Spectacular, however not with out its points

It is no secret that Garmin’s watch lineup is in depth, which leaves it a bit convoluted at occasions. The corporate’s latest release, the Garmin Fenix 8, aimed to consolidate issues barely, merging the Fenix and Epix beneath one product title. Whereas this, in concept, simplifies issues, the variety of choices to select from stays the identical. Earlier than the Fenix 8, the primary deciding issue between the Epix and Fenix lineup was a colourful AMOLED show or lengthy battery life. That selection stays, simply inside the Fenix 8 title alone.

Essentially the most important change with the Fenix 8 is the addition of an onboard microphone and speaker, which brings Garmin’s newest wearable into the realm of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. That addition helps you to take and make calls out of your wrist and entry voice assistants, one thing solely Garmin’s Venu may do earlier than. Garmin revamped the photo voltaic panels on the Photo voltaic mannequin to extend readability and enhance photo voltaic charging capabilities. Garmin additionally elevated the sturdiness of its newest wearable and carried over dive options from its devoted dive watch, the Descent MK3.

Past these {hardware} additions, although, the Fenix 8 stays basically the identical because the earlier mannequin. A handful of software program updates purpose to make utilizing the watch simpler, particularly for brand new Garmin customers. There are additionally a handful of latest map and navigation options, however that is actually about it. I have been utilizing the 47mm Fenix 8 AMOLED for just a few weeks now, and whereas there definitely are variations from previous fashions, this watch simply would not have me as excited as earlier Garmin releases.

Beneficial

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED

The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED blends smartwatch and journey watch options into one extremely superior wearable with a vibrant AMOLED show. It encompasses a microphone and speaker to take calls and use voice instructions proper in your wrist, plus an expansive listing of coaching and navigation instruments. 

Professionals

• Extra rugged construct with leakproof buttons
• Flashlight controls are extra simply accessible
• Loads of fashions to select from
• Extremely correct knowledge
• Nice battery life

Cons

• Not a lot of an replace over the Epix Gen 2 and Fenix 7 Professional
• Laggy efficiency in some menus
• Some finicky points with the voice assistant instruments

Worth, availability, and specs

The Garmin fenix 8 is obtainable in 15 totally different fashions and colours, so there are many choices to select from. Relying on the actual mannequin you select, pricing ranges from $799 to $1,299. On the low degree is the Fenix E (which isn’t technically the Fenix 8, however value mentioning), which lacks a flashlight, microphone, and speaker however provides a vibrant AMOLED show. It is solely out there in a single 47mm case dimension and both stainless-steel and black or slate grey and black.

Subsequent is the Fenix 8 Photo voltaic, which retains the spirit of the unique Fenix lineup. It makes use of the standard transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) show with Garmin’s Energy Sapphire photo voltaic charging know-how for longer battery life. Garmin ditched the smallest dimension for the photo voltaic model with the Fenix 8, doubtless as a result of a photo voltaic panel simply is not value it at that dimension. As an alternative, it is solely out there in 47mm and 51mm case sizes. It is available in two colours (for each case sizes), together with the Carbon Grey DLC Titanium with Black/Pebble Grey Silicone Band or the Titanium with Amp Yellow/Graphite Silicone Band. The Photo voltaic model consists of the brand new mic and speaker, together with a flashlight.

Lastly, there’s the Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED, which basically merges the Epix line into the Fenix. The AMOLED model is obtainable in 43mm, 47mm, or 51mm case sizes with three shade choices for every dimension. The colours for the 2 bigger sizes are the identical (Titanium with Spark Orange/Graphite Silicone Band, Carbon Grey DLC Titanium with Black/Pebble Grey Silicone Band, and Slate Grey with Black Silicone Band), whereas the 43mm is available in a Gentle Gold with Fog Grey/Darkish Sandstone Silicone Band (similar to the Epix Professional Gen 2 Sapphire) and Silver with Whitestone Silicone Band, together with the Carbon Grey mannequin. You too can go for an AMOLED mannequin with or with no sapphire crystal lens, relying in your price range and the way sturdy of a watch you want. Lastly, all fashions of the AMOLED model embody a mic, speaker, and flashlight.

