Garmin Fenix 8 – Opinion
Garmin Fenix 8 – OpinionAt best, the Garmin Fenix 8 is little more than a rebranded Epix. At worst, it’s a blatant cash grab.
BREAKING NEWS: Fenix 8 Pro and LmicroLED (superior AMOLED) models leaked, could be coming very soon with new hardware
In the past, Garmin released Fenix Pro models conservatively, with upgrades that arguably justified a new series number rather than just adding ‘Pro’ to the existing one. This time, however, the hardware improvements in the Fenix 8 wouldn’t have even justified a ‘Pro’ label under different circumstances.
As part of Garmin’s rebranding and repositioning strategy, it introduced a new, less expensive Fenix E range, which relies on older technology. Garmin wants you to compare the Fenix 8 with the Fenix E, and while the price and feature differences are clear, many will still find both models too expensive.
While many of the new software tweaks are nearly insignificant, there are some positive aspects to highlight, particularly the niche hardware additions, which come with an excellent array of deep features.
If you’re upgrading from a Fenix 5, 5+, or Fenix 6, there’s plenty of reason to make the jump, and I recommend it. However, owners of newer Fenix models should carefully consider their upgrade options. Of course, if you’re after the latest and greatest in sport-adventure tech, then go for it—the Fenix 8 is Garmin’s best.
But if this is your first Fenix, get the Fenix 7 Pro.
More: Garmin Fenix E
Your Fenix Series Options for 2024/25
With the Epix brand consigned to history, you would have thought choosing a Garmin would be easier. You’d be wrong. There is a bewildering choice. I’ll try to simplify
- Garmin Fenix E is the base model with limited options and no solar option. It uses 3-year-old components like the HR sensor, lacks a flashlight, has no mic, and a smaller display. It’s nearly identical to the old Epix Gen 2 47mm.
- Garmin Fenix 8 is the premium Fenix. The premium you pay is for either Solar charging or AMOLED glass screens. You can’t have both. The super-premium option would be to add a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium case to the AMOLED version, whereas the Solar version already includes sapphire and titanium.
- Fenix 8 Solar – 47mm and 51mm options only. Sapphire lens and titanium bezel as standard. MIP display only. Amazing battery life.
- Fenix 8 AMOLED – 43mm, 47mm and 51mm case options. Sapphire or glass lens options, titanium or stainless steel options. Reduced battery life but very good.
- Garmin Enduro – 51mm, Solar-MIP option in sapphire and titanium for those seeking extreme battery life.
The one quirk is the identical AMOLED display size of the 47mm and 51mm case sizes.
What Is Worth Upgrading For? What’s New?
Honestly, nothing here shouts out ‘UPGRADE’ for those of you who bought a Fenix in the last two to three years, although all new features rate nice to have. If you’ve always needed one of these new features, go for it.
- Aesthetic improvements, most notably
- Larger displays and smaller bezels
- Sensor guard
- New microphone and speaker – an unfinished feature but hopeful sign of more to come. Sound quality is not great
- Make and take calls
- Text Messaging with Garmin Messenger
- Make voice notes
- Voice commands to control Garmin – very limited
- Voice control of your phone’s assistant
- A new type of inductive button – feels soft
- Recreational, single gas dive certifications and related features
- Significant battery life increases [SOLAR] – Impressive
- Strength Training Coach – Good
- Many menu changes; some copied from the Forerunner 965 others are new and…not great to look at but fine to use. Why aren’t these added to recent older models? A: Cash Grab.
- New watch faces and watch face editor
- More advanced navigation features including
- Better discovery of existing waypoints and routes
- New round-trip routing types
- Improved map zoom and layer functionality (although buttons don’t pan and topo maps take 5 seconds to render on zoom)
Garmin Fenix 8 Pricing
I’m unsure if Garmin has the price levels right here. Are many people willing to pay a starting price of $1,000 for Garmin Fenix 8? Get the sapphire glass (hardest) if you can afford it as the last thing you want at these prices is a scratched lens.
These prices probably result from increases in Garmin’s cost base.
Relatively small price increases came with the Fenix 7 Pro launch, all justified to consumers by a new Elevate sensor or Solar charging. This time you get some nice buttons, a microphone and a speaker.
Garmin Fenix 8 Design and Aesthetics
There are some subtle changes to the appearance. To the right of the watch, we see the sensor protector beneath the start button. As mentioned before the buttons are improved and rated for diving, however the charging, optical heart rate and as far as I know every other internal sensor remains unchanged.
The Solar model has a new solar ring, a design that significantly boosts charging ability. The smallest case size is now fractionally bigger than the previous model but this is OK as both the small and medium-sized cases get larger AMOLED displays, in other words, their ‘bezels’ are thinner which most consider to be an aesthetic improvement.
