Garmin Fenix 8 Pro (microLED) buyer’s guide – everything you need to know
Garmin’s latest additions to the Fenix series are two new Pro AMOLED models and one new Pro microLED model. All are deemed ‘pro’ models and thus share the same, newly added connectivity features. I’ll come to this in more detail in a minute.
At first, some of the connected features seem like existing ones. Today’s big difference is that Garmin has made it possible to leave your smartphone at home and still use those features straight from the watch.
TL;DR - It's a pretty Fenix 8 on connectivity steroids with a worse battery life.
Garmin Fenix 8 Pro – a review of the model options
There are 3 options, all of which share the Pro features
- $1,199.99 – Garmin Fenix 8 Pro 47mm (AMOLED)
- $1,299.99 – Garmin Fenix 8 Pro 51mm (AMOLED)
- $1,999.99 – Garmin Fenix 8 Pro 51mm microLED
That’s a $200 price hike compared to the non-Pro version, and the 41mm option has been culled.
![Garmin Edge 850](https://the5krunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/61Np9DovIhL._AC_SL1500_1.jpg")
Garmin Fenix 8 Pro – What’s new
The headline changes are the new LTE and satellite-connected features on the watch, plus the option of a microLED display on the 51mm version.
- Pro Features
- LTE Connectivity (LTE-M) – SOS/Emergencies, CheckIns, Weather, send/receive texts, send/receive calls, LiveTrack, Voice messages (transcribed), Voice calls
- Satellite Connectivity (via SKYLO) – SOS/Emergencies, CheckIns, Weather, send/receive texts
- microLED display option on the 51mm case version, 4,500 nits, 454x454px resolution
- Significant decreases in battery life (details further below)
- Example: 49 hours falls to 15 hours for AOD mode, maximum satellite accuracy with no LTE/Satellite. Fenix 8 (old) 51mm AMOLED, compared to Fenix 8 Pro 51mm microLED
- Sapphire lens on all models
- DLC Titanium on all models
- The 51mm case model is 2.8mm thicker and 3g heavier than the older Fenix 8 51mm
- 51mm microLED 51 x 51 x 17.5 mm, 93 g (case only: 68 g)
- 51mm AMOLED 51 x 51 x 16.5 mm, 90 g (case only: 65 g)
- The 47mm case model is 2.2mm thicker and 4g heavier than the older Fenix 8 51mm (titanium)
- 47mm AMOLED 47 x 47 x 16 mm, 77 g (case only: 56 g)
- Lactate threshold is stated to no longer require a chest strap
- The recovery time algorithm is stated as improved
- Colour shift and ovulation estimates are officially stated as new features
- inReach required for all new features, but the inReach Activation fee is waived.
There are a lot of changes beneath these headlines. I’ll go through different aspects one by one.
Garmin inReach subscription – you NEED this
You’ll need an inReach subscription to get the new connection abilities. There is no way around this. The inReach subscription is entirely justified, as running that service adds value to you and costs to Garmin. It’s entirely separate from the Connect+ subscription paywall, which is wholly unjustified.
Your Garmin device has a fixed activation cost regardless of which plan you opt for. Surprisingly, this is waived for Fenix 8 Pro.
The plans have a base monthly cost, starting at £7.99, $7.99 or 9,99€. Each service you use has a further usage cost; however, that cost is lowered or removed if you opt for a higher, fixed monthly subscription – a more expensive plan. The whole structure makes sense from a cost perspective, but it isn’t very clear and harks back to the early days of mobile phone plans. Garmin will eventually simplify all of this.
LTE and Satellite Tech
With many recent changes added to the capabilities of the earlier Fenix 8, Garmin seems to have taken its tech to a new level for the Fenix 8 Pro.
The satellite constellations used have changed from Iridium to the Skylo geostationary network. This is perhaps not a surprising move, as Google Pixel’s recent satellite service switched to use the same Skylo constellation, managed through Garmin’s Response Center.
Furthermore, a more advanced, energy-efficient version of 4G LTE is used than was previously used on some watches. This time around, Garmin is using the 4G LTE-M. You do NOT sign up for a data service via your regular cell phone provider. When you get the InReach subscription, you automatically access the entire global LTE-M network, which is continually expanding and already has over 100 active national networks. As examples, LTE-M covers 3 traditional US networks (T-Mobile, AT&T, US Cellular) and one from the UK (Vodafone).
Satellite Availability: Skylo covers the U.S., parts of Canada, and most of Europe. However, availability worsens as you get further North, possibly also in the mid-Atlantic.
LTE Availability: This is consistently improving; the latest position is shown here.
Let’s go through the new features.
Live Track & Check-Ins
Live Track is an old Garmin feature.
What’s changed today is that it works over your inReach subscription without a phone.
