Garmin has launched the Fenix 8 Pro and Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED premium smartwatches
By ForGeeks
While the entire market is focused on the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch Ultra 3 and iPhone 17, Garmin is gearing up to release its new smartwatches, the Fenix 8 Pro and Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED. Official sales will start on September 8, just a day before Apple’s big event. Prices are impressive: $1199 for the standard version and $1999 for the model with a MicroLED display.
The major innovation of the series is the support for LTE and satellite connectivity. For the first time, the watch features Garmin’s proprietary inReach technology, which lets you make calls to other Fenix 8 Pro users or through the Garmin Messenger app, send 30-second voice messages, and share geo-positioning even in places without cellular coverage. However, unlike the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch, the LTE feature here is limited and doesn’t offer full carrier coverage. An inReach subscription will cost $9.99 a month.
The MicroLED version of the Fenix 8 Pro gets a screen with a peak of 4,500 nits, making it “the brightest smartwatch in the world.” However, that comes at a price in terms of battery life – just 10 days versus 27 for the standard AMOLED model. That said, both versions are packed with the same features: ECG, sleep monitoring, endurance and lifting metrics, personalized workouts, preloaded TopoActive topographical maps, and the classic health and fitness toolkit.
