Garmin - fēnix 8 Pro – 51 mm, MicroLED

MicroLed is draining battery… I would be careful with that one and consider Amoled instead

Ah, so that’s where the real crazy comes in. 😜 For the most complete data, you’ve got to be willing to wear both, 24/7 (which I do). Garmin’s PhysioTrueUp (I think they just call it Device Priority now) helps keep everything in sync across the Garmin-verse. If I need to make things less showy for any reason I’ll sometimes keep the Garmin in my pocket’s coin pouch (less movement) since it’s reading from my Polar H10 anyways and doesn’t have to be on my wrist, and the entire point of the AWU3 for me is Tapbacks, SMS voice replies, and FindMy on my wrist via 5G. Sleep-wise, the Venu X1 barely feels like it’s even there, but even the Fenix8 MicroLED (the thickest of the lot) didn’t bother me for sleep comfort during the week that I was testing it, so perhaps I’m just an anomaly since I know many people (including my partner) don’t tolerate bigger watches during sleep - the Garmin Index Sleep band is a good workaround, but then you keep going further and further down this rabbit hole of more $ and niche tech.

Any other company would've canned the microLED version. It doesn't even appeal to a niche. Even if you're a billionaire, you wouldn't want the version with much shorter battery life. Seems more like a public beta product they're offering because they can, not because they think it'll actually sell well. A lot of people would be happy with the LTE version but it's less capable than double wristing with an AW so it's not for me.

$100 more for the option to pay $96/year more for cellular and more still for satellite.

Except that Garmin is now attempting to compete with Apple and Android. If you look at the new releases like the Venu X1, Venu4, the Fenix 8 Pro, the batteries are getting fewer days than their predecessors. The VenuX1 is rated for 2 days with AOD, the Fenix8 pro MicroLed is rated for 4 days with AOD both in Smartwatch mode. To get the battery life users are accustom to you need to turn off features.

Took those stats straight from the Garmin site. Fenix8 pro MicroLed Smartwatch: Up to 10 days (4 days always-on), VenuX1 - Smartwatch mode: Up to 8 days (2 days display always-on) I use my U2 with AOD and I can easily get 48 hours, 3 full days if I wanted and that is with at least an hour of GPS and another hour of activity tracking each day.

I did not - did you actually read the whole post or just skip parts of it because someone stated facts you didn't like about Garmin? I used Garmin for many years, they were a great brand at one time. Further the Fenix 8 pro MicroLED is still a Fenix 8 pro - get over yourself.

But it is - speaker, microphone, calls, texts, watch assistant etc, it is marketed as a smartwatch and less an adventure watch. The Fenix 8 Pro maybe a bit more so as an adventure watch with the LTE and satellite but still also marketed as a smartwatch as well.

They don't have the processing power and you are seeing the repercussion on the F8Pro just by adding LTE - it drains the battery. Adding smartwatch features would drastically impact the battery and Garmin users would lose their minds.

No, they are well overpriced for what you are getting. Outdated, laggy, buggy software, with watches that for the most part are made of plastic/resin and look cheap. The Connect app is a disaster. You will need a chest strap if you are interested in accurate heart rate data for activities. The bluetooth antennae range is short and has issue connecting for many - android and iPhone users alike. Yes they give you a great deal of data, is it fun to look at, absolutely, is it needed, absolutely not. There is so much of it that folks either don't understand or don't know what to do with it so they never action it. Further if the heart rate data is not accurate or consistent is any of the data valuable anyway? Garmin is falling behind its competitors, changing its focus in an attempt to add more smartwatch feature - doing so poorly it seems - and not staying true to being a great fitness tracker. They are relying more and more on their reputation and their prices are going up and up for watches that are going down in quality and usability due to software issues/bugs. Just have a look at all the issues that occurred when the Fenix 8 was released, the FR970/570 and VenuX1 are currently having software issues too.

You are going to get downvotes from those who are in denial, loyalists who will never say a bad word about the brand, or from those who are so invested in the brand they are either so locked in that they won't change or they truly believe that Garmin is the best available. That said, what you have stated is true, they are just selling old models with new faces, the internals are the same. They haven't really changed for years. Garmin's software is outdated, laggy and so buggy it is an embarrassment. The Fenix 8 release was a catastrophe. Most folks know not to buy a new release Garmin for at least 6-8 months these days or they are just going to have paid to be a Garmin beta tester for months. You didn't even mention the laggy heart rate data for activities. Other brands have caught up to what at one time was the best in the business - not anymore. Garmin has been relying on the reputation for a while now. Prices go up, features get more gimmicky, and UX and UI go down.

That's a good and fair comparison. I would even say that the Apple Watch Ultra is 90% fitness tracker, especially if you get an app like Workoutdoors which fills in the gaps left by the stock sports tracking. It's incredibly flexible and costs next to nothing and it's a one time fee, no subscription. I won't say 100% because the battery life is just not there yet on Apple. Although strangely enough, the top of the line flagship Garmin (Fenix 8 MicroLED) gets 48 hours of battery life to Apple's 42 hours and it's also more than twice the price.