• 

  Garmin fēnix 8 Photo voltaic

  Model

  Garmin

  Coronary heart Charge Monitor

  Sure

  Colour Display screen

  Sure

  Notification Help

  Sure

  Battery Life

  As much as 21 days (28 days with photo voltaic) for 47mm mannequin

  Onboard GPS

  Sure

  Lens Materials

  Energy Sapphire

  Case Materials

  Titanium bezel with fiber-reinforced polymer with metallic rear cowl with

  Calendar

  Sure

  Climate

  Sure

  Case dimension

  43mm, 47mm, or 51mm

  Show

  Daylight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

  Connectivity

  Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi

  Well being sensors

  Coronary heart fee monitor, thermometer, pulse ox monitor, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient mild sensor

  Dimensions

  47 x 47 x 15.2 mm (47mm mannequin)

  Weight

  80 g (47 mm mannequin)

  Audio

  Sure

  Cell funds

  Sure

  GPS

  GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, Galileo, BeiDou

  Develop

• 

  Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED

  Model

  Garmin

  Coronary heart Charge Monitor

  Sure

  Colour Display screen

  Sure

  Notification Help

  Sure

  Battery Life

  As much as 16 days (7 days always-on) for 47mm mannequin

  Onboard GPS

  Sure

  Lens Materials

  Corning Gorilla Glass or sapphire crystal

  Case Materials

  fiber-reinforced polymer with metallic rear cowl

  Calendar

  Sure

  Climate

  Sure

  Case dimension

  43mm, 47mm, or 51mm

  Show

  AMOLED

  Connectivity

  Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi

  Well being sensors

  Coronary heart fee monitor, thermometer, pulse ox monitor, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient mild sensor

  Dimensions

  47 x 47 x 13.8 mm (47mm mannequin)

  Weight

  Chrome steel: 80 g, Titanium: 73 g (47mm mannequin)

  Audio

  Sure

  Cell funds

  Sure

  GPS

  GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, Galileo, BeiDou

  Develop

• 

  Garmin fēnix E

  Model

  Garmin

  Coronary heart Charge Monitor

  Sure

  Colour Display screen

  Sure

  Notification Help

  Sure

  Battery Life

  As much as 16 days (6 days always-on)

  Onboard GPS

  Sure

  Lens Materials

  Corning Gorilla Glass

  Case Materials

  fiber-reinforced polymer with metallic rear cowl

  Calendar

  Sure

  Climate

  Sure

  Case dimension

  47mm

  Show

  AMOLED

  Connectivity

  Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi

  Well being sensors

  Coronary heart fee monitor, thermometer, pulse ox monitor, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient mild sensor

  Dimensions

  47 x 47 x 14.5 mm

  Weight

  76 g

  Audio

  None

  Cell funds

  Sure

  GPS

  GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, Galileo, BeiDou

  Develop

What I appreciated in regards to the Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED

Vibrant show, loads of customization, and well-rounded options

The very first thing that catches you when turning on the Garmin Fenix 8 for the primary time is the intense, vibrant show. It’s stunning. It is easy to learn in vibrant solar, and auto dims sufficient, so it is not blinding me at night time, both. I may even see photos pretty nicely when somebody texts them to me, which is good. Additionally, although a minor characteristic, one of many first prompts on the watch (which you can too change later) is to regulate the textual content dimension, which is the primary on a Garmin watch. Setting the textual content to a dimension that is snug for me is surprisingly superior, and I get pleasure from it excess of I anticipated I might.

When it comes to sensors, nothing has modified within the Fenix 8 in comparison with the Fenix 7 Professional. It makes use of the identical optical coronary heart fee sensor and the identical GPS parts and multi-band design, leading to extremely correct knowledge in a variety of circumstances. The guts fee measurements from the Fenix 8 constantly matched my chest straps (from Wahoo and Garmin) and my arm-based strap from Coros. There have been some barely off numbers throughout parts of gravel bike rides, however that is to be anticipated on account of vibrations and the place of my wrist whereas on a motorbike.

Garmin leads the best way in GPS accuracy and that continues to be true with the Fenix 8. I did not get out for any swims throughout my testing interval, however the knowledge was glorious for walks, hikes, and bike rides. The GPS tracks precisely mirrored my path, even after I purposefully weaved round a little bit. I did not deal with something in a metropolis with tall buildings however have been in thick tree cowl with zero points.

The Fenix 8’s battery life is spectacular, even on the AMOLED model, which lacks photo voltaic charging. Garmin guarantees 16 days (with out the always-on show) in smartwatch mode, and that is precisely what I used to be in a position to get, even with just a few actions combined in. Having the always-on show will deliver that life right down to seven promised days. That places the Apple Watch Extremely 2 (a promised 36 hours with regular use) and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (roughly two days in my testing) to disgrace, which the Fenix 8 now competes extra straight with, because of the addition of the mic and speaker.

I wore the watch on a visit to Berlin and forgot to deliver a charger alongside. Firstly of my 10-day journey, the watch was roughly 25%, making me fairly nervous. I did not have time for a lot exercise on the journey, however I did monitor a stroll and an indoor bike trip and wore it each day. I did not flip the watch on in battery saver mode, however I turned it absolutely off at night time (so I wasn’t monitoring my sleep). It someway lasted as much as my final day, dying throughout the 17-hour journey dwelling.