For me, the biggest visual improvements are to the watch faces. Those I’ve seen so far are nicely customisable and elegant but that important improvement can be set against yet more half-baked changes to the visuals of some of the onscreen menus.
Garmin Fenix 8 compared to Apple Watch Ultra
Despite my reservations about the upgrade to Fenix 8, it is still a vastly more capable watch than Apple Watch Ultra. The two are in a different league. If you are a serious adventurer with serious needs for navigational precision and support from your tech, Fenix is the obvious choice.
However, most of you will be occasional explorers or weekend warriors who rarely stray from marked trails. If that describes you then Watch Ultra could be the one for you, with the added advantage of LTE and superior integration with your iPhone and the satellite connectivity of later models. Apple Watch’s smart features are in a different league to Garmin, much deeper than messaging and calls.
Thoughts
Garmin Fenix 8 will be a hard pass for many people. If you are in any doubt I recommend looking at the Fenix 7 Pro or Epix Pro Gen 2; at the time of writing these models are HALF the price of Fenix 8 – less if refurbished. Basically, it’s 99.5% the same watch.
The latest hardware improvements are too peripheral and the new software features are too niche. That said, the dive and strength features look the most promising of the bunch. Plus if you really need better solar performance, now you get it with Fenix 8.
Despite all of that, Fenix 8 is the best adventure watch and the best Garmin watch ever.
Buy Garmin Fenix 8, Fenix E and Garmin Enduro 3
These links should give you a choice of retailers. There are some Amazon links showing delivery from 7 September.
- Buy: Fenix 8 AMOLED
- Buy: Fenix 8 Sapphire AMOLED
- Buy: Garmin Fenix 8 Solar (no links yet)
- Buy: Enduro 3 MIP
- Buy: Garmin Fenix E AMOLED
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Picked up an Epic pro Gen 2 sapphire (50% off) and AWU2 (10% off) for a recent ultra as my 945 LTE battery only lasts 4 hours now. Was desperately hanging on for the Fenix 8 with LTE…
Looks like I got a bargain, I think both of these is only a little more than the equivalent F8 and I get LTE in the AWU2 which I wouldn’t have in the F8.
I think Garmin have lost there way in pricing and I still don’t get why there is no LTE option when the kids watch’s and a dog collar have it!
yep
i guess the microphone and speaker pave the way for LTE on the 8 Pro. by then there should also be the next gen of Elevate!
What do you hope in for on the next elevate?
It would be better for them to first get ECG in the EU regulated on the Elevate 5 sensor, no need for the next generation where half of the western world still can’t use all of the features. It will be the same for every new kind of sensor: If it needs medical approvement, they have to do it internationally and not only in the US.
2 years from May 2023.
I’d say LTE would be a $1299 price point.
wel…yes!
LTE would bump the price. I’d have preferred to have LTE justify the current prices 🙂
Or, they use the Epix branding for LTE tryout.
Epix gen 1 came with maps before they took it to fenix.
Epix gen 2 came with AMOLED screen, then took it to fenix.
Epix gen 3 LTE?
possible.
but i would bet that epix is now dead.
One things that’s been lost in the shuffle on Elevate/EKG is the lack of a feature like Apple Watch’s Irregular Rhythm Notification which “occasionally look at your heartbeat to check for an irregular rhythm that might be suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib)” in the background without having to record an EKG in a moment in time.
I was hoping we’d see that with this update but maybe a new sensor (or regulatory approval?) will be needed for that
i think ECG analyses are one of the emerging trends right now. these ecg spot checks are useless for most people imho.
live ecg (or triggered ecg) can then bring into play more interesting discoveries over extended periods
i’ll elaborate next week but look at Fourth Frontier X2 as an example of something along the lines i’m thinking about
I think that an adult has a phone in case of an emergency, in addition to a watch. On the other hand, children (smaller) and dogs tend not to have it with them when they move away
Such a spot on article. Staying well away from upgrade for the first time since Fenix 3!!
if you’ve used the venu 2/3 you’d know that the speaker and mic are worth the upgrade just by themselves*
*android only. works like sh*t on iphone
When would you typically use the watch voice features?
I prefer not to talk to my watch in public or have others hear the conversation coming from the watch speaker.
I would normally just use my phone through a headset.
However, when driving would it work well replying to messages?
in my opinion mic and spearker for me and my uses is only beneficial when i have LTE. ie i want to use it when i don’t have my phone with me. I accept the use cases for some who want to, for example, carry their phone in their back pocket whilst cycling and take calls via a watch.
