Garmin has finally unveiled the Garmin Fenix 8 – which is shaping up to be a potential Apple Watch Ultra-beater – alongside the Garmin Enduro 3. And both watches look to be among the best Garmin watches released to date.
The Garmin Fenix 8 comes in 43mm, 47mm, or 51mm sizes, with two display options: a bright AMOLED display, and the older, more power-efficient memory-in-pixel (MIP) display, which offers solar charging capabilities thanks to Garmin’s Power Glass technology. The AMOLED-screen models can last up to 29 days in smartwatch mode, while the MIP-screen models can last up to 48 days in smartwatch mode, and that’s with the always-on display enabled. Incredible stuff.
Garmin Fenix 8 now has dive modes, where the watch can become a working dive computer, allowing it to descend to a depth of 40 meters for scuba diving activities. According to an exclusive conversation we had with Jon Hosler, the Fenix 8 Product Manager, the leak-proof buttons mean that even if divers go down to 40 meters, they can still return to the 40-meter mark and the Fenix 8 will still function just fine.
In addition to the leak-proof buttons, models are also available with optional upgrades to a titanium bezel and sapphire crystal.
Hardware features like the Garmin Epix Pro’s LED flashlight, a new speaker and microphone for quickly answering phone calls and setting simple commands like “set a five-minute timer” are all here.
The Fenix 8 also promises improved strength training modes and new mapping features like “dynamic round trip routing,” a feature that suggests options to guide you back to the start of your route. Runners will now get a prompt for this when they’re about 40 percent of the way through a run.
The Garmin Fenix 8 is available to pre-order now, starting at $999.99 in the US and £869.99 in the UK. Australian pricing and exact pricing for all six models (three sizes with AMOLED and MIP displays) have yet to be announced.
Introducing the Garmin Enduro 3
The Garmin Enduro 3 is the latest watch in Garmin’s lineup of super-premium endurance race tools. Designed to be “lighter than ever” at 63g (the old Garmin Enduro 2 watch was a very hefty 70g), the Garmin Enduro 3 shares many of the same powerful tools with the Garmin Fenix 8. The Fenix 8’s dynamic round-trip routing is here, along with a built-in LED flashlight and thousands of preloaded TopoActive maps.
The Enduro 3 comes in one size only, 51mm, with a titanium bezel and a scratch-resistant sapphire lens. The MIP display also features solar charging technology, which lasts for 320 hours in GPS mode and up to 90 days in smartwatch mode. Garmin says that enabling “SatIQ technology — which automatically switches between GPS modes — keeps the superior positioning accuracy of multi-band GPS intact for up to 120 hours.”
The Enduro 3 also adds Garmin Messenger, the in-watch instant messaging widget, along with Garmin Pay and the ability to download songs from streaming services like Spotify and Deezer for phone-free listening. However, it’s missing the microphone and speaker found on the Garmin Fenix 8 line.
The Enduro 3 is available to pre-order now for $899.99 in the US and £769.99 in the UK. As with the Fenix 8, Australian prices will be added to this article as we receive them.