The Garmin Fenix 8 is official and the headline news is that it’s now coming in AMOLED and solar models, as Garmin waves bye bye to the Epix.
Along with the new model options (and new Fenix E), Garmin has overhauled the software and user interface, introduced a microphone and speaker with Fenix-specific modes, enhanced the mapping and navigation support, packed in a brighter flashlight and also gets all of the good stuff from the last Fenix watches.
Testers Kieran, Nick and Mike have had the Fenix 8 (51mm AMOLED version) on their wrists for a few days to see how it performs and let you know if you might need the new Fenix in your life.
Garmin also announced the Garmin Enduro 3 and you can see our first look here:
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:51 – Price, key features and what’s new from Fenix 7/7Pro
02:55 – The Run Test
18:06 – Initial verdict
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Hey this is mik from the ran testers and This is the new Garmin phoenix8 and as You may have spotted there it now Includes an Amed display now before we Get into some initial running thoughts And that will be from myself Nick and K We'll take you through those key new Details you need to know about the Phoenix8 how it compares to the Phoenix 7 and shed a little bit of light on some Of the new features and design kind of Changes that Garmin has made here and Why it has made those changes so we'll Get into why the Garmin EP is no more We'll also talk about why you might see A case size option missing from the Phoenix range and also get into those Kind of key changes and what will Ultimately be able to roll back or not Roll back to the older Garin watches as Well so this is our initial running take On the Garmin Phoenix 8 let's start with price and with the Phoenix 8 now coming in either AMOLED or Solar versions that does mean a jumping Cost with pricing starting from £949 or $999 in terms of design you'll get the Three usual Cas size options for the AMOLED Phoenix and just the 47 mm and 51 Mm for the solar Phoenix the missing 43 Mm solar Phoenix is mainly due to the Thickness that would be added by Including the new solar charging
Technology according to Garmin there's also now a new Phoenix e Model which sits at £7.99 or $799 and gets all the same software Features as the Phoenix 8 It does though feature an older Optical Heart rate sensor comes in just a 47 mm Size case and lacks the new leak proof Buttons speaker and microphone those new Leak proof buttons are on all other Models to make it better suited for Recreational diving with a brighter and Clearer flashlight now in Toe in terms of new features there's a New speaker and microphone to make calls Over Bluetooth talk to your phone smart Assistant and can also be used to Command your watch to do things like Start tracking or check heart rate There's also a new voice notes feature Which can be Geo tagged Garmin has Overhauled the user interface to help Declutter and makes features like Mapping and navigation more Glanceable new Dynamic roundtrip routing Feature to adjust created routs on the Move if you need to abruptly change your Course it's also adding a new temporary Touch mode to let you switch the touch Screen on before it disa was again During workouts most of the new Interface changes and mapping and Navigation features won't be able to Roll back to older Gins as they are
Built on newer systems along with new Strength training plans and programs you Can follow Garmin also introduces Activity specific workouts so now you'll Be able to see workouts best tailored For trail Runners to add it into your Training when it comes to battery you Can expect big numbers across the board Here with the 51 mm versions Unsurprisingly offering the most Impressive Numbers so I've been testing the Phoenix8 AMOLED 51 mm model the largest Model for the past 4 days so far I've Done four runs with it I also wore the Epic Pro 51 mm watch for about most of The last year and a bit which was my Main running watch for a long time and Terms of the design there's certainly a Lot of similar features across the Fenix 8 and the Epix Pro terms of the size the Weight the bright screen it's a very Familiar experience for me to put this Watch on having worn the Epic Pro for so Long and you know it's a very nice Design very trct design with a great Screen G add some new watch faces which Is nice there's a lot more colors to Pick from and stuff like that I do think That is important you know for a watch Like this with a bright screen it's nice For users think to have a bit more Choice in the customization you have There some small changes to the user