Yes, but I imagine the ‘phone in the pack’ scenario is already covered by BT headsets for most people.
Well yeah, it’s worth it until it stops working altogether. Was happy with my Venu 3 in the first month so I could do Google Assistant commands and calls, but the next 6 months it never worked again and Garmin support kept kicking the can…
Ended up selling it and purchased a FR965 instead, no voice command either but better activity and sensor support for my needs…
As a Fenix 6 pro owner I am some what disappointed with the Fenix 8. I expected more new features both in terms of software and hardware. Although I haven’t seen any details on the internals, maybe Garmin are holding back on some software features until the bugs have been ironed out.
Most of the new features seem to be smart watch features. Fenix is supposed to be the ultimate sports/adventure watch. In the Apple ecosystem they cannot compete since its so locked down. Why didn’t Garmin advance to the strengths they have?
As it stands I’ll be holding out for the Fenix 9 instead of splashing my cash on the 8.
The price swings seem larger at the medium size. Interestingly the fenix 8 51mm is priced $100 over the Epix 2 pro 51mm.
The en13319 certification sounds more intense than milspec involving wild temperature swings and hitting with a hammer and immersion 24 hours in seawater before pressure testing etc.
As someone who has experienced gasket failure and a dead fenix, the buttons alone seem like a significant improvement that $100 doesn’t sound outrageous.
My fenix 7X is 55 months old which based on my history and experience with the series is the twilight of its life. My 6X didn’t last this long. I’m at significant risk of failure at any time now without warning, so I think that I will upgrade.
Incidentally I am completely amazed by people that still have functioning fenix 3 and 5 generation devices. We clearly use them very differently or my sweat is caustic like the bodily fluids of the queen alien.
How do you have a F7x for 55 months? Thought it was only launched ~32 months ago (January 2022).
Yeah that’s just from bad mental mathematics. It’s since Feb 2022. I essentially thought oh it’s 24 plus 7 months and it’s 2 years plus 7 months and multiplied the 24 and 2.
I can only wear a 42mm due to my wrist size. The fact that only amoled is available makes it a no go for me as I prefer mips. The price is just an insult after the fact. The worst part is that since the fenix 8 price is so much higher, it now makes the last gen 7 pro series already (discounted) day 1. So no last model discounts like we’re used to right after a release.
Going to have to keep using my 6s pro for another year or two until i can get a 7 pro for a great price or a mips option becomes available.
Man, I’m usually a nerd who just buys each new watch because newer == better, but going to hold out. I kind of want the flashlight and mic/speaker but not $1200 want. I will bite when it hits the usual $899 or less and hold onto my epix 2 for a while.
Prices will go down, a lot of people are going to sit this out.
Everybody is complaining and nobody is buying, but delivery is already getting to 5 to 8 weeks for the Fenix 8 😂. Garmin will sell these watches like crazy again. My order is in, I like the changes coming from the epix gen 2. Things like the inductive buttons are no minor changes, that’s big!
I bought one and I have to say the stuff I’m reading is ridiculous. The larger screen is noticeable, really noticeable. The dive features might not be for everyone but they are a huge new feature. The mic and speaker wasn’t something I wanted but I’m sure some do, and the speaker does add to the interface and allows music to be played. I bet most didn’t even know the Fenix 7 has system sounds including a boot up sound (try it with headphones!).
No matter how you look at it the F8 is a huge step forwards and those using them are happy for the most part. Nothing wrong with getting the Epix cheap but let’s be clear that’s a money thing, which is fine it’s not necessary to constantly have the latest. My Fenix 5+ has everything I need for sports (except diving) still.
Got 500€ for my epix, so pay 600€ extra and i have the latest and greatest, I love it 🤟🏾. All the great software updates coming the next two years every quarter.
The Fenix 8 is going to space, did everybody here that 😂. The next astronauts will were them. And so will I
yeah, there was a similar story a couple of years ago: https://the5krunner.com/2023/02/07/new-garmin-fenix-7-astrix-the-astronaut-version/
“These prices probably result from increases in Garmin’s cost base.”
doesn’t really make sense as the Enduro3 (with similar components inside) got a cheaper list price yesterday announced
as usual it’s just Garmin greed and the underlying wish to play with the big boys after a decade of selling overpriced map updates for a living
garmin’s costs have undoubtedly risen just like they have for every other company.
Margins are a key KPI for Garmin’s stock.
iirc margins rose a bit in the last quarter, not too much,
Fenix/Enduro: because of the different company divisions that are involved?
I don’t know about the 8, seems the Enduro 3 doesn’t get the love it deserves(?) online.
