Other key Garmin Fenix 8 alteration include multi - faceted digital assistant support and dive - quick water resistance . That may lay on the line nibbling away at the Garmin Descent ambit ’s appeal , but Garmin has been force into action by the super - resilient Apple Watch Ultra .
The Garmin Fenix 8 features a beautifully crisp OLED display.
Is the Garmin Fenix 8 one of thebest fitness trackerson the market ? perfectly . Is it overkill for most people ? Absolutely . If OLED is the key draw , also consider the Forerunner 265 , 465 and 965 . All are splendid , and be significantly less . This one is for the most demanding and well - heeled only . But what a watch it is …
Garmin Fenix 8 review
Garmin Fenix 8: Price and availability
The Garmin Fenix 8 set up at the end of August 2024 , two and a half years after theFenix 7and about 16 months after the Fenix 7 Pro . As ever with a pop Garmin serial , there are a whole bunch of options to debate .
The OLED version reviewed here is available in 1.69 in , 1.85 in and 2.00 in ( 43 millimeter , 47 mm and 51 mm ) models , priced at $ 999 , $ 1,099 and $ 1,199 ( £ 949 , £ 949 and $ 1,119 ) respectively . model with transflective screens and solar charging come in 1.85 in/47 mm ( $ 1,099/£949 ) and 2.0 in/51 mm ( $ 1,199/£1,039 ) version .
Sound like too much to spend ? There ’s also the 47mm - only Fenix E at $ 799/£689 . And sound stainless steel translation of the OLED Fenix 8 at £ 869 ( not list in the US at present tense ) .
The Garmin Fenix 8 boasts an excellent heart rate sensor.
disconnected ? No wonder , when there are up to 18 members of the Fenix 8 family ( in the UK ) . Today , though , we ’ll give you the lowdown on what ’s the best all - libertine for many : the AMOLED 47 m Fenix 8 .
Garmin Fenix 8: Design and display
Take a brief glance at the Garmin Fenix 8 and you could easy think it is tiptop - similar to the watch that came before it , with its round font and tough , industrial - appear bezel . There are a few key changes here , though .
First of all , the Fenix 8 is the first watch to provide dive - quick urine immunity . It ’s primed for dives up to 40 m depth – though this has a knock - on effect in the buttons department .
“ Our unique button intent uses inductive technology to dispatch the need for a hole in the case — thus making making water points impossible , ” says Garmin . In practice , this means that the Fenix 8 ’s side buttons do n’t use a mechanical suction stop , rather relying on tactile feedback , as used wide in the Apple Watch series .
The Garmin Fenix 8 offers plenty of smartwatch features.
I expect to hate this , and for the first couple of days the release did feel oddly spongelike . But the haptics are a amazingly good switch for a classic button click , and technically very telling . After switch to the mechanical Enduro 3 , I even kinda missed them .
wear the Fenix 8 while sleeping was also a pleasant surprise . The consumption of titanium keeps weight down to a very reasonable 2.58 oz ( 73 grand ) with the stock silicon strap , or 1.87 oz ( 53 g ) without it . We ’d suggest check out of the minuscule , lighter plastic predecessor for genuine 24/7 article of clothing , though .
Part of what you pay for here are the lightness and toughness of the atomic number 22 , and the scratch resistance of the Sapphire crystal — which I still somehow managed to put a small-scale nick in .
The map feature in the Garmin Fenix 8 is of top-notch quality.
Blending the old school , button - drive approaching with a hyphen of smartphone style , my revue Garmin Fenix 8 had an OLED touchscreen . you’re able to use either control method , but scroll through your everyday stats with a finger’s breadth again makes great use of the Fenix 8 ’s unusually refined ( for Garmin ) haptics , with a little suction stop as you pass by each class of stats .
This screen is sharp and promising , and make the transflective measure of old Garmin range look irksome . It sees eminent - end Garmin watches move beyond being fitness tool , into something you ’ll also just enjoy wearing .
However , to get the most out of the Fenix 8 ’s OLED screen you call for to turn on the “ always on ” style . This makes it display a simplified , dim reading of your watch side all day , so you’re able to treat it more like a watch . But then you could curl goodbye to the claim 16 - 24-hour interval battery life history . More on that later .
The Garmin Fenix 8 impressed us with its heart rate tracking accuracy.
Garmin Fenix 8: Features
The Garmin Fenix 8 is a unspoiled underwater watch than its forerunner . But in other areas ? Garmin watch have had an overmuch of feature article for years . In this genesis , Garmin has focused on originate areas that are only a tangential sake for the wide family : the bright material .
The Garmin Fenix 8 has a loudspeaker system and a microphone , just like a consecrated smartwatch . you’re able to use it to take calls , and it offers two types of digital assistant support . you could hook it up to your phone to relay its help ’s voice reception , or there ’s an onboard Garmin asssistant that can perform a little handful of requests on - watch .
This onboard assistant can start activity , set alarms and timer and , well , not much more . Kitchen timers are clearly the number one use for the Fenix 8 ’s digital help anyway . Top - end fitness spotter do not exclaim out for this clobber , but it ’s another skill for the serial to take .
The Garmin Fenix 8 does an excellent job as a workout tracker.
This smartwatch - like clobber is combined with much - improved notification handling . Notifications are nestle into types , and you may reply to message with can response . It ’s a lot more smartwatch - the like than you might expect from a Garmin watch .
As ever , you get access to the Connect IQ app shop , too , and it ’s all envelop up in a significantly redesign interface that ’s just conversant enough not to freak out Garmin veterans . It separates out mini apps and activities better , and has perhaps a minuscule more polish .