Interface as well which you are all Quite nice and just getting used to Those as well it's also some new buttons On this watch as well to make it dive Proof I would say I quite like the Buttons it's a slightly different Sensation to pushing them than on other Garments but it's not an unpleasant one It's still very you know tactile and Responsive so the buttons are a nice Little upgrade because you're getting That waterproofing without you know Removing any functionality from the Watch addition of the mic and the Speaker I think is a nice touch like It's not something that's going to be Necessary for lots of people but it is Quite interesting to have it on the Watch now I did actually take a call on Watch at one point almost by accident I Kind of forgot it already had it also Use the voice commands to do things like Set timers which is something I do a lot With the Apple watch it's nice to be to Do that with the Gin Phoenix so yeah It's a small but useful upgrade I think For lots of people obviously the 51 mm Watch is a big watch and a heavy watch To have on the wrist especially coming From the 4 and a 965 I was wearing Before but I was used to that a bit from Using the Epic Pro for so long what is Quite interesting is that with the Titanium 51 mm Phoenix 8 it is a fair
Bit heavier than the uro 3 if you're Just looking at the cases even though They are kind of the same size watch of Similar materials so so I think G's done Well to make the uro 3 a lighter option Than the Phoenix overall the design is Certainly very familiar and it's nice to Have a flashlight back on my wrist again Which you don't get with the 4 a 965 so As I mentioned I've done four runs with The watch so far and looking at the Accuracy so far the GPS has been really Really good as you kind of expect from Garmin I've used it in multiband and Auto Select mode and yeah have had no Concerns at all with the trailers it's Produced the pacing I've seen compared To the 4 and a 965 and indeed the uro 3 I've had very similar information from All few watches and looking at the GPS Traces they look pretty much spot on on The optical heart rate monitoring so far Has been okay for me on easy runs and a Long run I did I've not seen anything Too glaring I did do one Hill session With the watch where I was doing uh 16 Times 30C reps up and down I was wearing A the waho tracker chest strap connected To my 4965 and you know that very Clearly shows the up and downs of a Session like that which was missed a lot More by the optical tracking on the Phoenix 8 it's kind of what I expect From Optical tracking I never found it
That accurate for those kind of sessions For me especially with a big heavy watch Like this on my thin wrists but like I Say on the easy runs on the long run I Did in the hills in Scotland it was Mostly pretty much in line with the Heart rate chest strap so so far it's Been more or less the usual story on Optical tracking but we'll do more Testing on that has got the new as Sensor which I did find pretty good on The Epic Pro and the Garin Phoenix 7 Pro But for the most part I am someone who Usually uses a heart rate chest track I Don't tend to get amazing results from Obstacle heart rate tracking battery Life on the longest run I've done with The watch so far which is 2 hours and 20 Minutes it drained at a rate of 2.67% an Hour I was looking that on the DC rain Maker analyzer which is a very handy Tool that would bounce out to around 37 1/2 hours of multiband GPS tracking Which I think it's pretty amazing for an AMOLED watch with the screen always on Not sure what the exact battery figures Are yet and this early in testing I Would say most of the results taken with A little bit of a pinch of salt I would Prefer to do a couple of you know full Charge cycles with the watch and see how It settles down a bit but my overall Impression so far is that like the Epic Pro largest model it's a very
Long-lasting watch for an AMOLED watch I've been wearing at the same time as The uro 3 which I've been testing as Well and you know obviously the Phoenix AMOLED is draining faster than that Watch but it's not draining that much Faster either in runs or outside of runs I do think these Amed watches especially One as big as this are getting very very Good in terms of battery life and I've Had the screen always on as well the Whole time not just during activities I Think if you turn that to rageed to wake Outside of your runs you are going to See you know a lot of battery life in This watch but we'll talk a lot more About that in the full review so ter of My running time and experiences with the Phoenix 85 had it for a few days managed To do a couple of runs play around with Some of the features or new features That are here and you know ultim get a Sense of what Garmin has got here with This latest Phoenix now I've got the 51 Mimer version I've got the AMOLED Display version now I have used the Gin Phoenix 7 and 7 Pro I've used the Epic Gen 2 and the Epic Pro but I haven't Used the Epic Pro 51 mm version which Effectively this is going to replace now Having a big display a big AMOLED screen Color screen is very nice ultimately Overall it's nice and bright you know It's vibrant you know the colors are