Who are the big boys? Apple? The enduro has a plastic back, misses a lot of other component, it’s a special watch for a small group of athletes that don’t need all the bells. It’s cheaper to produce. Garmin created the market for these watches, it’s not following others. It’s not a crime to make money, these watches don’t develop themselves, that costs a lot of money
Garmin invests massively in R&D. good for them, they are reaping the rewards.
capitalism is definitely not a crime and certainly the best system that humans have invented so far.
Sounds like forerunner 975 will be the one to wait for or a heavily discounted Fenix 8 in the Black Friday sales
yes!
but you me might have a long wait for that
Any Idea or feeling about a FR975 or LTE? LTE would justify the price for me.
I hope for early 2025?
I just got the Fenix 8 47mm, coming from the FR965.
changing back to the 965, the huge price grab is not arguable for the minor improvements (minor for me as I own other Dive watches and don’t need the diving function that hard).
yes i would hope for next year. i would assume Q2 not Q1.
I was hoping for an LTE model this year.
Any idea if/when a sub 45mm Forerunner with 1.3″ screen will be released?
It could be the FR 765 or 965s.
Otherwise I’m afraid the only way to get a compact running watch with a large readable screen will be paying 1100€ for a F8s 🙁
*IF* that comes my bet would be that it is the model that also adds LTE
Acc. to Garmin’s site Fenix E actually HAS an AMOLED display.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1652337/pn/010-03025-02#specs
typo, thank you
There’s an inevitable slow down in useful features. But the demand for business growth remains.
I’m sure there’s a graph that can be plotted to show some inflection point where the F8 is nearby.
ps. Epix Gen 2 at £325 is great value.
yes but there are still some big ticket item features to come
i like the voice control but others might like gesture control (eg for laps)
mre can be done with ECG analysis (a la Fourth Frontier X2 and some other stuff being announced soon) https://the5krunner.com/2024/01/25/fourth-frontier-x2-review-discount/
AI has a place in DSW and general physiological analysis
microoled is coming as are new sensor types.
many of those have direct wellness/exercise applciations
but yes, i agree, in the future and looking back we will probably see this or the last year or so as inflexion points
Agreed, also just bought Epix Gen 2 for £325 H. Samuels, great deal, excellent watch coming from Fenix 6X.
Ray confirmed that the display stays on when mounted to a handlebar for cycling. This is a big plus, because I don’t need a dedicated cycling cpu and can sell my edge 840. Hopefully this works wel with the always on display 🙏
yeah i gues the AOD is a must as you cant rely on gesture control
i would caution about the size of a watch screen. it’s quite a distance to your bars and there will be a lot of vibration, which might make the screen hard to read and might cause some of the sensors to go into overdrive and drain the battery more than they should (just speculating). my eye sight necessitates a bike computer
these are interesting dual-focus glasses for cycling which magnify the screen when you look down: https://the5krunner.com/2022/08/15/gbviz-vigo-review-sports-sunglasses/
To be clear, the Epix 2 (pro and non-pro) stayed always on _already_. It just dimmed the screen after some time to a degree that many people found impossible to read.
F8 AMOLED _still_ dims the screen but apparently to a lesser degree, so more people might find it usable (like DCR).
It is a price grab, still I ordered F8 Amoled 47mm (owning Epix Pro Gen 2 51mm now). I was waiting (and asking) for years for Garmin to introduce the microphone and speaker into Fenix line (to able to answer/start phone call while on the move) – eventually it materialized. How good it is – will see (based on videos from DesFit and DCR – seems not very loud).
I’m also of poor eyesight (presybopia) – and it seems eventually Garmin introduced ability to scale text in UI – which is big pro argument for me as well (and according to DCR – new UI is not going to be triggered to older models).
Dave’s (Chase the Summit) video showed not very impressive audio. I’ve not looked at desfit’s or ray’s videos.
i guess someone will chime in with another angle on Bluetooth earbuds.
For the phone call use-case the Bluetooth headphones connected to watch does not makes any sense. To make phone call – I need phone with me anyway, hence I would wear Bluetooth headphones, these would rather be connected to phone rather than to watch.
Anyway – will test the phone call capability once I will receive watch. Hoping for the best.
i suppose so.
voice coaching when following a workout?
Existing voice coaching was over the phone (and if that had a BT headset connected than through that).
Connecting the BT headset to the watch might make sense for playing music stored on the watch (Spotify offline music or MP3 files).
Ended up getting a 51mm Fenix 8 Amoled from my usual dealer. Got too good an offer to pass on- 20% discount and a free titanium bracelet on top. Selling my watch and bracelet gets it all funded.
