Garmin Fenix 8 evaluate: solely sort of sensible

There was once a transparent divide between smartwatches and multisport watches. On one facet, you had Apple Watches, Fitbits, and Galaxy Watches, with their snazzy screens, voice assistants, and third-party apps. On the opposite, you had Garmin, with its rugged watches, killer monitoring, and nice battery life.

That line has gotten lots blurrier up to now few years. The Apple Watch Extremely and Galaxy Watch Extremely have taken a number of pages from Garmin’s playbook. And now, with the $999.99 Fenix 8, Garmin is hanging again. If its rivals need to add health options, nicely, Garmin’s simply going to make the Fenix 8 smarter.

The large additions to the Fenix 8 are a speaker and microphone. They imply now you can work together with the watch in additional methods than health monitoring and coaching. You’ll be able to take calls from the wrist, use an on-device voice assistant for setting timers and beginning actions, and connect with your cellphone’s built-in assistant for extra advanced queries. In case you can persuade your family members to obtain the brand new Garmin Messenger app, replying to messages on the wrist has additionally gotten simpler.

Theoretically, these are all good updates. In observe, it means the Fenix 8 doesn’t play to Garmin’s strengths. 

The Fenix 8 is the highest canine in Garmin’s in depth smartwatch lineup. Whereas it’s not as chunky as older Fenix fashions, it’s not meant to be a modern life-style watch just like the Venu collection or sporty, light-weight possibility just like the Forerunner. There’s gravitas to its design. It’s the premium selection for critical athletes who need every thing Garmin can throw at them — and that’s why Garmin is bringing quite a lot of these sensible options to the Fenix 8. 

The majority of the “sensible” updates zero in on the addition of the microphone and speaker — particularly, voice assistants and calling from the wrist. However there’s a giant issue holding again the Fenix 8’s sensible options: the shortage of LTE. 

Sure, you can also make and obtain calls with the Fenix 8… as long as your cellphone is inside Bluetooth vary. Sure, you possibly can speak to a voice assistant… but it surely’s restricted until your cellphone is close by. Sure, you possibly can reply to texts, however… you get my drift. In case you get a mobile Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, or Pixel Watch, you possibly can go away your cellphone at dwelling. That’s probably not an possibility with the Fenix 8.

The friction is especially noticeable with the on-device voice assistant. The assistant works fairly nicely, but it surely’s largely restricted to instructions that don’t require an web connection. You can begin actions, set timers, and tweak settings. (It will probably inform you the climate, offered it’s loaded the day’s climate from Wi-Fi or… your cellphone by way of Bluetooth.) However say you need to ship a textual content message. This anonymous assistant can’t do this. As an alternative, you’ll must scroll to a unique menu and launch your cellphone’s assistant. It’s good to have that possibility, however at that time, you’re in all probability simply going to whip out your cellphone anyway. 

A part of the issue is that Garmin has all the time been staunchly platform-agnostic. I occur to assume that’s factor, however the worth you pay is rarely having your watch work fairly as seamlessly along with your cellphone. For instance, it’s nice that you could dictate voice memos now, however their usefulness is restricted as a result of there’s no simple technique to get them off your wrist and onto one other system. That’s not like the Pixel Watch 3, the place I can simply file one thing, and growth, it’s magically on my Pixel 8 Professional.

One other prime instance is the brand new Garmin Messenger. Ostensibly, that is to assist iOS Garmin customers reply extra simply to messages on the wrist. (Android customers have all the time been in a position to ship fast replies to texts, however Apple gon’ Apple.) Good luck convincing family and friends to obtain one more chat app so you possibly can reply to messages in your Fenix 8! I roped one good friend into it. It labored, but it surely was sort of a trouble to make use of: you possibly can’t dictate messages, the canned responses are restricted, and for some cause, Garmin thought bringing again a T9 keyboard was a good suggestion. On the finish of the take a look at, I requested my good friend if she’d ever use the Garmin Messenger app to achieve me. Her phrases: “Provided that I needed to.” Adopted by “Additionally, can I delete the app now?” 

