Garmin may be adding huge LTE upgrade to the Fenix 8 smartwatch — here's what we know so far

LTE connectivity may be coming to the Garmin Fenix 8, one of the best Garmin watches, according to a new leak.

The leak comes from Gadgets and Wearables, who say that they received a screenshot that shows a Fenix 8 with LTE connectivity as part of its pairing options next to Sensors & Accessories, Phone, and Wi-Fi. The image appears to be from the Garmin app, but this is not entirely clear.

It's a surprising leak since Garmin hasn't offered LTE on its smartwatches since the Forerunner 945 LTE, which was released in 2021. Though if the leak is real, cellular connectivity for controlling calls, music, and texts could be coming back to Garmin watches.

It should be noted, and G&W says as much, LTE could be restricted to safety features like emergency alerts and live tracking, good for helping friends and family find you when you've ventured off the grid a bit.

The bigger upgrade would be full LTE, as we see on most of the best smartwatches, which would enable taking calls, receiving texts, or streaming music via your watch and without a phone.

G&W is a bit skeptical of the leak, noting that not everything that leaks out of Garmin becomes reality.

Outlook

If Garmin is going to release a Fenix 8 with LTE connectivity, expect it to cost more. The Fenix 8 already starts around $1,000.

A cellular version would add to the cost and may bring a subscription fee for LTE service. For reference, the Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for the 42mm aluminum version. Adding cellular service adds $100 to the cost, and that's the least expensive model Apple offers before you get into titanium finishes, 46mm sizes and bands.

We imagine something similar will happen with the Fenix 8.

Garmin already makes some of the best running watches, and while pricy, the Fenix 8 is feature-packed and an excellent option for those with the scratch. It even got my colleague Jane McGuire to ditch her Apple Watch 10 in favor of the Fenix 8.

Perhaps an upgraded premium watch will help people forget Garmin's tumultuous start to the year, with the launch of the Connect+ subscription paywall that angered users and the multi-day outage that made its watches useless at the start of the year.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I just went hands-on with the Garmin Vivoactive 6 — and it has almost everything I want in a smartwatch
• I tried Garmin Connect+ for a week: here’s 3 things I like and 3 I dislike