Also- had confirmation that the below unit actually has DLC- no idea how they pulled it off (previous models with this colour were always natural titanium);
https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/1228171/pn/010-02905-40
indeed
“New microphone and speaker
-Text Messaging with Garmin Messenger”
You can dictate a message via microphone from a F8 device? How?
Easy- only when in range of a paired smartphone : )
Via the mic of the F8?
Although everyone mentions much better solar efficiency, the total efficiency difference is only about 3%: 0.41 vs 0.39% charging per hour based on official specs. I do appreciate better display readability by removing that solar area, but it’s misleading to say you get much more charge.
ty will clarify but the max possible charge hours are up by at least 25% depending on the model. that’s quite a lot
Garmin’s solar charging numbers are based on an assumption of 50,000 lux conditions for the *entire* activity. This is impossible in almost any event where you would want the extra range like a 250 mile ultra because nowhere on Earth has 50,000 lux 24 hours a day.
It think it is quite disingenuous of Garmin to publish these numbers like 320 hours for the enduro 3. It’s a completely synthetic scenario. In reality you get peak charge a few hours per day in favorable conditions. The real range in a practical ultra race conditions is only slightly higher than the range without solar at all or imperceptible. You can never plan on any range extension from solar anyway so it is of extremely limited practical value. It’s 99% a gimmick.
agreed
50,000 lux is a ton. In the years that I’ve had Garmin solar watches, I don’t think I’ve hit it more than once or twice (only ever on a beach, in Florida, in the summer, with many, many hours outside). In those years period, I probably averaged 2 hours/day of outside exercise, and there have been ski trips, hiking trips, long afternoons waterskiing, etc. Solar never makes a dent.
If you’re getting significant solar charging on a Garmin watch, you’d better have a dermatologist on speed dial.
;-).
As a longtime owner of a lot of household solar panels I’ve avoided recommending solar on any watch. I get the limitations but garmin has to have some sort of benchmark
Then I also copy my post made in DCR’s review page to show that there are gimmicks “flying around” Enduro 3:
Inconsistency in battery life claims
Just as a simple comparison I checked what Garmin has been claiming about the extra effect of Solar in smartwatch mode as regards the different generations of Enduro.
Enduro (1): upto 50 days (65 days w/ solar) => 15 extra days or 30% extra time.
Enduro 2 : upto 34 days (46 days w/ solar) => 12 extra days or appr. 35%.
Enduro 3 : upto 36 days (90 days w/ solar) => 54 extra days or 150%.
Conclusion: the solar is 5 times more effective (vs Enduro) or appr. 4 times (vs Enduro 2). If you just count the extra days, it is 3.67-4.5 times more effective.
Another statement:
first from the review: “And atop that (literally), they revamped the solar display to be 120% more powerful, and improved the display clarity by concurrently removing the majority of the solar panel surface”
and as Garmin phrased it: “The larger, more efficient solar lens provides more than double the solar power of the previous Enduro model”
Sorry to say, but I feel Garmin does not even know what they are bluffing as part of their marketing game.
And my subsequent post to explain my argument in a different way :
“ The other thing is that the watch features/functions fundamentally changed in 24×7 mode. ”
Sure, I kept it in mind when I wrote my simple calculation.
It is why I do not focus only on battery time gains in just absolute terms, but also in relative terms.
If you have E2 and Solar(E2) and the latter gives a battery time of extra 35%, then using Solar(E2) with E3 would give the same extra of 35% (but obviously different amount of extra days).
But E3 has not Solar(E2), but Solar(E3), which is 120% more powerful (so you have to multiply by 220%), therefore the extra should be around 77%.
And Garmin says no, it gives not an extra of 77% (appr 27-28 hours), but 150%, that is 54 extra hours.
I hope I can be followed. It is like marketing guys used the magic doubling card twice. 🙂
And just to make it clear I said nothing about the consumption and battery time while using GPS/GNSS, because it was not which was suspicius to me, but the smart watch mode battery claims.
But if you think that my logics fail, because one has to focus on absolute battery time gains, then you have to sell yourself the jump from 12 extra days (Enduro 2) to 54 extra days (Enduro 3), which is almost the same case.
12*220%=26.4, so that would be the extra days for Enduro 3.
But no, Garmin found the doubling magic card in the pack and used it.
by coincidence I was just looking at the Enduro battery claims before I read your comment here.
I have to admit I was a bit confused and the official claimed improvements do look a bit inconsistent. I’ll look closer next week.
I suppose you have to believe what garmin say as the super long battery claims are almost impossible to verify
Grabbed a 255 on discount and I’m laughing. I’ll be enjoying the popcorn and the fireworks.
are there fireworks going on elsewhere…i’ve been a bit busy and not looked around as much as i sometimes do.
