Garmin Quatix 8: Everything you need to know
Garmin Quatix 8: Everything you need to knowGarmin has introduced its latest iteration of nautical wearable: the Quatix 8. Officially positioned as the “ultimate nautical smartwatch”, this device targets mariners both at the helm and in their daily lives, merging advanced marine functionality with extensive health, fitness, and smart capabilities.
Quatix 8 – Core Specifications and Design Aesthetics
The Quatix 8 distinguishes itself with a bright AMOLED display and is offered in two case sizes: 47mm and 51mm. Both variants feature a 1.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels, ensuring a vivid and easy-to-read interface even in varying lighting conditions. The robust design retains the style of its popular sibling watches, the Fenix 8, featuring a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and a durable titanium bezel. The case itself is constructed from a fibre-reinforced polymer with a metal rear cover, weighing 73g (52g for the case only) for the 47mm model.
A notable addition over the earlier 7 Pro model is the integration of a built-in speaker and microphone, enabling chartplotter voice control and phone calls with a connected phone. The watch is dive-rated to 40 meters (10 ATM) and features new leakproof buttons and a metal sensor guard, protecting internal components during submerged activities. Furthermore, the Quatix 8 has undergone testing to U.S. military standards for thermal and shock resistance. It also features a built-in LED flashlight with variable light intensities and a red safety light for enhanced visibility and awareness. Environmental considerations are also taken into account, with the watch housing made from recycled ocean-bound plastics.
The Watch shares highly similar, market-leading fitness features with the Fenix 8, covering running, cycling, golf, swimming, skiing and outdoor hiking. Its key difference from the Fenix 8 is the addition of Boating features, and its key difference from the Quatix 7 Pro is revamped hardware and the addition of dive features. I’ll add some general resources at the end of this article and cover the key marine points now.
Garmin Quatix 8 – Advanced Marine Command and Control
The Quatix 8’s core value proposition lies in its comprehensive suite of dedicated marine features – the overriding themes being enhanced control and situational awareness:
- Chartplotter Voice Control: Owners can issue voice commands to compatible Garmin chartplotters, keeping focus squarely on the water.
- Wireless Helm Control: The watch offers remote control capabilities for various compatible Garmin systems, including selected chartplotters, GHC 50 marine autopilot instruments, Force trolling motors, and Fusion stereos. This allows for actions such as changing heading, engaging pattern steering, and following a GPS route.
- Boat Data Streaming: Critical boat data, including water depth, engine RPM, wind, and custom data, can be viewed directly on the wrist, streamed from the chartplotter.
- Alerts and Alarms: The Quatix 8 provides timely alerts for imminent tide changes and anchor drag, enhancing safety and awareness. It features a built-in barometer and downloadable tide tables.
- Sailing Applications: Dedicated boating and sailing apps offer specialised data and features, including tack assist, race start guidance, and a regatta timer. A virtual starting line and countdown timer are also available.
- Waypoint Marking: Mariners can conveniently place chartplotter waypoints from anywhere on the boat using the watch and its touchscreen.
- Recreational Diving: Beyond surface operations, the watch supports scuba and apnea dive activities, featuring a 40-meter dive rating, leakproof metal buttons (inductive style), and the Bühlmann ZHL-16c decompression model. It supports Nitrox and customisable conservatism, along with an integrated 3-axis dive compass.
The following Garmin video gives examples of Chartplotter Voice control in action.
Garmin Quatix 8 – Navigation and Mapping Capabilities
For navigation, the Quatix 8 incorporates multi-band GPS with SatIQ Technology, which gives market-leading positioning accuracy while optimising battery life. It is equipped with ABC sensors (altimeter, barometer, and 3-axis electronic compass) for outdoor navigation. The watch comes preloaded with multi-continent TopoActive maps, SkiView Maps for over 2,000 ski resorts, and Golf CourseView maps for more than 43,000 courses globally. Additionally, it supports premier coastal charts with integrated Navionics data via BlueChart g3 charts and offers an Outdoor Maps+ subscription for premium mapping content. Navigation features include point-to-point navigation, a breadcrumb trail, a “Back to Start” option, and a NextFork Map Guide.
Garmin Quatix 8 – Holistic Wellness and Performance Analytics
Beyond its marine and navigation prowess, the Quatix 8 boasts a comprehensive suite of health and wellness monitoring features for 24/7 tracking:
- Continuous Monitoring: Features wrist-based heart rate (Elevate Gen 5), Pulse Oximeter blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) tracking, Body Battery energy monitoring, stress tracking, respiration tracking, and hydration tracking.
- Advanced Health Insights: The device offers a customisable Morning Report, HRV Status for overall health and recovery insights, a Sleep Coach with nap detection, and a Jet Lag Adviser.
- Garmin ECG App: In regions where available and for adults aged 22 years and over, the ECG app can produce, on demand, an electrocardiogram to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib).
- Training Intelligence: Metrics such as Training Readiness (based on sleep quality, recovery, and training load), Performance Metrics (VO2max, training load), and Training Status are provided to optimise training efficiency and prevent burnout.