Accurate it's a very good quality am Screen it's very responsive to touch all The things that we've seen from gin's AMOLED screen so far are really retained Here on the um Phoenix uh 51 mm version There are some changes in terms of the Design in terms of the buttons obviously Those are design changes that are Designed to make it better fit for kind Of recreational divers so that's not Going to be something that's going to Really be a massive concern to me but in Terms of those buttons being still very Easy to use and you know the preference Being having more physical buttons as Well of that touchscreen display those Are all good things for me so yeah from A design point of view all seems pretty Straightforward for me in terms of my Experience um in terms of the running Performance now as I said I've done a Couple of runs so far my first one was a Kind of a relatively uptempo 10K with it And I used it against the Garmin 4 965 And it's kind of top multiband mode and I use that with garmin's HRM Pro chest Track monitor to test the heart rate Mon And accuracy from a GPS point of view it Largely matched up in terms of distance Tracking in terms of that kind of Average pace all the kind of things I Expect to see but that kind of raw data Looks generally pretty good to me the Heart rate data wasn't fantastic I mean
It wasn't terrible but it definitely Didn't match up to a heart rate M to Chest trap that I was testing it against It was mainly on the average heart rate Readings where and particular if you Look at the graphs it looks like there's A little bit more of a dip there um and Just you know generally what I expect to See from a bigger kind of Garin watch in General that's kind of my experience the Optical sensors seem to struggle a Little bit more for me compared to the Smaller ging watches and those Optical Sensors so yeah a little bit of a Difference there in terms of that I had A little bit of a play around with the Mapping as well looking at how the maps Kind of are presented and that all looks Very good there's a lot happening in Terms of the overhaul of the user Interface here which has been starting To happen or it's kind of evolved or Been you know kind of introduced on Other guming watches and now it's coming To the Phoenix 8 and obviously the injo 3 as well too I definitely think I'm a Bit on the fence in terms of the changes With the uh the u i now where you're Pulling in or giving a better kind of Prominence to the apps uh in the kind of Activity tracking screen where the Activity tracking screen or the activity Kind of jump off is at the top of the Screen I think when you get into that
Screen and then you want to you know Generally I would go and look through my Training sessions or you know my Navigation features it's not as Straightforward I think I'm still Playing around and getting used to how That ultimately works it's very it's Definitely easier to kind of swipe Through data fields before you get Moving look at your music controls but In ter terms of maybe accessing those Workout training navigation features That you would normally do from that Screen I am not sure I'm convinced about The changes on that front so yeah those Are definitely some things I'm Definitely going to have to going to Work on in terms of my experience so far Obviously one of the big features here Is the improved voice features you're Getting a microphone and speaker here Which we've seen on other ging watches Now those are going to be used for the Same types of things so letting you make Phone calls you know letting you access Your smartphone assistant but there's a Couple of extra features that are really Kind of specific to the Phoenix range so Having the ability to do geo tags kind Of voice notes um and you can only Really listen to them on the watch it Doesn't save with your kind of you know Activity summary just yet I think that Is going to come I think that is the
Plan ultimately and then you have those Kind of phone free um kind of voice Commands which allow you to kind of Start tracking ask for your heart rate Things we've kind of seen in other you Know SmartWatches ultimately which gives You shortcuts to features on your watch So those are potentially could be nice Features for people um the flashlight is You know I know everyone loves the Flashlight that is now that's been kind Of slightly adjusted in terms of the Brightness just being you know having Less of a tint and just being a little Bit clearer so if that's something that You were looking for from the flashlight On the new Phoenix that is Ultimate You're going to get in terms of the Battery life performance I think um yeah I said I've done two runs so far I did a I did that 10K run and I did a kind of Longer 2hour run next to the urro 3 and It's kind of multiband kind of mode as Well also using some of its routing Navigation features that are also Available here on the Phoenix 8 what I Found from that same 2hour run I saw a Drop of 5% and it was kind of 6% on the Injury F probably playing around a Little bit more settings on that watch For that run but for me that feels like That's a pretty good performance and I Think that's kind of what we saw with The 51 mm version of the Epic Pro it
