Garmin Fenix 8 review: Rugged, expensive perfection
Garmin Fenix 8: One-minute review
The Garmin Fenix 8 was perhaps the most anticipated watch from Garmin in a very long time, and the reveal didn’t disappoint. The Garmin Fenix 7 series has been consistently rated among the best Garmin watches ever, and the Garmin Fenix 8 is packing most of Garmin’s best hardware features that were introduced in the years since the Fenix 7 was released.
Features like an AMOLED display, a microphone and speaker for calls, and an LED torch for attracting attention or running safely at night (and, er, for seeing in the dark) have been folded into the Fenix 8.
It now has new waterproofing and an Apple Watch Ultra-style dive watch capability, cribbed from the Garmin Descent series. The watch can act as a working dive computer for scuba activities down to 40 meters, although in our exclusive chat with Garmin product lead Jon Hosler he revealed that the watch can actually go beyond that depth.
New, improved GPS means new software features: with a “dynamic routing” ability automatically generates back-to-start directions during running and cycling workouts, and if you’re running on a pre-prescribed route your Fenix 8 will intelligently compensate if you stray from the path. Purchasers get to choose between three different sizes, with an additional choice of a solar-powered memory-in-pixel display (a duller, more power-efficient smartwatch screen) or a brighter, more smartwatch-y AMOLED one.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a fantastic watch. It’s built like a tank without being too obnoxious, although it doesn’t deviate much from older Garmins (in fact, it looks almost the same as my Garmin Epix Pro at first glance). You know what you’re getting, and if you like Garmin’s existing stable of adventure watches, this is the best one yet.
However, that performance excellence comes with an eye-watering price tag, which is almost too much in comparison to its contemporaries. Almost, but not quite: I considered knocking off half a star, but this may well be the best-performing Garmin watch I’ve ever tried
Garmin Fenix 8: Specifications
Garmin Fenix 8: Price and availability
- Starts at $799.99 / £689.99 / AU$1,349 for cheaper 47mm Fenix E
- Prices for 43mm Fenix 8 start at $999 / £949 / AU$1,699
- Reaches up to $1,199 / £1,119 / $2,199
The Garmin Fenix 8 starts at $799.99 / £689.99 / AU$1,349 for the cheapest model, a 47mm model christened the Garmin Fenix E. The Fenix E is a version of the AMOLED display Fenix 8 with no solar charging option, 16 days of battery life, no torch, no advanced leak-proof buttons for dive watch activities (although it’ll still stand up to water exposure, with 10ATM waterproofing) and a stainless steel case, with no titanium option. In essence, it’s an AMOLED Fenix 7.
The full-price Fenix 8 starts at $999 / £949 / AU$1,699 for the 43mm AMOLED watch, which is a significant jump from the E, rising to the considerable sum of $1,199 / £1,119 / $2,199 for the 51mm solar-powered version. What you get for this is a big increase in battery life of up to 28 days, the advanced waterproofing leak-proof buttons, dive watch functionality, the torch, a more advanced heart rate sensor, and the option of an AMOLED screen or a memory-in-pixel, solar-charging screen.
The full-price Fenix 8 is incredibly expensive. Its performance is phenomenal, and the engineering behind it is equal to many an analog timepiece; but such a price is very hard to justify for all but the wealthiest sportspeople.
- Value score: 4/5
Garmin Fenix 8: Design
- AMOLED or MIP screen
- New leak-proofing
- Sapphire glass/titanium options
Structurally, the Garmin Fenix 8 looks almost identical to the Fenix and Epix watches that came before it. The Epix line was a version of the Fenix with that gorgeous, smartwatch-like AMOLED screen, but Epix doesn’t exist anymore – Garmin has axed the name and folded it in with the main Fenix line. The Fenix 8 inherits that AMOLED screen as an option, while the memory-in-pixel (MIP) screen is Garmin’s traditional duller, battery-efficient screen with Power Glass solar technology, which extends the watch’s battery life if you spend around three hours or more outdoors.
The screen is made of Corning Gorilla Glass as standard, but an upgrade to the harder category of Sapphire glass is available. Likewise, the Fenix 8’s case is a mix of tough polymer and stainless steel, but you can upgrade the metal components to titanium for an additional cost. These upgrades are on top of the already-steep price, but the base model should be more than sufficient for all but the most adventurous outdoorspeople. The thick, wipe-clean silicone Garmin band will be familiar to most, but it can be swapped with a trail-specific fabric loop like the Enduro.
Garmin’s standard combination of a five-button setup – Up, Down and Options buttons on one side, and a Start/Stop and a Back button on the other – and touchscreens work well as they have always done, while a new raised section on the right-hand side makes it look a little like an Apple Watch Ultra in practice.
Garmin’s widget-based screen layout is fast and intuitive to use. It’s easy to navigate through the watch’s options and add new apps, such as Spotify for offline music playback without a phone. You can add widgets through your phone’s Wi-Fi connection, making it easy to customize at home before you step out the door.
Garmin Connect, the watch’s companion app, is stellar, and as comprehensive as ever. It’s very granular, showing you lots of data points and workout-creation options – almost too granular for beginners. Then again, beginners are unlikely to be spending this much on a sports watch, and it’s all well-organized. There’s not much that’s new to speak about, but it remains best-in-class.