All the other Hellenic extras of a high - oddment Garmin lookout are here as common , too . You get 32 GB storage , which can be used to download single-valued function data or store song from the defend medicine services . These are Spotify , Deezer and Amazon Music , while there are also some podcast manager uncommitted from the Connect IQ app store .
The Garmin Fenix 8 impressed us with its long battery life.
One of my favourite abilities of these high - end Garmin watches is make routes for runs , salary increase and bicycle rides , and come after them on your ticker with no need for your phone . you may even prepare these road on the watch itself , but it ’s more comfortable to do so on your telephone set .
The maps , across the cosmos , are free to download . But there is a bear Outdoor Maps+ plan , which includes even more detail , embossment blending , building footprints , full artificial satellite mental imagery and light befoulment info . It ’s not a must - have upgrade for most , but shows how thick the Garmin cony muddle sound .
And if you get lose while you ’re down there , the Fenix 8 has a bright LED flashlight to facilitate !
The Garmin Fenix 8 is a top-class fitness tracker, and its price fully reflects that.
Garmin Fenix 8: Performance
While the Garmin Fenix 8 is quite a departure from the Fenix 7 Pro in terms of its screen and water resistance , the fitness tracking bedrock remain familiar .
They partake in Garmin ’s latest six LED , quad - sensor ocular marrow rate sensor , which apply four extra green LEDs to help stabilize reading material when actually cut across exercise . It ’s a very safe sensor that I ’ve found consummate for running and cycling . In the gymnasium , its readings can seem a sense of touch slow on the intake at times , but endless minor 45 - second sweat are a tough ask .
It ’s also good for resting heart rate detection , and noticed when I picked up some sorting of computer virus that resulted in my resting spunk charge per unit dropping depleted than common .
We put the Garmin Fenix 8 through its paces but did not have the chance to test its diving features.
The Garmin Fenix 8 also has dual - banding GPS , for boosted signal in tough areas like hugely progress - up urban center . And as common , there ’s an Auto fashion to switch up to that top mode when necessary . You do n’t want to expend dual - band all the fourth dimension , as it is an extra battery sap .
I did notice the Fenix 8 seems to take a few seconds longer to lock onto a signal than the last Garmins I used , which is the only major ill to level at the sentry . We ’ve accomplish out to Garmin to see if there ’s a reason for this — but it may well change in a computer software update anyway .
The sentinel also supports Garmin ’s ECG app . We were n’t able to test this in the UK , but it is available to US user .
The barrage fire life you get from a Fenix 8 will variegate by watch size , and even more greatly by the screen tech you beak . This review considers only the 47 mm OLED version , but should be revelatory of the all-encompassing OLED family .
Garmin says you may ask up to 16 days of usance , but we would recommend using the always - on screen modality , which displays the time all day . Seven days is quote for this mood but , for the first time in years of reviewing these watches , the Fenix 8 in reality outdo Garmin ’s appraisal !
It started at 100 % charge at 6:30 am on twenty-four hour period one , and terminate with 7 % burster at 6:30 am on daylight 8 . And that barrage test point include 4.5 hours of tracked running play , a 3.5 - hour rise , a 50 - minute cycle and two 40 - minute gym session .
I used the watch for telling too . More than eight days ’ use in these weather ? That is great !
I also used the Fenix 8 for a full while with the always - on way switched off , before this barrage fire - watching trial catamenia . It lost 6 % to 10 % of battery life sentence a Clarence Day , suggesting Garmin ’s 16 - day claim is achievable with temperate use .
On the charge front , there ’s nothing new here : the Fenix 8 still uses Garmin ’s classic four - prong cable .
The Garmin Fenix 8 is yet more proof most users no longer need to fear a flashy OLED projection screen ’s effect on assault and battery life .
Garmin Fenix 8: Verdict
The Garmin Fenix 8 is big news , in that it brings OLED screens to the most desirable Garmin scout line . And , for good criterion , the watch gets water resistance to a degree not usually seen out of doors of the diving - specific Descent range of a function .
Is this mostly an Epix watch subsumed into the better - have intercourse Fenix family ? It for sure is , but it also tick the point where more ticker fans should be reckon an OLED fitness vigil rather than a transflective one , given that we got well over a week ’s use out of the Fenix 8 while hammer it moderately firmly .
The price increase may be too much to stomach if you have no intent of using the diving skill , though . A focus on smart science also suggests Garmin has prospective Apple Watch Ultra owners in its sights as much as long - standing Garmin buff .
If Garmin Fenix 8 is not for you
Fenix 8 too full-bodied ? Do n’t block the Fenix E exists . It lose the flashlight , has a slenderly modest CRT screen , and lack out on the speaker , mike and — perhaps most crucially — the late - generation hour and GPS tech . It ’s kind of a last - gen twist , but with new software .
You should also keep an eye out for theEpix 2and Epix 2 Pro . The experience of using one is very close to that of a Fenix 8 , and both are available for a bunch less than the Fenix E.
Do n’t prevail out Garmin ’s other series , either . The crucial one for prospective Fenix 8 owners is Forerunner . You lose some of the flashier build elements , but theForerunner 965provides similar core features for less money .
Garmin Fenix 8: How we tested
We expend six weeks test the Garmin Fenix 8 , which was enough clock time to run down the battery multiple times , to get a feel for its material - creation stamina . It was used to track hundreds of kilometer of running , including multiple half - marathons to quiz the pump rate accuracy over farseeing academic term .
The Fenix 8 was used during gym sessions and bike workouts , including the utilization of heart rate broadcasting . We were not able to screen its scuba dive features , though , so do a piddling more inquiry on that area before buy if it ’s a cardinal attracter .