I’m just hoping everyone else has said ‘it’s a price grab’ rather than just me.
Even DCR has said (paraphrasing) if you don’t care that much about diving and/or mic, just get the Fenix or Epix on sale lol.
Some comments on YT quite funny as well.
But I know how it works. People complain a lot about the insane prices but eventually they get FOMO and open their wallets 🙂
In order to enable ECG, do I need to purchase F8 in the US or at least activate European F8 in the US?
this might help but no guarantees: https://the5krunner.com/2023/10/20/how-to-get-garmin-ecg-outside-usa/
Pretty good follow-up article by DCR. Enduro 3 is a far more attractive proposition with the following differences vs the solar Fenix 8. Basically if Amoled is not a must-have, Enduro 3 looks like the best new watch Garmin released!
Personally, I can’t go back to a MIP display after my Epix so will be keeping my Fenix 8 Amoled order.
– Enduro 3 doesn’t have speaker/microphone features
– Enduro 3 doesn’t have dive features
– Enduro 3 offered in a single larger size (51mm) only
– Enduro 3 has bigger solar ring around the outside
– Enduro 3 is lighter at 63g, versus 95g for 51mm Fenix 8 Solar
– Enduro 3 is thicker at 15.7mm versus 51mm Fenix 8 Solar at 14.7mm
– Enduro 3 is priced at a more reasonable $899, versus $1,199 for the 51mm Fenix 8 Solar
– Both 51mm Fenix 8 Solar & Enduro 3 have same 1.4” MIP display @ 280x280px
– Both have Sapphire glass, and Titanium
– Both have 32GB for maps/music
i kinda generally agree but 51mm is not the best selling size. It will be interesting to see ifGarmin expands the sizes on this and Fenix E.
I suspect they are testing the waters. they will add other sizes as a Pro version like with the Epix gen 2?
were I to turn back from triathln racing and more towards trail runnign and more runnign in general, I guess i’d be tempted by the larger map on the 51mm but it’s too big for me outside of sport. a good call tho for sure.
I have never gone from “absolutely going to buy this” to “fuck no, never in a million years” faster than I did on the Fenix 8.
I can buy a 13″ M3 MacBook Air for less than a 47mm Fenix 8.
Swing and a colossal miss by the Garmin product team. From the reviews I’ve watched so far it doesn’t look like they added a processor that speeds things up much from the Epix 2 Pro/Fenix 7 Pro, and the new features are pretty lacklustre.
I love throwing stupid money at wearable tech, so I hope the 8 Pro is less of a no thanks.
My Fenix 8 Amoled with the chestnut leather band arrived and looking great. DLC is mentioned on the packaging too, rather than just on Garmin UK so hoping that is correct.
Loving the UI so far, it actually seems quite a bit snappier vs my Epix Pro 51mm. Touch interactions definitely feel more responsive and accurate.
Is it dlc or raw titanium, it looks like the normal titanium version on the website?
Raw titanium, got misled pretty badly by their website and even the packaging.
Is this cofirmed? How do you know?
I’m thinking about buying the new F8 47mm.
Now i own a Descent mk2 but my AI is not working great the last year, it doesn’t give the right messurements. about 20 bar to low. Now i’m used to look at my analog pressure meter.
Now the F8 has Amoled with the same screen size, smaller bezels, is thinner and lighter and have a dive function (not that much as the Descent) But still the same 16 days i’m used to.
Rumor has it that Garmin is working on setting up the logistics enables customers to paying with their kidneys for the next iteration of the Fenix.
apparently it’s the offer of a lung you’ll need for the new forerunner.
I think a speaker and a microphone maybe an option with LTE, but without there is little need for that (at least for me) . If you go diving, the Fenix 8 maybe a thing, but there’s an Suunto Ocean for 730 € (retailer)…. There will be enough customers to make profit, I think, but the Facebook groups about Garmin watches, where no one posts about sports anymore, but show pics of their Garmin on the wrist while holding the steering wheel of a M5, AMG or RS6 etc. , will grow rapidly….
premium sports watches are also lifestyle statements
The problem is not whether it is worth buying a Fenix 8. The question is rather whether you can even get a new Fenix - at least through Garmin’s online shop in Germany. Ordered on August 24th directly after the press conference, it said shipping in 1-3 days. On Thursday it said 2-3 weeks, on Friday 1-3 days and today 3-5 weeks. When I asked via chat today, I was told the shipping date would be October 1st, 2024 – so in four weeks!!!! Demand has obviously completely overwhelmed Garmin.
availability in UK and USA seems OK from what I’ve seen.
