Garmin has finally unveiled the Garmin Fenix 8 – which is emerging as a potential competitor to the Apple Watch Ultra – along with the Garmin Enduro 3. And both watches are likely to be among the best Garmin watches to hit the market so far.
The Garmin Fenix 8 comes in 43mm, 47mm, or 51mm sizes with two screen options: a bright AMOLED screen and the older, more energy-efficient Memory-in-Pixel (MIP) screen, which offers solar charging capabilities thanks to Garmin’s Power Glass technology. The AMOLED-screen models last up to 29 days in smartwatch mode, while the MIP-screen models last up to 48 days in smartwatch mode, and that’s with the always-on screen enabled. Incredible stuff.
Garmin Fenix 8 now has dive modes that allow the watch to become a functioning dive computer to descend to 40 meters for diving activities. According to an exclusive chat we had with Jon Hosler, Fenix 8 product manager, the spill-proof buttons ensure that even at depths below 40 meters, divers can still return to the 40-meter mark and the Fenix 8 will still function perfectly.
In addition to the leak-proof buttons, models with titanium bezels and sapphire glass upgrades are also available for purchase.
Hardware features like the Garmin Epix Pro’s LED flashlight, a new speaker and microphone for taking quick calls and setting simple commands like “set a five-minute timer” are all present.
The Fenix 8 also promises improved strength training modes and new mapping features like “dynamic round-trip routing” that suggests options to guide you back to the start of your route. Running users will now receive a notification when they’re about 40% of the way through a run.
The Garmin Fenix 8 is available for pre-order now and will cost $999.99 in the US and £869.99 in the UK. Australian pricing and exact prices for all six models (three sizes with AMOLED and MIP screens) have yet to be announced.
Introducing the Garmin Enduro 3
The Garmin Enduro 3 is the latest watch in Garmin’s line of premium endurance racing tools. The Garmin Enduro 3 is “lighter than ever” at 63g (the old Garmin Enduro 2 watch weighed a whopping 70g) and has many of the same powerful tools as the Garmin Fenix 8. The dynamic round-trip route planning of the Fenix 8 is included here, as is the integrated LED flashlight and thousands of preloaded TopoActive maps.
The Enduro 3 is available in just one size, 51mm, with a titanium bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Its MIP screen also features solar charging technology that lasts 320 hours in GPS mode and up to 90 days in smartwatch mode. Garmin says that activating “SatIQ technology – which automatically switches between GPS modes – ensures the superior positioning accuracy of multi-band GPS for up to 120 hours.”
Enduro 3 also offers Garmin Messenger, the instant messaging widget in the watch, as well as Garmin Pay and the ability to download songs from streaming services like Spotify and Deezer to listen to music without a phone. However, it lacks the microphone and speaker found on the Garmin Fenix 8 range.
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 pricing will be added to this article as soon as we receive it.