- Design score: 5/5
Garmin Fenix 8: Features
- New GPS functionalities
- Dive mode
- LED torch
Let’s start off with the new stuff. Dynamic routing offers a small quality-of-life improvement to GPS-tracked running, walking or cycling workouts, as you now have the option to enable Back to Start before you even head out the door. Simply set a distance goal for your run, then enable Back to Start and the Fenix 8 will generate an out-and-back route once you’ve hit around 40% of your distance goal. There’s no need to follow a pre-prescribed route until then, which is great. Dynamic routing also allows you to deviate from a route you’ve already created, rerouting you automatically while keeping your target goal in mind. Very handy.
I’ve not had the opportunity to test the new Dive Mode yet, unfortunately: after this review has been published I’ll be handing the device off to a writer who’s also a recreational diver for a more thorough breakdown of that particular mode. But like Garmin’s Descent series, you get a fully-functioning dive computer with gauge, nitrox, air and apnoea modes for recreational scuba diving and free-diving activities. It’s enough for casual adventure enthusiasts who may scuba or snorkel once or twice a year, and who spend the rest of their time running, cycling, or swimming.
The LED torch is the same torch as on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro models, and works just as well. I’ve already used it to find my way twice in the dark at full power (admittedly, only to the bathroom) and I stick the red mode on at night to alert cars that I’m jogging on the sidewalk in the dark. It’s surprisingly powerful, creating a moving spotlight of red that illuminates the ground in front of me as I run.
Otherwise, a lot of the new advancements – such as more accurate GPS, topographical maps, the new heart rate monitor which promises to be more accurate, improved battery life, and leakproof buttons to enable all the dive stuff – is under the hood. At its heart, the Garmin Fenix 8 is an iterative update of an older, already-fantastic watch, and the smartwatch category as a whole hasn’t moved on very far since then, which means the Garmin Fenix 8 is still best in show.
Heart rate alerts, sleep tracking, nap tracking, stress tracking, respiration tracking and other holistic tools sit alongside Training Readiness, Endurance and Hill scores to make this an incredibly comprehensive health and fitness watch. Garmin Messenger allows you to directly communicate between devices using Garmin’s satellite network. There’s a smorgasbord of available widgets and functionalities which you can use to customize your watch, from shortcuts to services like Garmin Coach to a Tides widget for open-water swimmers and surfers. You can download music, sync to Strava, and receive (but not make) calls on-wrist. It’s practically perfect, with every performance tool you’ll ever need.
- Features score: 5/5
Garmin Fenix 8: Performance
- Accurate GPS
- Long battery life
- Advanced heart rate sensor
As I’m an existing Garmin user, the watch was easy to set up and use with my pre-existing Garmin account, syncing to Strava and Spotify immediately. We won’t labor the point here: the watch is good, and it works. Tested against an Apple Watch Ultra 2, it recorded a very similar performance and distance while on a 5K, and I found the differences in heart rate readings to be minimal, allowing for variations in algorithms and a different wrist. You can read more about how the Apple Watch Ultra fares against premium Garmins in my account of wearing the Watch Ultra and the Garmin Epix Pro during a marathon.
The Fenix 8’s display was bright enough for me to see clearly, and after a full charge, I almost drained it completely after 13 days of regular GPS workouts: a combination of running, strength training, and stand-up paddleboarding (and yes, there’s a specialist GPS-based profile for that, which even counts the strokes you make as you glide across the water).
I have yet to test its new cycling features, but I did test dynamic routing during a running workout, deliberately going off-piste (to borrow a skiing term) to check out its capabilities, and it performed fine. I departed from the route I had created with Garmin Connect, and it successfully rerouted me by the closest available detour within about two minutes. I also popped in my distance requirements and enabled the out-and-back routing on a 5K run, and it successfully kicked in just after the 40% mark.
Otherwise, the Fenix 8 tracked my sleep with good accuracy, successfully logging periods when I woke up during the night, and delivering a Training Readiness score during the day which tracked well with my previous few days’ energy levels, from an anecdotal perspective. The torch was nice and bright (as is the lovely screen), and I haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of all the features available to me during a training block.
- Performance score: 5/5
Garmin Fenix 8: Scorecard
Garmin Fenix 8: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You love the outdoors
Garmin Fenix 8 has all the survival tools you’ll ever need, from GPS to a barometer and compass.
You’re a triathlete
Runners, cyclists, and swimmers will really get the most out of this watch.
You’re multidisciplined
Paddleboarding? Golf? Surfing? Skiing? Detailed, comprehensive and unique workout profiles exist for them all.
Don't buy it if...
You’re on a budget
Even the cheaper Fenix E is not a watch for users without deep pockets.
Also consider...
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Nowhere near the same battery life, but perhaps the best alternative from a smartwatch standpoint.
Coros Pace 3
Our best value running watch, a cheap-and-cheerful adventurer's companion.
How I tested
I wore the Garmin Fenix 8 for three weeks, draining the battery down, sleeping with the watch, and testing it over several different kinds of workouts including running, strength training and stand-up paddleboarding. I compared it to an Apple Watch Ultra 2 (my litmus test for GPS and HR accuracy) during a 5K run, and spent time with the watch examining the settings and functionalities, both on-device and in Garmin Connect.
First reviewed: September 2024
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