Is this an EU-wide issue or just Germany? Germany is probably Garmin’s next most important european market after the UK
…I can only talk about germany – as far as I’ve heared, garmin currently shifts goods from the webshop to the dealers. So people who ordered via garmin webshop have to wait a little bit longer. Demand is also probably greater than expected…
I was running on trails in light rain yesterday in the literal jungle in West Africa and my 7X was only useable by actuating the backlight. I’ve also realized that in SatIQ always on mode the battery life between the 7X and the Epix pro 51mm or fenix 8 51mm is identical. If you are coming from anything older like a 6X or 5X these blow away the range of the older devices which were already more than adequate for most events. Coming from a 5X, 6X, or 7x there is literally no downside to the 51mm AMOLED.
The solar I don’t believe is meaningful in typical trail running scenarios — it’s may be a little bit useful for some through hiking and mountaineering scenarios.
The range claims in the fenix 8 solar 51mm are very close to the enduro 2. But even there if you enable the gesture mode it just about neutralizes the range difference within 5% or so.
I was skeptical when the Epix 2 came out but I now think the amoled is the best option for the widest range of terrain and scenarios. The battery range can be mitigated with watch size and settings. Arguably there is not much difference between an Epix pro 51 and a fenix 8 51 but also there is only $100 separating them at retail.
There is additional tweaking possible to diverge the numbers but the big picture to me is that the MIP display fenix doesn’t strictly make sense unless you go for the enduro 2 or 3. And again contrary to the positioning for ultra marathon this makes the most sense in a through hiking or mountaineering scenario where the activities tend to be daytime-only and often bright light scenarios.
The fenix 8 solar is basically an enduro 2 with an upgraded case / buttons and dive capability but the dive mode is compromised by the display. The enduro 3 is a fenix 8 with more solar and a lighter case and the enduro 2 buttons.
From a pure practicality perspective I don’t see the point of the fenix 8 solar editions.
Unless Garmin sell a surprising amount, I think MIP models will fade away and only be retained in the enduro. The enduro 2 is an incrementally better fenix 7X and Garmin should have stopped selling the fenix 7X IMO. The enduro 3 is an incrementally better enduro 2.
Perhaps I let myself get way too hyped up for the last year about what Fenix 8 might offer, but the fenix 8 was a massive letdown for me. Disappointed that it offers nothing new that I care about, though I suppose I’m happy to be saving $1200.
For the money at the moment I can’t justify the Fenix 8.
I’ve still got my Fenix 5, what I most need/want that it doesn’t have/never will get is more accurate GPS.
Sometimes it doesn’t track a route I run relatively regularly properly at all. Distances can be quite a bit out if near tall buildinga vs. measured race distances or other people with newer Garmin watches.
The battery ain’t that good anymore either (I’m already on a refurbished as last one had the charging pin issue).
I’m never want a 51mm watch, it’s just way to big for me.
My take on the 8 is that the dive functionality is a weird and “unnecessary for most” option to include which I think they did to justify the price hike, it’s better suited to a specialist watch and the side of the watch looks ugly with the dive-related sensor.
The E looks good but doesn’t have the latest sensors or come in 47mm.
Probably I’ll just cope with the 5 a bit longer (or at least until I need a watch that can accurately measure a marathon, or the battery life becomes really annoying).
Best option at the moment seems to be a 7 Pro Sapphire at 599 GBP, but of course it lacks the latest sensors.
yup (7 pro has same sensors, just solar improved)
I rock a 945LTE and have logged hundreds is not thousands of runs. I love it, but the battery doesn’t last as long anymore. I love having the “Emergency LTE” feature and have had to use it once. For the life of me, i cannot figure out what the heck Garmin is thinking/doing
GARMIN – IF YOU ARE READING THIS – PUT LTE IN A NEW WATCH OR FOLKS WILL BAIL.
But don’t charge $1200 for it. Reading the DC Rainmaker’s review of the Pixel 3 and its new emphasis on running (for $400), i’m going to give that some serious thought if Garmin doesn’t release a Forerunner LTE model this year. Or if they DO put it in a Forerunner LTE watch and then charge $900 or something, well forget it. That is just too much for a Forerunner watch.
