Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review: premium design meets serious sports tech (aff)

You can tell the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is special as soon as you open the box. In a beautifully designed action, the internal section rises as you lift the heavy lid, presenting you with the watch and two straps.

This is very much a premium product for Garmin. Priced at around £1,000, depending on the size and strap you go for, it packs in all the latest advanced tech offered by Garmin, and has a durable structure, stopping just short of the ultra-luxury Marq range in terms of wow factor.

That's certainly not to say it's unattractive in any way, though. I've been testing the 47mm version for several weeks, in carbon grey with a brown leather band, and it's a gorgeous thing to behold.

The Fenix 8 Pro is basically an example of what happens when Garmin dumps pretty much every feature it has into one watch.

After you've taken it out of the box, one of the first things you notice is how gorgeous and readable the AMOLED screen is. It's bright, high-contrast and coated in sapphire crystal, so no worries about scuffs.

And then there's the spec sheet, which is also a bit of an eye-opener. You get multi-band satellite GPS, phone-free messaging and voice calls via Garmin’s inReach/LTE connectivity, and even SOS/emergency tools built in if you sign up to the inReach plan. This means you can send messages from anywhere, up a mountain, in the middle of a lake, or even buried deep in a forest.

And then there's the battery life. This is seriously impressive. Garmin promises up to 15 days and, I haven't quite managed that, but I've come close, and a week of solid use, even with GPS working away, hasn't been a problem.

The fitness and health tracking side of things is polished, too. You get advanced training metrics, recovery insights, sleep tracking and so on. It all functions as well as you'd expect from any Garmin, but they're easy to access on the watch's touchscreen interface. It'll let you set up shortcuts to your more commonly-used workouts, and you can track your location, health metrics, and pace.

That said, I haven't been able to get it to automatically start recording an activity, which is something I know lesser models can do, and the Garmin app is still quite complicated to navigate. It really needs a bit of a redesign.

It's also a bit of a shame Garmin couldn't have added wireless magnetic charging. This is a common attribute of plenty of smart watches these days, and plugging in such a luxury item just feels a bit "budget".

Many people will doubtless be drawn to the Fenix 8 Pro for its LTE and satellite features, but they come with subscription costs and some regional limitations.

Getting full use out of those tools isn’t free and that’s worth keeping in mind if you’re buying for adventure-style independence. Especially given the high price of the watch in the first place.

But the other key strengths of the watch remain firmly part of the package. It's a stunning piece of design, beautifully weighted and comfortable on the wrist, and the five physical buttons respond well. There's even a torch, which is handy.

Truth be told, most of the Fenix 8 Pro's functionality can be found in much cheaper Garmin watches, but this is a smartwatch for people who like to have a physically attractive timepiece on their hands, and spending in excess of £1,000 on a watch isn't as outlandish as it sounds, when you consider the entry price of brands like Rolex and Breitling.

Fundamentally, as sports watches go, the Fenix 8 Pro is definitely up there with the best of them. Some will no doubt find the step down to the non-Pro models gives you most of what matters at a much friendlier price, but in terms of durability, aesthetics, and that incredible battery life, it has a lot going for it.