Wow, they have done it again! While Garmin has always been at the top of the pile when it comes to GPS sports watches, there has been a lot more competition recently from the likes of Suunto, Coros, and Polar. Even Apple and Samsung are viable alternatives these days. These brands have certainly closed the gap, but Garmin’s premium multisport smartwatch, the Fenix 8, has once again cemented the brand as the GOAT of GPS watches.
Those who know me know that I love my GPS watches as I’m always out running. I am returning to wearing a Garmin for the first time in several years and I must say, it felt like coming home. The Fenix 8 hit the mark from day one with its easy-to-navigate interface along with its bright, saturated AMOLED screen that is very eye-catching. All of this is wrapped in a stylish updated bezel and band combo that looks great and fits like a glove.
Garmin Fenix 8 review table of contents
- Specs and price in Australia
- Design
- Improvements
- Performance features
- Health and smart features
- Display and interface
- Battery life
- GPS and heart rate
- Who is it for?
Garmin Fenix 8 specs and price in Australia
| Dimensions | 47 x 47 x 13.8 mm Stainless Steel: 80 g (case only: 59 g) Titanium: 73 g (case only: 52 g) |
| Display | 1.4″ (35.56 mm) diameter 454 x 454 pixels |
| Battery life | Up to 16 days |
| Memory | 32GB |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth ANT+ Wi-Fi |
| Sensors | GPS Glonass Galileo QZSS BeiDou Garmin SatIQ Technology Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor Pulse Ox blood oxygen saturation monitor Barometric Altimeter Compass Gyroscope Accelerometer Thermometer Ambient light sensor Depth sensor (to 40 m) |
| Durability | Water Resistance: 10 ATM (Withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 100 meters) |
| Price (RRP) | $1,849 |
| Product page | Garmin Australia |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Design
Previous Garmin Fenix models have looked somewhat bulky. I suppose they fit so much tech into their top-of-the-line watch that it requires extra space and a solid casing to ensure durability. A big step in the right direction, the Fenix 8 is an evolution of its predecessors, yet it has a much more refined style to it.
It doesn’t look at all like a big bulky watch any more and I love that. It has a clean and simple finish and the watch face sits at just 13.8 mm. From your Sunday long run to client meetings, there is no problem wearing this watch all day.
With three sizes available (43 mm, 47 mm and 51 mm) you are sure to find one that works for you. Typically I recommend the 47 mm for most people as you get a good-sized screen without the watch feeling enormous. It’s the perfect balance of comfort and functionality. The Fenix 8 also comes in lots of different colours that can all be paired with an almost endless lineup of watch bands. Everything from leather straps to complete titanium bracelets is available, so there are no issues pairing the beautiful watch with your lifestyle.
Comfort
Weighing in at just 73g, the Garmin Fenix 8 feels light and sleek. Pairing this with its silicone band which is, in my opinion, one of the softest and most comfortable bands on the market, helps the watch disappear on your wrist.
As I mentioned in my review of the Garmin Enduro 3, I am a huge fan of the nylon band. While I still do love them, the silicone bands have come a long way and are just as comfortable nowadays. The soft nature of the silicone flexes and conforms to your wrist. Unlike some previous watches I have reviewed, I found this watch band never pinches or pulls hairs. A great improvement.
Improvements
The biggest advance, and the thing that always springs to mind whenever I think about this, is the display. I’ll go into more depth a little later, but it’s worth briefly mentioning now. This is the first AMOLED display used in a Fenix product by Garmin, and it is simply remarkable.
One of the standout features of the Garmin Fenix 8 is its enhanced map navigation. This system can suggest a round-trip run based on where you are and the distance you want to run. At the risk of labouring the point, viewing maps of such a crisp and clear AMOLED screen is an experience far above what we runners have had in the past. With a key race or a long run course preloaded, you can get turn-by-turn directions as you go. It’s extremely useful especially If you are running in an unfamiliar environment.
Another standout feature is the built-in speaker and microphone. This is somewhat of a unique feature reserved only for the more high-end watches. For example, this isn’t included in the similar Garmin Enduro 3. It’s something to consider when picking the watch that’s right for you.
Performance features
With so many watches available these days, it’s tricky to choose the right one. Even looking solely at Garmin’s range is enough to cause decision fatigue. Yes, they market their watches well and target each to a specific end user, but multiple watches could and would work for each person.
One of the things I love most at the Fenix 8 is that you know you are getting everything. As it’s Garmin’s top-tier product, you get all of the latest technology, features and performance packed into one device. Through my testing, there wasn’t even a moment that I wished for something better or hoped there were more features. It’s all right there, on your wrist and looking great.
Every GPS sports watch comes with performance features, but not all are created equal. The Garmin Fenix 8 has some standouts worth looking closer at. Endurance score is a fantastic addition. Essentially, It provides you with a score that represents your current endurance level, taking into consideration your fitness, training and most importantly your ability to sustain that level of performance over a longer period of time. I regularly monitored both my endurance score and VO2 max to give me the best idea of my fitness at any particular time.
