The Garmin Fenix 8 is here. But is it much better than the last version?
Let’s start with a note on naming. The last top watch in this family was the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro. There’s no “Pro” this time, but it was used more to signify progress on from the older Fenix 7 than anything else. All Fenix watches are pro-grade, after all.
What’s the TLDR version? The Fenix 8 gets an Epix-like OLED option, a speaker and microphone, and dive-ready water resistance to match the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Garmin Fenix 7 and Fenix 7 Pro owners should think carefully before upgrading as those watches still have a lot of life left in them. However, if you’re considering which of these you should buy, here are the main points to consider.
There’s a new OLED version
The Garmin Fenix 8 is not a single product, but a whole family. And it kinda sucks-in several others with its sheer breadth.
There’s an OLED Fenix 8 as well as a MIP screen one, which is why there’s no new version of the Garmin Epix. The Fenix 7 stayed on shelves as the lower-cost option to the Fenix 7 Pro, but now we have the Fenix E as the more affordable option.
What’s the difference between OLED and MIP? OLED screens have light-up pixels, where MIP screens rely on ambient light. An MIP watch barely uses any power to display stats on a bright sunny day, where OLED has to dramatically ramp-up brightness to compete with ambient light.
The Fenix 8’s OLED is also brighter, sharper, more contrasty and much more colourful than the MIP equivalent, though.
Do you want gloss or super-long and consistent battery life? This divide is compounded by solar charging, which is only available in the MIP version.
Mic And Speaker: Added
Garmin has added a speaker and microphone to the Fenix 8, where the Fenix 7 Pro only has a basic beeper.
This combo is used for a whole bunch of things. You can take handsfree calls, as long as your phone is nearby. It hooks up to your phone’s digital assistant. The speaker can play music — poorly, of course, as watch speakers are not powerful.
You can make voice notes. And perhaps the most intriguing feature of the lot is Garmin’s own offline assistant. This is used for basic watch features, like setting timers or alarms.
(Mostly) Longer battery life
The Fenix 8 lasts longer than the Fenix 7 Pro, although it’s important to remember an AMOLED Fenix 8 won’t last longer off a charge than an MIP screen Fenix 7 Pro with normal use.
Between generations, for example, the 47mm MIP version’s battery life goes from 18 days to 21 days. Or from 22 days to 28 days with solar charging.
That jumps to 28 days to 30 days in the 51mm edition, and 37 days to 48 days with solar. The shortest battery life of the entire family is the 43mm OLED version, which is rated for 10 days’ use, or just four days with the always-on screen mode turned on.
More Powerful Flashlight
The Fenix 8 has a somewhat brighter flashlight than the Fenix 7 Pro, a feature tweak you won’t see on the Garmin website as it doesn’t actually grade these tertiary features.
It lives on the upper wall of the watch. You can adjust the brightness, set it to strobe. And there’s a red LED to help you navigate in pitch black without throwing out too much light or affecting your own night vision quite as much.
40m dive mode
The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro has 10ATM water resistance. It does the job for regular swimming, but this is not a dive-ready watch. Garmin has a whole series for that, the Garmin Descent.
It’s a little unusual, then, that the Fenix 8 has adopted its key feature with 40m dive readiness. There’s diving software too, although it seems less advanced than that of the dedicated Descent Mk2i. And that watch can also descend to 100m. The Fenix 8 doesn’t entirely eat its lunch.
A Potential Negative: Non-Clicky Buttons
Seemingly as part of the move to dive-ready water resistance, the Fenix 8 loses the clicky feedback of its buttons. It has squishy buttons instead, much like those of the Descent-series watches.
It’s one of the few potential bad bits of the Fenix 8, compared to its predecessor. However, they’re technically impressive in their own right, dubbed “leakproof inductive buttons.”
Small Fenix 8 is OLED only, but gets a bigger screen
In a move that suggests Garmin thinks OLED is the standard (for most buyers) for the Fenix 8 going forwards, this screen type is where you get all three sizes: 43mm, 47mm and 51mm. In the Fenix 7 Pro there’s a 42mm version with the classic MIP screen.
There’s no 42mm option anymore, and no small MIP edition.
The smaller OLED model may well be the best buy for some of you, though. It’s the lightest, and has the same screen size (1.3in) as the 47mm Fenix 7 Pro. Garmin’s 42mm Fenix 7 Pro only has a 1.2in screen. Just make sure you’ll be happy with the relatively short battery life.
New software, new features
Garmin has introduced new software with the Fenix 8. It looks similar, but based on the first few hours of use, it feels noticeably different.
Changes include a much better notifications interface and some neat improvements to map-based navigation. For example, it can re-calculate routes on the fly, should you take a wrong turn or find part of the route blocked.
However, some of these features may come to the Fenix 7 Pro in a software update. Don’t bet on getting everything in the older watch, though. The interface feels substantially different, at least in the OLED version I am using at the moment.
Verdict
The Garmin Fenix 8’s most notable aspect is how it draws in elements from other series in the way the Fenix 7 Pro did not. You get the OLED screen once associated with the Epix range, and the extreme water resistance of the Descent family.
If the shift to OLED with the fundamentals of an all-rounder Fenix watch sounds like a dream to you, the Fenix 8 is the obvious one to pick.
Matters become a lot less clear if you’re thinking about the MIP screen version. And it is not only the Fenix 7 Pro you need to consider. Pricing equal, the Fenix 8 wins, of course.
But older Garmin watches are often found at an appealing price, and don’t forget the Garmin Enduro 3. It doesn’t have digital assistant support, a speaker or dive-ready water resistance, but otherwise brings high-end features for a whole lot less money than the comparable Fenix 8.