Really has shown it's pushing those Numbers in terms of that battery Performance I am seeing kind of a bit of A bigger drop off compared to the urro 3 Dayto day and that's kind of what expect To see because it's an Amo display and I Have been using it in the kind of rais To wake mode so not the always on Display I will be looking at that Further into testing but in terms of Batter performance that's pretty good Showing I would say off two hours off Running so yeah I think there's some Interesting kind of new features here on The G phoenix8 I think the core tracking Looks pretty good to me the battery life Looks good as well I think the interface Changes I think those are going to be Things I'm going to definitely have to Get used to but generally a yeah an Interesting first few days with the Garmin Phoenix 8 so I've got the Garmin Phoenix 8 AMOLED solar 51 mil in for Testing quick word on design it's a Great looking watch Straight Out of the Box beautiful to look at it's big rugged Shiny classically Phoenix I'm a fan of The kind of silver titanium frame here And the orange flashes I like the color Of the band actually I would prefer an Ison you can kind of choose those I Think when you purchase it's a heavy old Watch not for the dainy wristed but that Is classic kind of Phoenix stuff I find
The buttons really pleasing to use There's almost a spring to them with a Small vibration for feedback it's a Small thing but it just feels good it Feels nice the interaction feels good The screen is excellent as well it Really brings your metrics maps all of Those tools to life it's a marked step Up from the regular screen that you Would get on the old Phoenix or in fact The Enduro 3 still think it's a nice to Have rather than a must have but it is Great the touch screen is responsive It's rapid when you're scrolling tapping And swiping through the screens there's No lag here so far for me anyway I found It really nice to use this watch ticks All of the design boxes that you get With the fenex and if you like that then I think you just going to like this just The same there's an important interface Change here when you hit the top right Button on your garment it usually takes You to your list of sport modes now You're going to land on a screen with Activities as an option above a list of Other tools that you can customize for Quick access to Maps phone music things Like that so there's an extra click here To get to your run but it's easier to Dip into those other things and and work With those it's another nod though that Garmin is moving in the Smartwatch Direction the addition of the mic the
Speaker for calls feels like a big step For Garmin it really feels like they're Quickening the pace with those Smartwatch skills to close that gap on Apple and the other classic smart Watches our running watches are going to Get smarter the voice commands tool is Very clever though you can't summon like You can with sir you have to tap a few Buttons to get there I not sure it's Much faster or easier than doing it Manually but I do kind of like it in Theory Garmin is taking big strides here Voice notes I think are cool too I've Always wanted a way to record those kind Of Bonkers thoughts and the clever ideas That pop into your head Halfway Around The Run that you think I'm always going To remember those when I get back and Then the minute you stop they're gone You've now got that option here I've got This great idea that I've come up with During my run that I always forget I Always think I'm going to remember it But I never do I've got this great idea That I've come up with during my run That I always forget I always think I'm Going to remember it but I never do the Screen here is also absolutely stunning So when it comes to battery life in the Very limited testing so far that I've Done here's what I found in 2 days I've Burned around 14% General usage that Includes 3 hours of GPS running an