Live track works over LTE or satellite ie it works off-grid.
There are additional costs if you use LiveTrack over satellite.
An interesting test for LiveTrack over satellite would be in a northern Scandinavian forest. Would the latitude and tree cover effectively make Livetrack useless?
When tracked over LTE, your followers should get frequent positional updates (I’m unsure of the polling frequency – it’s 10 minutes on satellite). However, you will need the standard inReach subscription plan to avoid excessive costs from Livetracking over satellite.
The check-in feature is welcomed but half-baked in its implementation. You can store and MANUALLY send one of three saved standard texts to friends and family. ‘Just going out for a run‘ or ‘I’m back‘ could be customised versions you save. This feature needs improving to automatically send an ‘I’m home‘ when the watch detects you at your home location, and a customised check-in at a particular time, such as sunset, is also helpful to let someone know you’re almost home…or not.
Text Messages
Garmin recently enabled text messaging in some of its newer 2024/25 models. However, that feature required a connected phone to be present.
With your inReach subscription, you can send text messages over LTE or satellite, although the latter has a per-use charge on all but the most expensive inReach plan.
Rich Messaging
Images/photos can also be sent similarly to text on the inReach service, but they are not currently available with the Fenix 8 Pro.
Make & Take Calls
This feature is not what you’re hoping for.
You make calls using the Garmin Messenger (Calls) app on your watch, and you set this up from the Messenger smartphone app. Sounds good?
Well…
You can only call other people using the Messenger app. That can be someone else with the Messenger app on their Fenix 8 Pro or your friends and family back home using Garmin Messenger on their smartphone.
Since only a small number of people use Garmin Messenger, the feature is only useful in a very restricted number of scenarios.
Emergency SOS
Thankfully and sensibly, the SOS service incurs no additional cost if you have an active subscription. The SOS can go out over either LTE or satellite.
Battery Life Bump Fails to Materialise
The chart below shows that on a like-for-like basis, compared to its predecessor, the new AMOLED Pro version broadly takes a 10% hit on battery life in exercise modes. This isn’t easy to explain, as the examples shown do not involve the power drain of an LTE connection, and they have the older (same?) display tech.
Garmin claims this is the brightest smartwatch ever built. At 4500 nits it is! However, it is possible to get 4500 to 6000 nits on an older AMOLED display; some smartphones already have this brightness level. So Garmin is laudibly experimenting with new display technology and introducing brightness for niche-case sunny workout scenarios – fine. One of the tech’s other benefits is viewability at angles, which is a big improvement too, but again, in niche case scenarios (it also makes typing in your passcode more visible to others)
When we add the microLED display’s effect, there are further hits to battery life. The hits vary, but a 30-40% generalisation hides more serious cuts for the exercise modes, with AOD (always on display) significantly worsening the figures to more like 70%. Here are the exact figures:
| Battery life
‘Up to’ hours (always-on) |
fēnix 8 Pro – 51 mm,
MicroLED $1,999.99 |
fēnix 8 Pro – 51 mm,
AMOLED $1,299.99 |
fēnix 8 – 51 mm,
AMOLED $1,099.99 |
| Battery Saver Watch Mode: | 14 days | 34 days | 41 days |
| Smartwatch: | 10 days (4 days) | 27 days (15 days) | 29 days (13 days) |
| GPS Only: | 44 hours (18 hours) | 78 hours (56 hours) | 84 hours (65 hours) |
| All Satellite Systems: | 37 hours (16 hours) | 60 hours (47 hours) | 68 hours (54 hours) |
| All Satellite Systems
+ Multi-band: |
34 hours (15 hours) | 53 hours (41 hours) | 62 hours (49 hours) |
| All Satellite Systems
+ Multi-band + LTE Livetrack: |
17 hours (10 hours) | 21 hours (19 hours) | – |
| All Satellite Systems
+ Multiband + Music: |
19 hours (11 hours) | 23 hours (21 hours) | 18 hours |
| All Satellite Systems
+ Multiband + Music + LTE Livetrack: |
13 hours (9 hours) | 15 hours (14 hours) | – |
| Max Battery GPS: | 53 hours | 123 hours | 145 hours |
| Expedition GPS: | 8 days | 24 days | 31 days |
Who makes the microLED Display?
AU Optronics (AUO) is the manufacturer and the first company to mass-produce wearable microLED panels.
Garmin Fenix 8 Pro First Look Review Take Out
These updates to Fenix 8 warrant the PRO label.
This is a big step forward for Garmin, probably meeting the superficial hopes of everyone who suspected the LTE feature was inbound. The addition of satellite connectivity in the watch is a first for a serious adventure/hiking watch and will come as a pleasant surprise for others.
