Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: the greatest Fenix yet

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro sits at the summit of the brand’s sports watch range, and while it's quite a lot like the standard Garmin Fenix 8, it brings some important upgrades in tow; cellular and satellite connectivity.

This is a feature people have been hoping to see on the best Garmin watches for a long time, and it makes sense to bring it to the adventure-focused Fenix. If you’re regularly heading off the grid and need a trusty watch for tracking, navigation and communications, the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is your clear best bet.

However, if you don’t need the connectivity features on the watch, I’d say there’s little to recommend it over the standard Garmin Fenix 8, which is cheaper and more likely to appear in sales going forward.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: price and availability

There are two models of the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, one with an AMOLED display and one with a MicroLED display — unlike the standard Fenix 8, there is no solar option of the watch with a memory-in-pixel screen.

I’ve been testing the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro AMOLED, which comes in two sizes — 47mm and 51mm — and costs $1,199.99-$1,299.99, which is $100 more than the standard Garmin Fenix 8. The Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED only comes in the 51mm size and is much more expensive at $1,999.99.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: specs compared

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: design and display

The Fenix 8 Pro has a titanium bezel and a sapphire crystal screen — there is no cheaper steel model in the range, as there is with the Fenix 8. I’ve been testing the 47mm model and it’s a big watch, being even thicker than the standard Fenix 8, which might put off some people especially as there isn’t a smaller 43mm Fenix 8 Pro in the range.

It’s a very sturdy watch though, and the hardy materials used will stand up to adventurous activities well. The Fenix 8 Pro is diveproof to 40m and the titanium bezel will withstand any number of knocks and drops. I’m also yet to scratch the screen on any Garmin model with a sapphire crystal display in years of testing.

The AMOLED display on the Fenix 8 Pro is not as bright as the MicroLED option, but it is a step up on the display on the standard Fenix 8. The added brightness makes it a little easier to see your stats in dull conditions and at an angle.

There is a built-in flashlight on the top of the Fenix 8 Pro’s case, which is very useful, and it also has a mic and speaker. The usual array of sensors are also present, including a barometer and a pulse oximeter, and it has Garmin’s Elevate v5 optical heart rate sensor, which allows you to take ECG measurements.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: sports tracking and training analysis

The Fenix 8 Pro doesn’t introduce any new sports features to Garmin’s range but it’s fully stocked with all of the brand’s top tracking and training analysis tools.

Along with a multitude of customizable sports modes, the Fenix 8 Pro offers extensive training analysis including the running tolerance and economy stats introduced with the Garmin Forerunner 970.

There are insights here that you don’t get from any other brand, like ratings of your overall endurance and hill-climbing ability, as well as estimates on how well acclimated to heat or altitude you are.

The Fenix 8 Pro will also suggest daily workouts for runners and triathletes, and there are full training plans you can download from the Garmin Connect app to follow the workouts on your wrist. The watch will even give a projected time for running events, as well as an estimate of your VO2 max.

It can all be a little overwhelming at first, but through extended use you start to pick out the elements of the training analysis that are relevant and useful to you, and a lot of key info on your recent training load and recovery is summarized in the useful training readiness stat, which suggest how ready to workout you are each day.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: GPS and heart rate accuracy

I’ve tested a lot of Garmin watches that use the Elevate v5 heart rate sensor and have the brand’s multi-band GPS chipset, and they’ve all proved very reliable in terms of accuracy on both fronts.

That’s the case with the Fenix 8 Pro as well, which I’ve used for hundreds of miles of running, including a marathon, comparing its heart rate readings to those of a chest strap and checking its GPS tracks after my workouts.

I’ve not seen any notable errors in the GPS tracks, and the watch logged 26.2 miles exactly when I ran a marathon on an officially-measured course. The heart rate readings have mostly been in line with a chest strap too, even if the optical sensor on the watch doesn’t respond quite as quickly as the chest strap to sudden changes in heart rate.

