fēnix 8 Solar 51mm

Have 8 Solar 51mm since the very launch. More than happy, no issues. Make 1.5 hour GPS activity every day, charge once a 12-14 days.

I have my fēnix 8 solar since its very release about 1.5 year ago. As far as I remember there was no serious issues at all.

It all depends on your personal attitude towards the issue. I personally am leaning towards buying the watch when I need it and not not when the new models will be issued and nobody knows when. That's because I desire to take an advantage from my watch right now, not sometime in the future. If the release of 9 would be tomorrow and for sure, this can justify the delayed purchase, but this is definitely not a situation. Yes, I forgot to say, I am very happy with my fēnix 8. Great purchase.

As far as I understand F8 have more features. Such as longer battery life, additional features for golf, quite better look. These options costs £250 more. You just have to cut if these features justify an extra payment. In my opinion they definitely do. But that's should be your decision. BTW if you ask me, only longer battery life justify a purchase of F8 instead of FR970

Little disclaimer. I have F8 Solar for more than a year and I love it. I activate GPS for 1-1.5 hour per day every day and the battery lasts for about 12 days (from 100% to close to be empty). If I wouldn't activate GPS it lasts up to 27 days - GPS is a battery killer. Take it into your considerations. That's why I stated that longer battery life only worth to go for F8

I personally didn't find Elevate 5 more precise nor accurate than the 4. I've upgraded fenix 7x to fenix 8, so I had a chance to compare. Actually the main purpose of this switch was to improve the accuracy of hr tracing. I also was convinced that results of chest strap and elevate sensor are very different from each other.