Against that is the huge disappointment of microLED. Sure, the display looks visually impressive, even from tight angles, but the resulting battery performances are a step backwards, relegating the Fenix’s microLED version in many people’s eyes to the weekend warrior category, rather than for adventure.
That said, these hardware updates warrant the PRO label. The hardware and ecosystem have had a significantly positive bump, perhaps partially outweighing decreased screen performance. This is a platform for the future.
Garmin has refreshed and revitalised the connected features and ecosystem that supports them. Sure, some aspects can be improved even more, but once again, Garmin has kept ahead of all the competition with how the connected features are used for sports, adventure and fitness activities. There are still issues with how these features can (or more correctly can’t) be used with your smartphone’s wider smart feature sets, and it might seem odd that Garmin seems to be creating its own separate “cell” network. The flip side is that it had no other choice. Instead, rather than waiting for the market to evolve or regulatory pressures to work in its favour, Garmin has acted positively and decisively. There is no way that Suunto or Coros will equal this connectivity for many years – Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the only competitor in that sense.
The downside is the cost. But I guess if you can afford a $2,000 sports watch, you can afford a $10 monthly subscription. Even then, anyone in harm’s way knows their life is worth $10 a month.
Fenix 8 Pro – I’m impressed and surprised.
Resources
- Manual – Garmin Fenix 8 Series Manual (includes Pro and microLED)
- Product Page – Garmin Fenix 8 Pro edition product page
- Press Release – Fenix 8 Pro Launch Press Release
the5krunner.com © 2010-2025
Reader-Powered Content
This content is not sponsored. It’s mostly me behind the labour of love, which is this site, and I appreciate everyone who follows, subscribes or Buys Me A Coffee ❤️ Alternatively, please buy the reviewed product from my partners. Thank you! FTC: Affiliate Disclosure: Links pay commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
No LTE in italy 🙁
if I’m not mistaken Vodafone supports 4G LTE-M
yes if you look at the links i think vodaphone in the only uk supplier of this service
Why don’t just use an eSim like on almost every other watch with cellular connectivity?
Because they don’t have distribution with telcos in the US. You can’t and never will be able to buy one at your Verizon or AT&T store and likely would never be allowed to use one on their networks.
Pretty sure watches like Apple don’t have esims in them and anyway don’t work outside your home country.
Impressive tech for sure! But while Fenix 7 Pro/Epix Pro Series felt like a valuable tool for many, Fenix 8 and now Pro is an expensive gadget for a few.
Pricing paired with refresh cycles and support, its just too far out there for me to even consider above competition
i agree on the microled side
however the inreach stuff is revolutionary (I appreciate you could carry a phone or extra inrecah messenger device). i begrudgingly give Garmin kudos on this one. What price safety?
So basically it’s a watch for people who like to spend money on one-upping their peers in feature checkboxes and that’s it. Satellite uplink done right would be for pretending that you’d go to the remotest places. “US and parts of Europe, but not when you venture too far from the equator” is a total failure in that metric.
As for the battery, it looks like they required a lot of volume and mass for antennas and circuitry and use smaller batteries now?
battery: that would be an explanation. will have to investigate…tell dcr, garmin would give him that info (it will come out eventually)
one upmanship and pretending…sure there will be a lot of that. some people have money…some dont
there is a genuine use-case tho
it looks like they are just fishing for casual users who wants the best on the market bc are wealthy enough but have limited time for traveling. They will ofc sign in into an inreach ecosystem without knowing much about it and pay the monthly fee for the next 5 years. Where I can partly understand the LTE thing (but having to use Garmin app is very limiting) the Microled is kinda pointless to me.
As an user of Epix 2, I must say for now I’m still waiting for awu3, as much I like Garmin as a tool (I hate all the bugs and consider training metrics as a gimmick almost) having a nice way to listen to podcasts and music with Apple and leaving my phone at home is much more tempting then Garmin LTE or Microled.
sms as a major connectivity feature in 2025, and you can’t even select your own carrier. Go home Garmin, you’re drunk.
not sure i agree here
garmin potentially would have had to negotiate with every carrier everywhere in every country
the way they’ve proceeded means deling with one organisation globally who themselves do those individual negoiations
sure its twice the price (ish) of a watch data conenction from my current mobile supplier but i dont currently get satellite
I see the LTE connectivity as a big step up for those that need it. I was looking to upgrade my 47mm Epix 2, and had my eyes on the MicroLED variant until I saw the specs on battery life, increased case size/weight, and 51mm only.