Average overnight burn was 1 to 2% That's how much it was leeching whilst I Was asleep a 90minut run in normal mode Burned 3% while a 90minut run in Max Accuracy mode also interestingly burned 3% as well again when it comes to G GS And heart rate accuracy we've had Limited testing time so these are just Some initial findings from a couple of Early runs so GPS then we've got the Gin Phoenix 8 in purple we've got the Garmin And Juro 3 in the turquoise and we've Got the gin and Juro 2 strapped to a Waistband so it shouldn't do as well in The brown overall on this run it's not Particularly tricky it's not hugely Built up and actually most of them Perform really well they track quite Closely they are going a little bit wide In places here as I do some Crossings But it's got me on the PS pretty nicely It's got me on the right side of the Road for a lot of it yeah mainly these Are quite good it has cut off a little Bit going on to Q Bridge I'm going to Swing you over here to one of the bits That I often do just to see how it copes Which is a big underpass this is a Series of sort of tunnels under the big Road here in West London and as you can See none of them have handled this Particularly there's a little down and It sort of switches across and then There's a little switch back but they've
All gone pretty Haywire there nothing Has coped particularly well maybe the Garmin and Juro 3 has coped a little Better than the Phoenix 8 but overall With this performance I'm pretty pleased With how these have all done with that Max accuracy mode they've stuck pretty Closely there isn't too much out of hand Here they they all look pretty solid so Yeah on GPS I would say that's um a Pretty good performance so let's have a Quick look at the chart for the heart Rate for a 7 mile run it was a bit of a Mixed paac in here lot of it quite easy But there was a few shifts in gear we've Got the ginjo 3 and the turquoise we've Got the gin Phoenix 8 in the purple and Then we've got the h10 paired to a ginjo 2 in the brown I think the Garmin Phoenix 8 here it kind of does there are Moments where it's Riding High higher Than the chest trp initially in this Beginning period you can see that it was Reading you know a good sort of 10 beats Per minute if not more higher than the Chest trap but actually after that There's good broad agreement here and I Think the Garmin Phoenix 8 does a good Job of tracking the chest strap actually Much better than the Garmin in Duro 3 Which struggles from time to time but There's broad agreement overall with the Garmin Phoenix 8 Optical right the way Through maybe a few little bits here
This in this section here I actually Stopped and had a chat with a friend That I bumped into as you can see as I Get going again the Garmin Phoenix a and The Enduro struggle to pick up that kind Of start in activity again you can often Get that when you start runs from Optical heart rate centers they tend to Sort of take a while to settle down but Overall I think the performance here for The Phoenix 8 is pretty solid it looks To me from this one that it's slightly Better than the Garmin in Juro 3 as Well first impressions then well this is Unmistakably Phoenix Garmin hasn't Messed with the fundamentals of big Rugger design comprehensive range of Features and insights and a good balance Of battery life that's enough to suit Most Runners when it comes to tracking Insights and navigation if Garmin tracks It or has a tool for it it's on this Watch as you'd expect for that premium Price there are some really interesting Updates here as well though the big Change obviously being that large AMOLED Display it's only a matter of time Before that rolled from the epics over Onto the Phoenix and it really punches Up all of your stats and the maps and Navigation tools I don't think you miss It necessarily until you've experienced It or you've used it I've been using it Side by side and when you do that you
Kind of see the difference over the Enduro but I personally wouldn't feel The urge to upgrade if I already own a Phoenix 6 or 7 just for the screen but That's me but what's most interesting Here I think is that garmin's watches Have been getting smarter with each Generation and this Phoenix 8 takes some Bigger steps in the Smartwatch direction For sure with those voice commands calls Via connected phone and messaging to Other Garmin users accuracy so far in Terms of GPS and heart rate seems solid But more on that in the full review Battery life also looks to be nicely Long there's a notable shift in price Though and whether the new bells and Whistles stack up to that extra outlay Over the previous generation Phoenix Watches or an epic that's something that I'm really Keen to to challenge for our Full review but much more testing is Needed before we give that verdict early Impressions of the watch is it's another Very strong top-of-the line Garmin watch I think it's probably the right thing to Bring the Epic line under the Phoenix Name it should have just always been That I'd say like to have an AMOLED and Then a solar charging memory and pixel Option under the Phoenix name is a Little bit clearer probably than Bringing another watch name into the Frey although it's now a little bit you