Thanks to those forums user replying quickly for the most important scientist test for the communty 🙂
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Similar CPU since 2021, based on benchmark results
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–-> Fenix 8 47mm AMOLED | 006-B4536-00 | SW 11.60 | 454×454 | ciq 5.0.1 | cpu6.4/ 45.5 Pips
–> Enduro 3 | 006-B4575-00 | SW 11.60 | 280×280 | ciq5.0.1 | cpu6.5/ 45.5 Pips
–> Fenix 7 X ss | 006-B3907-00 | SW 18.14beta | 280 x 280 | ciq 5.0.1 | cpu 6.4/ 45.5 Pips
Oh no…they really did not upgrade the CPU. Map will be laggy as usual – especially with the increased resolution vs MIP watches.
yep it’s a bit laggy. worse than amazfit t-rex 3, worse than suunto (which lags a bit)
long time Fenix user, i’m shocked by the gleeful pricing, and i bought Venu 3 as the upgrade from Fenix 7. I wanted the mic for so long, and once it came, i left the Fenix product line. You can only fool me for certain time. Had similar mobile phone obsession in the past, buying 4 flagships per year. Today i claim smartwatch market peak for me. Time to get rational when shopping.
Interesting to read about those CPU results, I guess that explains a lot of the lag issues. Which is unfortunate because I was hoping it was just software.
Don’t suppose if you know what GPS chip is inside the Fenix 8? Has this been improved because as soon as I hit the mountains with the Fenix 7 Pro I really struggled with GPS signal (even forcing it into multi-band didn’t help).
– Active Ideas
In Australia all Garmin’s are now ridiculously priced. A FR265 is $170 more than the Suunto Race S which is a far better all round watch (real maps, very solid metal bezel and construction) etc. The big Race is also $50 less and for that you get mapping, sapphire crystal (but a crap oHR). The FR965 is $999 and the new Fenix 8 is $2000! Might stick with my Suunto’s (Baro and Race S) and old gen 1 Instinct (still a great watch) for some time yet I’d say.
Ugh, your recent post on stability issues is NOT what I needed to hear. I’ve been using the original Enduro and it’s flaked out on me basically every time I tried to use it for long events. Losing GPS, freezing, blue triangle etc. Totally bricked on me during a 200 miler last year to the point I had to factory reset it.
I was hoping the newer gen watches would be more stable….. I’ll be holding off upgrading for now I guess. I’ll be following along on your reports, hopefully it gets better!
welll..
It’s not unusual for Garmin to have launch issues with new techas the product is complex.
They are generally committed to sorting stuff out in short order.
i don’t really see F8 as a newer gen which makes the launch bugs more suprising.
give it a few months
Maybe new gen is coming already lol , in garmin connect if you go to connect a new Fenix there are now two new models showing garmin fenix 8 pro 51mm and 47mm !
ty for the heads up
Update about software and “hardware”
New info found under Enduro 3 forum
F8 amoled
Software Version: 11.60
GPS: 2.07
Wi-fi: 28.83
CIQ: 5.0.1
BMX: 17.0.9
WHR: 17.00.09
ANT/BLE/BT: 28.83
TSC: 0.19
Senor Hub: 31.11
Enduro 3
Software Version: 11.60
GPS: 2.07
Wi-fi: 28.17
CIQ: 5.0.1
BMX: 17.0.9
WHR: 17.00.09
ANT/BLE/BT: 28.17
TSC: 3.10
Senor Hub: 31.50
F7/E2
Software version : 18.14
GPS: 10.01
Wi-fi: 28.17
CIQ: 5.0.1
BMX: 17.0.9
WHR: 17.00.09
NFC : 3.4.4 // WLT : 3.2.2
TSC: 3.05 or 3.04.1
Senor Hub: 31.10
GPS
seems to be a new one, i can’t find this release anywhere else
Wi-Fi
Enduro 3
version is sync with FRx55/x65, F7/E2
Fenix 8 amoled
higher version ?
CIQ / BMX / WHR
All sync
ANT/BLE/BT
from Forerunner
TSC
Enduro 3
from F7/E2 Pro
Fenix 8 Amoled
seems to be a new one, i can’t find this release anywhere else
Sensor Hub
Enduro 3
version is higher ?
Fenix 8 amoled
version is similar to with FRx55/x65, F7/E2, and others
we should all be sync with next release
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CIQ Benchmark v2 – apps.garmin.com/…/d3b74474-7663-42f5-9bcb-d20cd5ce96f3
Fenix 8 47mm AMOLED | 006-B4536-00 | SW 11.60 | 454×454 | Connect IQ 5.0.1 | CPU 6.4/ 45.5 Pips
Enduro 3 | 006-B4575-00 | SW 11.60 | 280×280 | ConnectIQ 5.0.1 | CPU 6.5/ 45.5 Pips
Fenix 7X | 006-B3907-00 | SW 18.13 | 280 x 280 | connect Iq 5.0.1 | CPU 6.4/ 45.5 Pips
Is the Bluetooth connection to headphones stable, Felix 7 was/is terrible, the 5 had better function. Even the 6 was better.
i’ll check later.
are you sure you had the watch on the same side of your body as the master earbud and that the earbuds were ok when used with other sources?