As with other top Garmins, the Fenix 8 Pro is as good as anything on the market with regards to GPS and heart rate accuracy, and it offers peace of mind that you’re getting good data from your wrist during workouts.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: connectivity

The main new feature on the Fenix 8 Pro AMOLED is cellular and satellite connectivity, which allows you to stay in touch with the rest of the world when venturing off-the-grid, or simply leaving your phone behind when you head out to hike or train.

You need a subscription to use these features, which is purchased through Garmin. There are four tiers to the plans available, starting from $7.99 a month for the Essential plan and rising to $49.99 a month for the Premium plan — a 30-day free trial is available.

For most users the cheapest plan will suffice — the main benefit of pricier plans is that you get more free messages via satellites, which might be needed if you’re always out of cellular range and regularly messaging or sending your location.

Using the LTE connectivity you can take and make calls and send messages, get weather forecasts, and also use Garmin’s LiveTrack feature, which will send your location to selected contacts during your activities.

When out of cellular range the satellite connectivity kicks in and you can use it to send basic messages and your location, along with SOS messages via Garmin Response.

Notably the SOS messages on the Fenix 8 Pro require a subscription, whereas Google and Apple are offering them for free with their watches that have satellite connectivity, which is a misstep from Garmin in my opinion. Charging for general messaging and location checks makes sense, but for the (hopefully) rare occasions you need emergency assistance, you should be able to send a free message on your $1200 watch.

I’ve been using the LiveTrack feature on all of my runs including a marathon where I ran without my phone, where my wife was able to track my progress because of it.

The primary benefits of the connectivity features will be for those often in the wilderness, but it’s also a handy feature for anyone who likes to exercise without their phone while staying in touch if needed.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: battery life

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro AMOLED actually offers a little less battery life than the standard Fenix 8, lasting up to 15 days in watch mode (or 27 days with the 51mm model), compared to 16 days on the Fenix 8.

It also offers less battery life when tracking GPS activities at 26 hours in all-systems GPS mode compared to 30 hours on the Fenix 8. Enabling the LiveTrack feature in the watch also hits the battery life hard, though you still get 11 hours of tracking when using LiveTrack and the most accurate multi-band GPS mode.

With heavy use, running outdoors every day with the screen always-on, the Fenix 8 Pro usually lasted me four or five days, whereas the standard Fenix 8 47mm lasts me five or six days with the same use.

There are many ways to extend the battery life though, including low-power GPS modes and disabling the always-on watch face, and if you plan to use the Fenix 8 Pro for epic adventures in the great outdoors the fact it can last a couple of weeks while keeping you connected if and when required is a key selling point.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: maps and smart features

The Fenix 8 Pro has all of Garmin’s impressive navigation tools, including offline color maps that you can use to create routes on the fly without needing your phone. You can also send your routes to the watch, and along with turn-by-turn directions you get info on how long and steep the climbs and descents on your route are, so you can judge your effort on them.

It also has all of Garmin’s smart features, including music storage and the ability to link to Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer streaming services, NFC payments and access to the ConnectIQ app store.

While it’s still not as smart as the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which has a much more impressive App Store in particular, the addition of cellular to the Fenix 8 Pro makes it Garmin’s smartest watch yet, and removes one reason why some people would opt for an Apple or Android wearable instead of a Garmin.

Should you buy the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro?

If you value its connectivity features, the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is worth its lofty price tag. It’s an incredible sports and adventure watch that will help you stay in touch without a phone, and keep you safe when you’re in the wilderness.

There’s nothing that matches its features — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a great sports watch itself and has LTE and satellite connectivity, but doesn’t have the battery life of the Fenix 8 Pro, nor its extensive training analysis and navigation features.

However, if you don’t need the connectivity, then other Garmin watches offer better value, especially the Garmin Fenix 8, which will now probably be in sales quite regularly as the Pro has come out.