A very good chunk of this sensible function awkwardness can be solved with a mobile possibility — and it’d improve Garmin’s current security instruments, too. However there’s a cause most third-party smartwatch makers don’t provide LTE choices: coping with carriers is a ache. It took Fossil ages to supply an LTE possibility, and even then, it solely ever managed a single provider earlier than quitting smartwatches completely. Garmin has LTE choices for its Forerunner 945 watch and its Bounce youngsters tracker, however these require a separate Garmin subscription and are restricted to security options. 

I’ve usually criticized Garmin for making means too many smartwatches. The Fenix 8 fortunately makes issues less complicated on the prime finish by combining the Fenix and Epix lineups. 

The second-gen Epix, launched in 2022, was primarily a Fenix with an OLED show. The issue was that Garmin then had two premium watches that had been very related. The primary distinction was the memory-in-pixel (MIP) show on the Fenix and the OLED show on the Epix Professional. The MIP model will get higher battery life, whereas OLED affords a lot better visibility indoors. It’s a transparent selection for ultra-athletes however complicated for everybody else.

Now, you possibly can simply select between an MIP or OLED Fenix 8. It’d be good if not for only one child beef: petite-wristed people don’t get to choose something aside from the OLED show.

The MIP Fenix 8 solely is available in 47mm and 51mm sizes. In precept, I’m irritated for the small-wristed athlete who needs an MIP show. However the actuality is the battery bump from an MIP show isn’t fairly as spectacular on the smaller watches. I received 9 to 11 days on final 12 months’s 42mm Fenix 7S Professional. This 12 months, I received eight to 9 days on the OLED 43mm Fenix 8 with the always-on show turned off. (That dwindles to about 4 days with it on.) I nonetheless assume it’s best to give individuals the choice, however I additionally perceive why Garmin didn’t. For what it’s value, I examined the OLED, and that’s what I’d suggest if you need good indoor visibility. In case you’re trekking out in quite a lot of harsh, direct daylight, MIP is the best way to go. 

Even with that quibble, consolidating with the Fenix 8 was a refreshing and welcome change. I’d like to see Garmin streamline a few of its different smartwatch lineups. I don’t know that it’ll, as Garmin not often passes up an opportunity to do extra, however one can hope.  

It’s a disgrace. Regardless of the upgrades, the Fenix 8 is just form of higher at being a smartwatch. It’s nonetheless a superb coaching watch, and its battery far outlasts each Apple and Samsung’s Ultras. However I’m merely not satisfied anybody’s going to ditch both one for a Fenix simply because they’ll now work together with a voice assistant or make calls from the wrist.

Everybody I’ve ever met with a Fenix watch has been a triathlete, ultramarathoner, or somebody who casually qualifies for the Boston Marathon with a sub-three-hour marathon time. These people choose one thing just like the Fenix as a result of they want a tracker with mondo battery life, stellar GPS accuracy, in-depth coaching packages, and maps for traversing trails. These are the options that individuals would depart Apple or Samsung for — and so they don’t get a significant improve with the Fenix 8.

To make issues worse, I virtually choked after I noticed the Fenix 8’s beginning worth was a complete $350 greater than the Fenix 7. That’s not a $50 to $100 hike the place you grumble after which begrudgingly admit that inflation is a bitch. For $999, you might purchase a laptop computer. Hell, the Apple Watch Extremely 2 is $800, whereas the Galaxy Watch Extremely is $650. And people do include LTE. In case you’re decided to get a Garmin, there are actually dozens of cheaper choices. (Would possibly I counsel the $450 Forerunner 265 or a reduced Fenix 7 Professional or Epix Professional?)

It’s irritating as a result of Garmin is true to shore up its sensible options. There’s not a lot to enhance on the health entrance, so making its watches extra helpful exterior of coaching makes quite a lot of sense. It’s additionally crystal clear that Garmin has some catching as much as do, and progress isn’t going to occur in a single day. The Fenix 8 is likely to be heading in the right direction, but it surely doesn’t fairly nail the worth or execution.