Garminfēnix 8 GPS 51mm Premium Smartwatch, AMOLED Touchscreen, Multisport, Advanced Health & Training Features,Built-in LED flashlight,Adventure Watch with up to 16 days battery life, Slate Gray

So iwanted to give it a full testing before i did my review and after a month, im glad i upgraded from my Fenix 7X solar sapphire.I have been on the Fenix series ssince the third gen and whilst they have always been impressive, this one for me has been the biggest leap in my own personal use of things that are of benefit to me that come as addiions to the watch where i am aware, for most, they are things that will not get used but you could say that is the true of most things that have multiple functions.The biggest and most use for me is the Amoled screen. For some reason, the Fenix 7 screen just didnt have the same pop on it that all the other version had, i was always struggling to see the details. This one is way better and you cant miss it and that is on every screen you use.I dont know if they will ever be able to do a Amoled screen with the solar version but the battery life of this is really really good. I do triathlons so i use my watch 2-3 times a day and i am getting a coupld of weeks use out of a full battery compared to 7-10 days out of my Fenix 7X.The addition of being able to take calls on my watch is brilliant, i run with a running backpack on and my phone is in an Ortlieb drg bag and i would normally have to miss the call and ring back due to time it would take to ge tthe phone out but now i can take it on the watch which is great. No its not perfect and super loud but it works and for me im happy. The improvements will come in time so its something to bear in mind. What is weird is there is a noticable difference if it comes in on WhatsApp that a normal call, cannot work this out fo rhte life of me but its not as loud when ran through the App.They have updated the UI (user interface) to try and just have one version and i like it. It wont be everones cup of tea but the similarities are there, its just a case of playing with it to see the differences.There is a whole hos of functions that i have not yet teste but will at some point through the year, the watch has bought in some functiuon from the Garmin Dive watch and as i had already been skiing prior to getting this watch, that will have to wait till next year but it is definitely a game changer for me.

Great watch for the active. Cool upgrades from my previous version of 6xpro. Battery life is solid.Display is very clear and many different stats you can display.Easy to useQuite expensive but for the active it’s a great tool to keep an eye on your daily activity and workouts.

Wasn't sure at first have always had garmin fenix loved my fenix 7 but went with the up grade and so worth it brilliant watch so much to love about it am the screen is crystal clear battery life amazing really worth it in my opinion

Amazing watch

Iv got the Apple ultra 2 as well . I mostly wear this though it’s just better . The only gripe is it’s just too expensive for what it is

I bought the watch for my daughter and was really looking forward to it arriving. The watch arrived and from the minute we switched it on the software was glitchy and laggy. The watch would not install anything and said in the phone app the watch requires a firmware update to install apps etc. The problem was there wasn’t one available on the watch or phone. Later that day I managed to update the watch and everything was looking good. Once again the software was a problem with major screen lagging especially on any type of map screens. The watch rebooted several times during the day showing a blue triangle and locking up. It could only be unfroze by switching the watch off(when it allowed)For a watch that is nearly a £1000 it’s not good and I expected a lot better. I should have listened more to many reviews online about the poor software and issues the Fenix 8 has. Sadly we are in the process of returning the watch and awaiting a refund. Very disappointed as this was a present and that date has now gone. I would think long and hard before spending this type of money on a watch that is still a beta product. Before going through the return process I did think about getting another replacement. But after looking at Garmin online forums this was a risk as I could end up with the same issue again. Even now I just looked on Amazon’s own selling page that states this is a regular returned item. I wish I had spotted this before my purchase. Maybe Garmin will get on top of the software issues and make the watch great. It’s a bit unfair to expect the buyers to beta test the incomplete product.

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Like many users I was excited about this watch but it was released way before many bugs were ironed out. ClimbPro showing very rough/noisy slopes when they are not, the compass being generally awful and the mapping/orientation also being staggeringly unresponsive when trying to navigate. Garmin technical support, as ever, are close to unbearably bad. For a watch thats more than £1000 I just canto recommend this. And I have had the flagship Garmin for many years. Returning to Suunto