- Sport-Specific Performance: Features such as Endurance Score, Visual Race Predictor, PacePro Technology, ClimbPro feature, and Hill Score provide tailored insights for various athletic pursuits. The watch also offers wrist-based running dynamics.
- Diverse Activity Profiles: Preloaded activity profiles encompass a broad spectrum of sports, ranging from gym activities and multisport events to specialised pursuits such as water skiing, wakeboarding, kiteboarding, and golf, as well as soccer. It supports recreational diving, wakesports, HIIT, animated workouts, and backcountry skiing.
Garmin Quatix 8 – Integrated Connectivity and Daily Convenience
The Quatix 8 is a fully connected smartwatch, enhancing daily convenience:
- Communication: Beyond direct calls with a connected phone via the built-in speaker and microphone, it allows owners to utilise their smartphone’s voice assistant to respond to text messages and receive smart notifications. Compatibility with the Garmin Messenger app adds two-way text messaging from the wrist.
- Contactless Payments: Garmin Pay facilitates quick and secure contactless transactions with participating providers.
- Music and Customisation: Owners can store and stream music from popular services like Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music for phone-free listening. The Connect IQ Store offers extensive customisation options for watch faces, data fields, and applications.
- Safety and Tracking: Features such as Incident Detection and Assistance can send a message with your live location if an incident is detected or if you feel unsafe (when paired with a compatible smartphone). LiveTrack and Group LiveTrack are also supported.
- Additional Features: The watch features a Stocks Tracker for monitoring up to 50 preferred stocks (when paired with a compatible smartphone) and Garmin Share, which allows sharing of locations, courses, and workouts with friends’ compatible Garmin devices.
Garmin Quatix 8 – Battery Performance and Market Positioning
A critical aspect of any advanced wearable is battery longevity. The 47mm Quatix 8 model offers up to 16 days of battery life in smartwatch mode (7 days with always-on display), while the 51mm model extends this to an impressive 29 days. Various GPS modes offer extended durations, with Expedition GPS mode lasting up to 17 days.
The Garmin Quatix 8 is priced at £949.99/$1,199.99 for the 47mm AMOLED model. The 51mm AMOLED model is listed at £1039.99 / $1,299.99. This premium pricing reflects its advanced feature set, robust construction, and Garmin’s established position as a leading innovator in marine electronics, having been named the Manufacturer of the Year by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) for ten consecutive years.
Take Out – Garmin Quatix 8
Following the releases earlier in the year of its sibling watches, based on the Fenix 8, the Quatix 8 arrives exactly as expected. The breadth and depth of the feature sets applied across many walks of life are unbeatable, whether you are a mariner or not. If you have any other Garmin equipment on your boat, opting for the Quatix 8 makes even more sense due to the integrations it offers. Better still, the older Quatix models lack dive capabilities, which was previously an omission which stood out – now resolved.
If you are considering a Garmin watch, the only set of its features unique to the Quatix is the Boating ones. If the case styling is not for you, it might be worth considering some of the other Fenix models, including the Tactix and the upcoming D2 Mach 2. They’re all essentially the same under the hood.
There are numerous advantages to Garmin’s high-end watches. Perhaps the only downsides worth highlighting are the price, a notable learning curve for first-time Garmin owners, and variable optical heart rate accuracy across different sports types. If you have less demanding needs for your smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra could be a suitable alternative, offering phone-free cellular connectivity both within range and out of range. Its successor (Ultra 3 – September 2025) is rumoured to have satellite capabilities, which could be tied to the iPhone you already have. If that’s something you need, it’s worth considering a delay in your purchase for a few months. However, note that the Watch Ultra has significantly inferior battery life to the Quatix, a limitation that will not be resolved in its next iteration.
Sources and Resources:
- Garmin Product Page – here
- Owners Manual here, (Fenix 8 linked, excludes boating features)
- Garmin Quatix 8 launch video – here
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Summary: A Fenix 8 with a new name, different colors with minor software modifications. Apparently there is actually a market since Garmin sticks to this (very) trivial concept.
its a more trivial difference now tht dive support is added.
that said garmin is big in the marine and aerospace space with lots of products. Quatix links to some of them. that’s part of the value you pay for
Any thoughts on upcoming MARQs?
no thoughts, sy!
my thought engine is running at 100% ATM
LOL even the commercial shows how bad AMOLED screen performs in those type of conditions – in the video you literally can’t see the dimmed screen! Imagine steering the yacht and needing to make a wrist gesture to see anything in bright sunlight 😀
The quatix 7’s amoled screen can bump up to 1000 nits and I suspect Quatix 8 can go even higher. So readability certainly wouldn’t be a problem even in bright sunlight.
Yes but you have to turn your wrist or press a button every freaking time you wanna see something. And I tend to glance at my watch (like we all used to when using normal, analog watches) without the need to do funny things with my arm. Garmin and customers blindly following the trend don’t understand that in certain conditions AMOLED screens are simply worse than good old MIP – especially when you have your hands full and sit in a blazing sun. When you work in an office all day or train at a gym – sure, AMOLEDs are great. But why force them into every watch on the market?