‘Training Readiness’ and ‘Training Status’ are also both incredibly helpful performance features. The former is mostly about recovery time, helping me plan when to next lace up my running shoes. This pairs perfectly with Training Status, giving me an easy-to-understand insight into how my training is going. Am I overtraining, or am I training productively? Either way, as long as I am peaking on race week, all is well in the world.
Health and smart features
Once again, Garmin has included anything you could possibly think of for the Fenix 8. With features galore that have no doubt been written about over and over, there are a few I used more than others.
I found the sleep tracking and morning report were super helpful metrics to review at the start of every day. As I flick through my morning report, I learn how many hours of sleep I got, including how long I spent in different sleep stages.
It also includes various core smartwatch features, like the weather, calendar updates, and the suggested workout for the day. It’s a great way to kick off the day with all the information you need. Keep in mind that you have complete control over what is shown in your report and it’s easy to customise.
Contactless payments, smart notifications, music: it’s all there. In the past I have used Garmin watches like the Forerunner 935, a fantastic watch that was geared towards runners. However, what I gained in running metrics, it lacked in the day-to-day features like contactless payments.
Fortunately, the Fenix 8 has it all and then some! It’s great to use a high-end sports watch that doesn’t skimp on the smart features.
Display and interface
For the most part, in my time testing many sports watches, the screen quality is usually the downside. What’s the point of recording such detailed metrics if you can’t view them nicely?
Finally, Garmin has answered my prayers and centred the Fenix 8 around a flawless AMOLED screen. It’s bright, crisp, super-saturated and very eye-catching. The display size measures 35.56 mm (1.4 inches) in diameter on the 47 mm version I tested. A resolution of 454 x 454 pixels makes great use of that space, allowing for a lot of data fields, gradients, shadows and fine details to create a very smart-looking watch display. What a godsend.
With the introduction of an AMOLED screen, the new interface for the Fenix 8 looks fantastic. I immediately noticed more graphical touches and nice animations that gave a premium vibe. I spent some time testing out different watch faces and customising the data which was super simple. With every watch face option, there is a long list of colour variations to choose from. There are even gradients you can implement, which I highly recommend.
Overall, the Garmin watch interface tends to not change too much from version to version as Garmin always does a great job in this department. In fact, it could be one of the leading reasons why Garmin are so successful.
Changes to how the watch displays activities are also a good move. Your favourite activities are displayed at the top of the list with the remaining less-used activities grouped underneath in categories. Considering we generally use the same two or three activities repeatedly, it’s a smart design. It’s also very quick and easy to add a new favourite to the list, so don’t be concerned if you didn’t add something you wish you did during setup.
Battery life
Although you can get this watch in a solar version, I tested one without solar capabilities. Garmin advertises a 16-day battery life in smartwatch mode, which seemed to be accurate in my experience. It basically works out to about two weeks between charges which feels like a very long time. Considering you may need to charge the standard Apple Watch every night, two weeks feels like an eternity. If you are considering the solar version of the Fenix 8, the tradeoff here is the solar version doesn’t have the nice new AMOLED screen. To me, that isn’t worth a slightly longer battery life.
I’ve seen some reports of battery issues and even random restarts with the Fenix 8. These issues likely are either a software bug or a defective watch. Either way, make sure you contact Garmin’s support team; all queries I had were dealt with quickly, leaving a strong impression of the brand’s customer support.
GPS and heart rate
The Garmin Fenix 8 has the latest SatIQ technology that provides top-quality positioning accuracy GPS during your activities. Simply put, the GPS is very accurate. As a quick example of its accuracy, I compared the Fenix 8 to one of my old watches, the Garmin Forerunner 935.
When running 5km around a running track (400m), it should work out to be 12.5 laps. When using my Forerunner 935, I noticed that over this distance it would end around 100m early. This is due to small discrepancies with its tracking accuracy. When changing over to the Fenix 8, it was spot on 12.5 laps. It was so accurate that the watch beeped to indicate 5km within one metre of the line. Very impressive.
To judge the heart rate tracking, I ran a head-to-head experiment between the Garmin Fenix 8 and the Enduro 3. With both watches on, one on each wrist, I headed out on a 28km trail run. As you can see in the above chart, there are some small differences between the two watches but I am certainly happy with the overall performance. For super accurate heart rate tracking I would advise a chest or arm strap, but for the general user, the in-built wrist heart rate tracking is more than good enough.
Who is the Garmin Fenix 8 for?
To put it simply, the Garmin Fenix 8 is for everyone. To be more specific, it’s perfect for the working professional who loves to keep in shape. With its refined and stylish new bezel design and the enormous list of watch band options, the Fenix 8 is a great-looking watch for the office. Then, once work is done, it excels at tracking your activities.
The price point is a bit of a barrier, but keep in mind that the Fenix is a top-of-the-line GPS sports watch and you really do get what you pay for.
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