Because it normally does with new watches, Garmin added a handful of latest health and mapping options. My favourite of the bunch are the brand new power coaching plans, accessed by way of Garmin Connect. Most health watches focus particularly on operating and miss power coaching, which is an important factor you are able to do to stop accidents and stave off growing older. It is large that Garmin has included particular power coaching plans this go round, particularly with three totally different selectable objectives.

The largest change on the Fenix 8 is the addition of a mic and speaker, giving it a extra strong listing of smartwatch talents. You may play music by the speaker, however, as you’d doubtless anticipate from a watch, the sound is fairly horrible, so it is not a substitute for headphones. Plus, please do not skip the headphones round different folks.

The Genix 8 provides two totally different voice assistant choices. One is a wholly offline, watch-based assistant that lets you management varied points of your watch with no cellphone connection. For instance, you possibly can ask it to set a time, begin an exercise, or play a sure playlist. I discovered it responsive, although you must get the phrasing proper, or the watch will not do something. It would not management something in your cellphone, both, because it’s an offline software that does not require a linked cellphone.

While you do have your cellphone on you, you should utilize the Cellphone Assistant, which pulls up Siri, Google, or Samsung voice assistant in your cellphone. It mechanically chooses the fitting one with none particular setup. You should utilize this similar to you’d in your cellphone, although it can pull all the things up in your cellphone, not the watch. Verbal outcomes are by the watch, although. I discovered the outcomes to be simply as responsive as after I speak to Google, although I did must purposefully converse into the mic on the watch to get it to listen to me.

What I did not like in regards to the Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED

Laggy efficiency and speaker points

I anticipated to be enthusiastic about this watch, however the Fenix 8 did not spark the identical pleasure I sometimes get with new Garmin watches. It simply fell a bit flat, to be sincere. My largest challenge was shockingly laggy efficiency, one thing I have not skilled on a Garmin watch but. Scrolling by watch faces to choose one had me sitting and ready or urgent a button once more, considering it did not register the primary time, solely to make it enter a menu I did not need.

Fortunately, not all menus or parts of the watch are like that. Scrolling by graphs of my well being and coaching stats is the acquainted clean efficiency of my different Garmin watches. Utilizing the maps and climate radar entails roughly the identical lag as different watches as nicely. However there have been sufficient conditions with important lag that it was fairly irritating.

One other irritating facet is that the Cellphone Assistant quantity is managed by the cellphone, not the watch, which took me far too lengthy to determine. At first, after I requested Google issues by way of my watch, the amount was so quiet that I needed to maintain my wrist proper subsequent to my ear to listen to. I attempted to regulate the amount from the watch settings, nevertheless it was nonetheless very quiet even when each the Voice and System quantity settings had been at 100%.

It took asking Google a random factor after which growing the amount by way of my cellphone’s quantity rocker to lastly make it audible. But when I am utilizing the voice assistant on my watch and it is enjoying the outcomes on my watch, I in all probability do not have entry to my cellphone to regulate the amount proper then. It’s an odd mixture of controls at this level, however hopefully, Garmin can work out the kinks.

Fortunately, you possibly can modify name quantity proper on the watch when taking calls in your wrist. However, sadly, even the max quantity could be very quiet. I used to be in my workplace with basically no background noise, and it was considerably robust to listen to. The particular person on the opposite finish mentioned the sound was a bit crackly for them, which is not normally the case after I name by way of my cellphone. I additionally needed to maintain my wrist at about chest peak for him to listen to me nicely sufficient. Whereas this would definitely work for taking calls in a pinch when you do not have an alternative choice, total, it is not an awesome expertise. That mentioned, I am not a fan of any smartwatch name performance.

Do you have to purchase the Garmin Fenix 8?

Whereas the upgrades of the Fenix 8 are nice on paper, these new options merely aren’t crucial or wished by all. I did not use the mic or speaker on the watch aside from overview functions, and I doubt I’ll use them after wrapping up this overview. I do know some, nevertheless, love the smartwatch performance of taking calls from their wrist and gaining access to voice assistants and can gladly pay the upper worth for that skill. Likewise, the added dive options are nice for many who casually dive and do not wish to spend $1,200 on the Descent MK3 dive laptop.

There is no denying that the Fenix 8 is an excellent out of doors smartwatch. A smartwatch that provides 16 days of battery life together with a powerful show, extremely correct knowledge, and an in depth listing of health options is definitely spectacular. It makes the Apple Watch Extremely 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch look a bit foolish.

Nonetheless, this improve would not supply a lot for many who do not care about having a microphone and speaker and do not dive. The adjusted UI makes sure issues higher, nevertheless it is not value spending the additional $100-$300, relying on the mannequin. Sticking with the Epix Gen 2 or Fenix 7 Professional is the higher transfer for most individuals.

Beneficial

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED

The Garmin Fenix 8 provides a mix of smartwatch and health watch options in a rugged physique with long-lasting battery life.