fēnix 8

No kill like overkill, baby! I got a Fenix 8 51mm Sapphire Titanium AMOLED. Probably don't use anywhere near all the features, but it rocks.

All the hardcore runners I know are wearing Forerunner watches. The hybrid guys are wearing Fenix. Battery life on either will be excellent. Fenix gets updates for years. New features, as others have noted, will be limited to the 8. Really depends on if you want the look/weight/features of one or the other. I had the Fenix 7x and it was excellent. Currently in the 8, it isn't radically different in terms of what I use it for.

Idk if this helps, but I recently returned a new Fenix 8 (not solar). It was my first Garmin and I HATED IT! I loved the design. I loved the look. I loved the few functions I actually used it for. BUT I could not stand using it! I had it for like a week and a half and I swear I spent a quarter of my days googling how to do things on that f’n thing. Nothing was intuitive and the few things I really wanted it for either weren’t supported or super complicated to figure out. I really hated that watch and immediately returned it when I found out the AWU3 was being released soon. The Garmin was click-heavy, overkill, non-sense IMO. The AW does everything I need and actually ties into my daily life way more than that Garmin ever could. That’s my experience. But I do like the look of the Garmin more than the AW. Can’t wait to get my new black AWU3!

So I’m not a runner and you may find what you want using Strava or something, but if your main goal of your watch is to track your running, the Garmin might be your answer. If you want literally ANYTHING else from your watch, go with the AWU. I had a Fenix 8 AMOLED recently for a couple weeks. HATED it! Returned it as soon as I found out AWU3 was being released. The Garmin was click-heavy, no nonintuitive, and just a pain to use. I spent so much time googling how to do things on that damn watch. I hated it so much. I do like the look of the Garmin watch tho and it was a really nice watch. I just couldn’t stand using it and it just wasn’t intuitive enough for me. And the lack of a decent AI-driven voice control feature was enough to have me shaking my head. If there was a really good AI-driven voice control feature on the Fenix 8 that assisted with watch functions and settings as well as general info (like any AI system) it possibly would have been worth keeping…idk. I really don’t know why anyone but really serious Olympic training athletes would need a Garmin watch and all that data. I feel like the Apple Watch would provide PLENTY of data for the normal person. If you have an iPhone or you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, I would only recommend the Apple Watch. I preordered the AWU3 and can’t wait for it to arrive.

Recently purchased a Fenix 8 …never again. What a pain in the butt, click-heavy, non-intuitive piece. I hated that watch so much, but it looked cool as heck! Can’t wait to get my black AWU3!

I purchased the fenix 8 (47 mm) this week, upgrading from a fenix 5 (51 mm). The fenix 8 is remarkably light, with a gorgeous AMOLED display. I’m loving the touchscreen and the incredibly long battery life. My fenix 5 lasted a solid eight years—and could probably go longer—but it’s now down to about a five-day charge. I can’t imagine using an Apple Watch and having to charge it every day. I’d say go with the 47 mm and save a few dollars.

What size Fenix 8 did you go with? I had the Forerunner 970 first and then made the switch to the Fenix 8 47mm and while it is slightly heavier, I barely notice it and overall much prefer the watches aesthetics and premium feel.

I mean the Garmin FR970 is the same price as the Ultra 3 so you’re not really saving any money. My Fenix 8 is actually about $500 (CAD) more expensive than the Ultra 3 as well. Prior to switching to the Fenix 8 about 3 months ago I had the Ultra 2 since launch and I generally prefer the Fenix 8 as a fitness tracker over the Ultra. Firstly, I get nearly 2 weeks of battery life with my AMOLED display Fenix 8 compared to approx. 2 days with my Ultra. As someone who does multi-day hikes etc. this was a huge feature for me. I also love the more in depth fitness & running metrics I get from the garmin. Another big plus is as someone who has sleeve tattoos I’ve never once had the Garmin auto-pause during a workout or a run whereas that was a regular occurrence with the Ultra no matter what band I used and despite trying the epoxy sticker “fix”. Another bonus is the built in flashlight on the Fenix 8, I never imagined how useful this would be and wasn’t a consideration when initially purchasing the watch. I also much prefer the circle watch face as opposed to the large bulky square that is the Ultra. Of course there are things I miss from the Ultra, the display was much nicer and the watch was buttery smooth as opposed to the Garmin. The smart features were far superior on the Ultra but the bottom line was I rarely used them which is why the Garmin was ultimately the better choice for me personally.

Garmin had a bug on eOS, where it couldn't fully start the app normally, but that was fixed recently. It works just as good as on a normal Android phone. And my Fenix 8 51mm gets 21+ days of battery life, while exercising every day for at least 30mins. I am no longer using a Fairphone or e/OS, but my partner is and it works fine with his Fenix 8 47mm.

Garmin had a bug on eOS, where it couldn't fully start the app normally, but that was fixed recently. It works just as good as on a normal Android phone. And my Fenix 8 51mm gets 21+ days of battery life, while exercising every day for at least 30mins. I am no longer using a Fairphone or e/OS, but my partner is and it works fine with his Fenix 8 47mm.

Did you really find the 47mm Fenix heavy? I barely notice it, it’s that bloody light, surreptitious, and comfortable!

Screen is the same size on both, I went with the 47 because it’s lighter and slimmer, fit under big jacket sleeve easier. 51 will have its use case if long battery life is a must and want that amoled, but I think 8ish days on my 47 is good enough