I’m trying not to feel underwhelmed by the Garmin Fenix 8

I am not comfy reviewing my Garmin Fenix 8 but. It is Garmin’s most densely packed watch but, with sufficient options that it will take me a pair extra weeks to offer them justice. However after years testing $400-ish Garmin watches and ready years for my first Fenix, the Fenix 8 hasn’t totally lived as much as my sky-high expectations.

I acquired and unboxed my Garmin Fenix 8 later than most, nonetheless getting my bearings whereas Fenix 8 homeowners observed it crashing in chilly water or displaying thousand-hour naps (or naps once they weren’t napping). Aggravated Garmin discussion board customers noticed a bevy of different software program points, some area of interest however others widespread.

By October, the Fenix 8 had acquired some helpful patches, however I nonetheless encountered issues like enter lag when navigating the principle UI. After I tried to finish a two-mile stroll exercise, the watch froze on the “Saving” display for hours and refused to manufacturing unit reset till I plugged it into my laptop. Then the battery drained at an insane fee (about 85% in below two days) till I charged and restarted it.

Issues calmed down for me since then, each for battery life and normal navigation. Nevertheless it nonetheless appears evident that Garmin should have been on a time crunch to launch the Fenix 8 on schedule — probably shareholder-related issues — given the variety of Fenix 8 glitches that went unresolved till after launch. And that is not an ideal look if you’re charging extra money than every other health watch model and far more than the Fenix 7 collection (which began at $799).

I am going to level out now that I just like the Fenix 8 up to now. For starters, the revamped UI improves on what I noticed on the Garmin Venu 3 final 12 months, significantly seeing urged exercises and programs instantly below the exercise begin menu. I respect the AMOLED/ MIP choices so you’ll be able to prioritize battery life or higher visible high quality. And regardless of the plastic-to-titanium swap, my 47mm unit would not really feel overly heavy at 73g.

When it comes to new options, the Fenix 8 added power teaching to Garmin Coach, about six months after I wrote a column demanding Garmin make indoor exercises higher with tailor-made options. As a runner, I am nonetheless easing into power coaching, nevertheless it’s already a step over what most health watches supply for reps and newbie steerage.

You additionally get a microphone and speaker linked to an offline voice assistant, not restricted to passthrough instructions to your smartphone. You maintain down the Begin button, say a easy command like “Begin a Voice Word” or “Present me the climate as we speak,” and see the related app or widget in a number of seconds. I nonetheless advocate utilizing watch face shortcuts to drag up related knowledge, because the processing is a bit sluggish, nevertheless it helps keep away from looking out by means of menus.

Whereas I often depend on AllTrails on my cellphone for choosing mountaineering trails prematurely, Garmin’s new round-trip routes let me search for alternate facet trails that’ll take the identical period of time however let me take a look at new surroundings, and it is a good change of tempo!

Plus, you get the identical revamped well being sensor suite because the Venu 3, related dive options to the Descent MK3 with leak-proof {hardware}, dual-band GPS accuracy to match the perfect Forerunner watches, and a built-in flashlight that is fairly just like the one I examined within the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic. Its 17-day battery life is not a lot greater than different Garmin watches, however its 35-hour multi-band monitoring is great.

Once more, these are welcome additions! Garmin threw the whole lot it had into one titanium package deal so you’ll be able to go from mountaineering to working to diving to snowboarding to {golfing} and have just about the whole lot you want. Barring any surprises, I am going to give the Fenix 8 a constructive evaluate, now that I am sure the bugginess has died down.

However I deliver up previous Garmin watches as a result of many of those previous options really feel just about equivalent to the cheaper watches. For instance, the Fenix 8 LED is sweet for emergencies however not particularly vibrant, burns by means of your entire battery in a number of hours, and makes you maintain your wrist at an unnatural angle to light up what’s in entrance of you — similar to the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic flashlight.

The Fenix’s new mic and speaker allow impromptu calls with out grabbing your cellphone, however similar to the Venu 3 and Venu 2 Plus, you will sound quiet on the opposite finish and it’s possible you’ll want to carry the speaker near your ear when you’re wherever loud.

I am not a giant fan of MIP shows, so I am totally on board with the AMOLED swap. That stated, it has the identical dimension and PPI because the Venu 3 or Forerunner 965 shows, and I believe the brightness and refresh fee are equivalent, too. Particularly, I dislike the little delay you see when scrolling by means of widgets with the touchscreen.

When it comes to accuracy, the Fenix 8 GPS has been predictably hyper-accurate up to now, however that additionally applies throughout the board all the way down to the $350 Forerunner 255 with dual-band monitoring. And whereas its coronary heart fee monitoring did excellently towards my COROS optical armband typically, matching its common and maintaining with fast HR adjustments, it has the identical infuriating subject as my Forerunner 965: After I begin a tough monitor run with out ramping up, it’s going to spend the primary lap failing to register my quicker coronary heart fee by about 20–30 bpm, forcing me to pause and provides the Fenix 8 time to search out the right knowledge and skewing my cardio/ anaerobic load totals.

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I believe many well-off Fenix 8 patrons select the flagship model as a mix standing image and catch-all health software. They like its titanium fashion and that it could deal with each sport below the solar, even when they solely go diving or snowboarding yearly throughout holidays and largely run, bike, or hike with it. Higher to have and never want than want and never have, proper?

In my case, the Fenix 8 might find yourself being my favourite Garmin watch as a result of it collects the perfect bits from the Forerunner, Venu, and Intuition lineups. However is that sufficient to say the Fenix 8 is “definitely worth the worth,” as a variety of present Fenix 8 critiques say?

When journalists and tech YouTubers say a tool is so good that they’d spend $1,000+ on it, they most likely imply it. However they did not; they bought it free of charge. We usually attempt to not let that affect our suggestions, and there isn’t any stress to justify or nitpick an costly buy like common customers really feel. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless exhausting to say if one thing is “too costly” when your funds is not affected.

After I reviewed costly smartwatches just like the $650 Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely or $800 Apple Watch Extremely 2, I needed to rigorously choose their true worth when you’ll be able to spend half as a lot on their siblings and get a lot of the similar options (just like the Fenix 8). They’re nice watches, however too costly for lots of people, and the Fenix 8 deserves that scrutiny, too.

One level in Apple and Samsung’s favor was that their flagship watches had been technically “standalone” due to built-in LTE assist. Since Garmin hasn’t provided LTE exterior of the Forerunner 945 LTE and Bounce LTE for teenagers, your Fenix 8 nonetheless has your short-lived smartphone as a ache level for staying in contact on lengthy excursions.

In my case, I believe the Fenix 8 could be very good to have, particularly the brand new navigation options. However I do not “want” it, and if I had been purchasing for the perfect Garmin look ahead to my wants, it might be exhausting to justify spending that additional $500 for streamlined software program, voice instructions, and dynamic routing when the $600 Forerunner 965 has a lot of the similar necessities.

I’ve overrated the Fenix in my head for some time, and an $1,100 price ticket implies a sure stage of greatness. However the acquainted tech, buggy launch, and lack of emergency mobile mixed with that worth are sufficient to offset barely simply how implausible a health watch that is.