Garmin - fēnix 8 Pro – 47 mm, AMOLED

Quick story: Have had an Apple Watch Series 6 for a long time (battery lasted less than a day). Decided to upgrade to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 - The battery lasted less than 48 hours (I’m aware that it’s reported at 42). By design, it’s a decent watch, but the battery life is laughable. It’s a joke. It’s just not worth the $ to me, especially considering I was only getting ONE additional day of battery life. Enter Garmin. I’ve had this watch for a day, and I’m extremely impressed and confident with my decision. Still getting to know this watch and can’t wait to put it to the test!

I’m also confused by your question. This isn’t the MicroLED version, it’s the 8 Pro - 47mm AMOLED. I wanted the Sapphire Carbon Gray DLC Titanium, which comparing between the 8 (16 day battery) and the 8 pro (15 day battery) is only a $100 price difference and a day less of battery life between the two.

It was only a $100 price difference.

It’s the perfect size for me. I thought about going for the 43mm, but I’m happy I went with the 47mm. I prefer the bigger display and the extra 5 days of battery life.

You and I are/were in the same spot. I got my AMOLED 47mm Titanium black DLC, a week or so ago from the same deal. I have not owned a watch in like decades but I love this watch and wish I had picked one up years ago, it really helps you if you are trying to get fitter. Its a lot of money so here is my opinion and hope it helps you: In terms of sizing, I believe the 47 and 51 have the same display size, so the only thing bigger about the 51 is weight, **battery** and bezel. I think most reviewers say the bigger watch gets you a day or 2 more battery than on the AMOLED. From your pictures, I have a slightly larger wrist than you, personally in terms of looks the 47 looks better on anyone with average wrist size like us. You'd really have to think about how much you prefer the MIP battery life for extremely long outdoor useage of if you want to charge your watch once a month (mine lasts about a week with AOD on). From what I've seen from reviews the battery on AMOLED version is more than sufficient for marathon/triathlons. In terms of the screen, my coworker has an instinct solar, its definitely not an ugly display but its also not comparable to any AMOLED from any manufacturer including the Garmin AMOLED version. I've been outside on walks/runs with my Fenix 8 and I've not been in any condition where I had trouble reading the AMOLED screen. Conversely, my coworker has a MIP Garmin and its definitely not as easily viewed in our office setting but its not as if you can't read it, its just not as easy to glance at in certain lighting conditions without the backlight. Weight is something you also should think about. The larger displays and the Solar in terms of specs are heavier which some people are sensitive to. I'm personally not. I saw a ton of reviewers say the weight of the Fenix is noticeable at night when sleeping compared to something like a Vivoactive, Venu or Forerunner. Personally, this is my first watch (smart, fitness) in decades and I can't tell the difference between this and the Vivoactive. I think the weight sensitivity is contingent to where you wear it, the closer to the wrist the more you feel the weight. There is also the nylon band option if the weight really bothers you.

Comes down to personal preference, really. I had a Fenix 8 for months, then switched to the 970. Prefer the weight of the 970 for daily usage.

970 is lighter but still faces lots of software issues. I went through 3 in 5 weeks because of issues. The Fenix is bigger and heavier. I don’t love the new buttons on it either. Both have drawbacks, I’d say it’s more personal preference of the two designs.

Try them both on if you can. I recently had the same dilemma. Went with 970 cause I like the sleeker feel. Didn’t care for the extra fenix functions either as a mainly runner

Definitely try them both on, I was between the two (also have a small wrist) but I could not stand the height of the fenix on me, even with the smaller screen. Went for the 970 as it was a better fit.

Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED Sapphire. Goes with everything. Even with your protein shake.

Absolutely! I have a Fenix 8 and it's even more motivating having a proper sports watch rather than a smart watch. Plus, battery life is up to 16 days!

Any Garmin Will do. Chose what you like from a looks point of view. If you are keen on practicality, I will suggest you go for one with a flash light. I am a big fan of Fenix range my self

I have owned Fenix 3, 6X, 7X SS, 8 Amoled Sapphire and never had any issues. Always watch on arm at all activities

it must be a solar model thing - no idea why - my F8 47mm oled gets GPS in 8-12 seconds every time, and has more battery life than what you reported even though it's a smaller watch. It's never rebooted on me once and I've had it about 7 weeks now, and do a gps workout nearly every day.

I had the same upgrade decision, though because of an injury, I can no longer run (though I am very active with other activities both watches track). I think it really boils down to subjectivity. What do you think will look better? I bought the F8 47 Amoled during the recent sale so there was almost no $ difference. Did so because of the better build and look (at least to my eyes). Either one will be a huge upgrade from the Venu 2, which happens to be a great watch.

I have fénix 8 amoled 47 and my wife has Apple Watch 10. Mine says 16d but I get around 11-12 days with 4 activities last week between 45 min and 3-4h. The Apple Watch does not last more than 2 days. However, if Apple gets more battery life for their next releases, lets say 5-7days, because their products are integrated with iPhone etc, a lot of people might go back to Apple. I love my fénix 8.

As a Garmin user, to be honest I'm really sad about direction that Garmin is taking. Prices went up, at least here in PL, Fenix 8 Pro Amoled costs 1.5x of Apple Watch Ultra 3, while to use Satellite connection you need to have 9eur/month subscription (when apple provides it for 2 years for free). Also LTE/5G in Garmin is just for Garmin Messenger app, which means you need to enforce your family to install it (and you wont sync stuff like Spotify using that). So yeah, I think more and more people will be thinking to switch, at least from by subjective, frustrated Garmin user point of view. Garmin used to be good company, you were paying more, you got years of support, now they plan different subscriptions, devices getting more expensive and my 2 year old 965 now doesnt have new software features (while usually you tend to have more years of that). Ah and Microled is a gimmick in garmin. They told that it will be more power efficient. Amoled version has up to 24 days on battery, Microled version up to 10 days, while costing whole 2k dollars