If I am going to upgrade I think it will now be to the 47mm non-Pro AMOLED and use a discount code. A little disappointed for my specific desire to upgrade (I want to upgrade, I do not need to upgrade), and the 8 Pro doesn’t really give me anything I would use with the corresponding downside of larger case, cost and worse battery life.
yeah i think that’s a good call.
the pro features are almost literally as described…for off-grid pros.
the more convenience side of LTE features, fro me, are easily handled by Apple Watch (with LTE that lets me call anyone not just Garmin Messenger people). i still have to wear two watches.
Get the sapphire option to avoid screen damage
https://geni.us/GarminFenix8Sapphir
She’s a chunky ol’ girl and had I waited for this over the F8 Sapphire I bought on release, my choice would be unchanged. The “Pro” designation makes this very much something you use for its intended purpose and not for daily wear…
And therein lies the peculiar decision to release LTE/smart watch features. Who is going to be wearing this wrist monolith daily? I suppose it provides Garmin some live tracking of user data to see how the watch is used/iron out bugs before the release of more LTE watches next year.
The tech would much better suit Venu and Forerunner, and the more svelte Fenix watches, which are more practical to wear daily. InReach seems useful, but the other LTE features are kind of pointless. Most people doing adventure activities will have their phone on them to take pics and videos. Ditto if you are in the city.
It only seems useful for short activities where you leave and return from a location you have left your phone.
The 16mm+ thickness though? They obviously needed a bigger battery for the added connectivity tech (or smaller to fit in the new hardware), but practical it ain’t.
On balance, the non Pro F8 seems the better buy and if you really don’t care about the latest/greatest, EPIX 2 and Fenix 7 are even better buys based on cost/value.
generally yes i agree
the low grade LTE smart features are useful. i use them on other watches
i’m asusming lte+satellite requires the bulk of the large aerial and perhaps also a bigger battery, that’s why only the fenix can accomodate it. tech will change and get smaller.
“They obviously needed a bigger battery for the added connectivity tech”
I don’t think they have a bigger battery since regular GPS use autonomy is reduced vs. non-Pro (without any LTE involved).
And just like that the Ultra Watch range doesn’t seem that expensive anymore!
true
it already had sapphire and titanium and lte which adds a few hundred bucks normally in any case.
if they add satellite, will they raise the price? (Apple)
The outrageously high price of $/€1,999 for the microLED version alone will put many off, and when they then see the abysmal battery life, they’ll completely lose any intention of buying it. Really just $/€ 700/800 more compared to the “normal” 47/51mm Pros, because of the microled display? And I always thought microLED displays consumed less energy?
anyone know why new devices are not sold on italian market?
Inreach already worked for me in 2019 in the middle of the Atlantic. No news here and afaik no major updates.
you dont need a legacy inreach device.
a watch will now suffice. it is news!
Not correct, I believe: No satellite coverage for the F8 Pro in the middle of the Atlantic. That does require an Iridium-based device (like the traditional InReach ones).
There is an important distinction between InReach as a service and the underlying platform/coms network. The F8 Pro adds the uLTE platform, but loses much of the geographic coverage by satellite because of the switch away from Iridium.
This is exactly the watch I’ve been waiting for…I run and ride with my Epix Pro and a Pixel Watch 2 (not an Apple fan) so I can communicate in emergencies. Now I won’t have to wear 2 watches.
The subscription fee is less than I pay to have my PW2 on my Verizon account.
Outside of the initial price of the watch itself (which I hope to offset by selling by EP2 51 and PW2), I actually make money on this deal, ha!
I was really looking forward to the microled model. Really disappointed at the absurdly bad battery life. While I was hoping for “same or better” battery life, I would have settled for “almost as good”, maybe even “meh, not awesome but not terrible”… But 4 days of AOD? When the AMOLED version of the exact same watch gets over 3x that much? And for $700 more??? I can’t figure out who this microled watch is for. Rich blind people who do very short triathlons?
I’m bummed out that I have to take a pass, yet again, on upgrading my epix pro. The inreach and LTE thing is cool, but the implementation of both isn’t really there yet. I know Garmin doesn’t really have a choice right now, but still it sucks that people can only call and text my watch if they have the Garmin Messenger app AND know to contact me through that instead of my normal number.
well you are happier than me
i was hoping for an improvement, indeed, expecting one
Due to the price I was ready to give up my dream of having a Garmin LTE watch, but after running this weekend with my AWU2 in what felt like a monsoon and not being able to use the watch when the screen was wet, I am reconsidering this. The limited LTE using the Garmin app is fine with me, only need it for contacting/being contacted either my wife and kids in an emergency. Phone are just too big to carry now. Although when the AWU3 gets announced tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll be more conflicted.
voice control and the action button can help.
admittedly, so can garmin’s 5 buttons!
I’m pretty happy I switched from a Fenix 7 to an AW ultra 2 – lovely leaving my phone at home on rides. Paying to use a Garmin Messenger app nobody has, hilarious.