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This most recent model of the top-tier Fenix adventure timepiece includes a life-saving feature: no-phone communication and SOS messaging using 4G LTE or orbital links.

This Fenix 8 Pro enhances the already impressive Fenix 8 by adding cutting-edge cellular tech, along with an optional state-of-the-art microLED display in a special edition. This is the brand's premier model and engineered to be the single tool required to venture virtually anywhere and monitor all your movements.

This makes it an very pricey option, priced from £1,030 (€1,200, $1,200, A$2,300) for the 47mm OLED model and climbing to a substantial £1,730 (€2,000/$2,000/A$3,399) for the 51mm variant with microLED screen – almost double the price of the regular Fenix 8.

Users get a lot of functionality for your investment, with best-in-class fitness, movement and adventure monitoring. Its full offline mapping of the globe can automatically direct you return to the path if you get lost absent a phone, and appear great on the sizable, crisp and super-bright touchscreen.

This Fenix 8 Pro is only available in 47mm or 51mm case dimensions, not the more compact 43mm size found in other devices, so it is a large watch for bigger wrists. However the 47mm OLED version as reviewed boasts an additional day of smartwatch battery life despite the display always active, enduring a solid eight to nine days between charges.

Phone-Free Messaging, Calls and Live Tracking

The company operates its proprietary inReach LTE (4G) and satellite subscription plan instead of depending on a watch plan tied to your phone carrier, as with other wearables. But unlike Apple or Google's satellite-enabled products, SOS communication is not included for no cost.

Instead, plans begin from £7.99 or equivalent a month, which provides unlimited LTE SMS and audio messaging, call functionality and LiveTrack position sharing – so your contacts or family can monitor you while engaged in running, biking or comparable activities – plus emergency orbital SOS alerts.

Check-ins and messages over satellite are then charged additionally, with more expensive subscriptions offering various quotas of satellite usage, climbing to a £50 a month unlimited plan. The watch includes a 30-day free trial so you can test out the functionality.

After you have completed setup, you just head out the door without your phone and the watch will connect to LTE. You can not use it for playing music or comparable tasks, but you can make and take calls, send texts and overall stay connected with your family and companions.

When you message someone, Garmin dispatches them an SMS from a arbitrary phone number, which they can reply to directly to your watch. If they install the Garmin Messenger app, you can then communicate back and forth via text or voice communications, and make voice calls. Your contact does not need a Garmin account to use the Messenger application, just a phone number is sufficient to register for texts.

Texting on the watch works fine but composing texts on the tiny on-screen keyboard is slow. It has a collection of customisable pre-set responses you can send to expedite communication. Voice messages and calls work OK, though as with the majority of smartwatches, you’re not going to wish to use it for extended discussions as the audio clarity is not fantastic.

LiveTrack is the most useful function. You can configure to on its own transmit a URL to selected contacts whenever you begin an exercise, so they can follow your real time position on a map. It’s great for monitoring race performance, but it mostly serves as a utility for someone you rely on to know your location in case something happens. It has generally functioned effectively, though the real position has occasionally lagged when moving in and out of good LTE coverage.

All of these features are accessible on other Garmin watches if you carry your phone with you, but in locations where LTE does not reach, the satellite activates on the Fenix 8 Pro to send texts, position updates and SOS SOS.

A on-screen assistance shows you how to locate the line of sight to the orbital system, which then sends and receives communications within about 10 to 30 seconds. It was surprisingly easy to use and could be a crucial safety feature, though it is essential to remember that satellite coverage is limited to the US continent, most of Canada, and the majority of Europe except for regions of Scandinavia north of 65 degrees north.

Sustainability

The watch is generally serviceable with services offered through the support portal. The battery is rated to maintain at least 90% of its original power after two years of weekly charging. The watch lacks any recycled components. Garmin offers recycling programs on new purchases.

Price

The Fenix 8 Pro costs from £1,029.99 (€1,199.99/$1,199.99/A$2,299). The optional Garmin inReach subscription plans cost from £7.99 (€9.99/$7.99/A$13.50).

Conclusion

This Fenix 8 Pro builds on a excellent adventure watch in the regular Fenix 8 and adds LTE for texting, calls and LiveTrack – along with orbital messaging, location update and SOS SOS for when you’re out of signal.

The result is an increasingly remarkable adventure tool for those that want to be unplugged. If you want to have someone monitor you remotely while exercising out at night or in the middle of nowhere, the Garmin accomplishes this without requiring anything else.

This is very freeing to be outside without a phone, but that capability carries a significant price, both in terms of the colossal cost of the watch and the monthly subscription of the inReach plan to enable the features. At least it isn’t reliant on your phone carrier so functions with all brand of smartphone and carrier.

This Fenix 8 Pro is a killer gadget for someone who hates being weighed down by their phone when jogging, biking or trekking, but nevertheless wants to be locatable and reachable. For everyone else, it is a lot of expense when the superb Fenix 8 is already available.

Advantages: LTE and orbital communication, super-bright OLED screen, monitors everything with premier GPS, integrated torch, voice and offline commands, 8+ day endurance, Garmin Pay, full offline maps and routes, offline Spotify, 100-metre waterproofing and 40-metre diving, physical controls and touch.

Drawbacks: very expensive, LTE and orbital functions need ongoing subscription, limited Garmin Pay bank support, voice features are slow, limited smartwatch features compared with Apple/Google/Samsung watches.