I switched from a Garmin Fenix to an Ultra 2 and I’m never going back to Garmin. Most of your peeves can easily be remedied by going in the Watch app on your phone and setting up what you want to allow to show up on your watch as notifications. It’s 100 times more fine grained than what Garmin does (pretty much all or nothing). Not that it’s Garmin’s fault, they just don’t have access to the OS on your phone the way Apple does. I was overwhelmed at first but quickly turned off notifications for all but a few apps. Now, if you want something more focused on sports then you’ll be better served with Garmin, although Apple’s Ultra variant is no slouch either, especially paired with an app like WorkOutdoors. If you’re going to go that route I would take a serious look at Coros though, they make arguably better watches for much cheaper in my opinion.

The older OLED fenix 8 model has even better battery life than the micro-led fenix 8 pro. It's not the display tech, it's a combination of physical battery size and garmins having relatively underpowered hardware and not as many smartwatch features running in the background.

Enduro 3 is simply the king of Garmin’s line up at the moment. No question. Unless you need the dive / speaker stuff I’d be going for that. The 7X PRO Solar sapphire is a great second. Instinct 3X Solar takes the third spot. I’m a bit sceptical of Garmins future, kinda feels like they have peaked with the enduro 3. MIPS could be gone. Garmin connect plus. MICROLED 8 Pro at 2k USD with a 4 Day Battery. The buggy firmware. The terrible way they have rolled out LTE / Satellite. Their best days may be behind them.

The fenix has a few of the Apple safety features but nowhere near as good. They have the main one high / low heart rate alerts when not exercising. I think they have some sort of fall detection but it's not as good or polished as Apple. With Garmins buggy software not sure I'd trust it anyway. AW also has sleep apnea alerts and hypertension alerts (new) which the Garmins do not have.........yet.

I think top of the line has to be the Fenix 8 Pro microled. It has the best of the best that Garmin is currently able to stuff inside a watch. Everything thing else just become variations to suit specific areas or target specific group of people/athletes.

It took me a while to get used to the heft of the fenix. It it noticeable while running or any activity in which your hands swing.

I have big garmin eco since many years, but also apple eco, without watch (I hade all apple watches, even tested aw ultra/ultra 2, but always return to garmin). But today I cannot understand the way, which garmin has chosen. I bought 2 weeks ago Fenix 8 pro 51 mm, went from fenix 8 51 mm. Fenix 8 has problem even now, after 1 year of announcement - first firmwares were ridiculous bad, nothing was working properly. But garmin is a garmin - fenix 8 pro has LTE and satellite connection which not working at all, or working in a very bad way. I made many runs, never had a possibility to send message via garmin messenger, call via garmin messenger, even livetrack, on LTE, has big lags, stuck in random places, etc. There are many problems/questions written on garmin forum website, concerning fenix 8, 8 pro, even previous model, and nothing has changed. I just feel like a beta tester of new products, every products, because with edges I hade same experience - 1030/1030 plus/1040 solar, 1050 - all had big problems, restarting during training, randomly reconnecting power meter, cadence, lights etc. Garmin Rally power meter xc 200 I need to sent back, because right one just stop working. Chest strap - HRM, HRM Pro/Pro plus - need to change, because after one year just broken. Now I have hrm 600, but still sometimes show very strange and different numbers, like yesterday - pace 4:30 min per 1 km, and it showed 95 BPM - I wish I had that one :) So, to sum up - I am just tired of garmin support, garmin new products. Maybe one day I just sell everything and buy only apple watch ultra and hammerhead karoo 3 - I tested it also and it was quite nice one.

I have big garmin eco since many years, but also apple eco, without watch (I hade all apple watches, even tested aw ultra/ultra 2, but always return to garmin). But today I cannot understand the way, which garmin has chosen. I bought 2 weeks ago Fenix 8 pro 51 mm, went from fenix 8 51 mm. Fenix 8 has problem even now, after 1 year of announcement - first firmwares were ridiculous bad, nothing was working properly. But garmin is a garmin - fenix 8 pro has LTE and satellite connection which not working at all, or working in a very bad way. I made many runs, never had a possibility to send message via garmin messenger, call via garmin messenger, even livetrack, on LTE, has big lags, stuck in random places, etc. There are many problems/questions written on garmin forum website, concerning fenix 8, 8 pro, even previous model, and nothing has changed. I just feel like a beta tester of new products, every products, because with edges I hade same experience - 1030/1030 plus/1040 solar, 1050 - all had big problems, restarting during training, randomly reconnecting power meter, cadence, lights etc. Garmin Rally power meter xc 200 I need to sent back, because right one just stop working. Chest strap - HRM, HRM Pro/Pro plus - need to change, because after one year just broken. Now I have hrm 600, but still sometimes show very strange and different numbers, like yesterday - pace 4:30 min per 1 km, and it showed 95 BPM - I wish I had that one :) So, to sum up - I am just tired of garmin support, garmin new products. Maybe one day I just sell everything and buy only apple watch ultra and hammerhead karoo 3 - I tested it also and it was quite nice one.

100 % agree. I swapped from AWU 2 to Fenix 8 pro 51 mm. Best decision ever.