Know modded by the fact they did have The Epic and now have the phoenix8 AMOLED but you know it's a really good Watch some updates here that will be Very important to some people and not Necessarily that important important to Other people so if you really need the Mik and speaker or then you dive Waterproofing then obviously this is the One to get and it is a little bit better Than the previous models but I think a Lot of the experience is very similar to What you have on the Epic Pro and even Actually looking back to the Epix 2 that Doesn't have a flashlight all the Different size options which obviously Might be a big thing for some people I Really like the flashlight myself but at The same time the Epic 2 still has the Core features the bright screen the Really nice design you know lots of Software updates have happen to that Watch and I think that's going to be the Better value option for someone looking For a top-of-the line Garmin with an AMOLED screen looking at the prices of These top garments these days that you Know it's really really high I think There's always going to be better value To be found on looking at older models In sales and that kind of thing but if You do want the latest and greatest and You're coming from upgrading from an Older Phoenix then the Phoenix AMOLED is
A nice little update on the previous Watch you're just looking at the core Features especially for runners who Don't need a flashlight or a bigger Watch which you know are nice things to Have especially the extra battery life The epics 2 I think will give you a lot Of that at a lower price but we'll talk A lot more about this kind of thing in The verdict of our full review in a few Weeks so some initial thoughts on the Gin Phoenix 8 and I would say it is like A lot of Phoenix watches a lot to take In there's a lot of features here There's a lot going on but I think from A kind of core run tracking experience It looks all very good to me so far from A kind of GPS heart rate monitoring and A kind of battery life side of things I Think you know the heart rate monitor Doesn't look massively improved for me But you know obviously you're always Going to have that ability to pair an External sensor here I think when you Look at some of the kind of software Changes with a lot has happened here I Think I'm definitely getting to grips With the kind of changes in the Interface and whether I think those are For the better or whether maybe things Didn't need to be changed but I think I'm definitely kind of on the fence with That so far and then obviously you know A lot of the things kind of the routing
The mapping navigation the voice Features are those worth that kind of Extra spend over the kind of previous Version Phoenix watches and also the Epics as well too I think what I'm Feeling is when you look at the price You look at what you're getting I think There is an argument to say you could Still go for the older Garmin epics Pro Even the Gin epics Gen 2 get a really Strong experience I think go for that Multiband version if you you know one That has a multiband support and has That kind of I think particularly a Bigger size which is going to give you That better battery life from an amolad Um kind of Garmin obviously there is Still the Garmin for the n65 it doesn't Have that rugged kind of design but it Still gives you that good Amed Experience and the kind of core running Experience that is very good and solid Overall just not going to give that Level of battery life that you're going To get on these Phoenix watches as I Said it is a very expensive watch you Really have to be sold on all of those Features and I think ultimately if you Didn't massively care about the speaker And microphone I think if you didn't Care about uh some of the kind of extra Routing kind of features navigation Features because ultimately what Garmin Has said is that a lot of the kind of
Graphical kind of interface things some Of the routing navigation things that They've introduced here won't be able to Roll back to the older garments because Ultimately it's built on new code has Built on a new system now the other Watch that does offer that support is The Phoenix e now the Phoenix e doesn't Support the same or doesn't offer you The same Hardware so not the same heart Rate sensor not the same um kind of in Terms of that kind of size options that You're going to get on the Phoenix Watches um the display as well it Doesn't quite match up but in terms of That core software performance it's Going to be the same and that's sitting At the price of things like the Apple Watch Ultra which may be a reason to go For that one watch if you really don't Want to spend that big money and still Want an AMOLED Garmin but I think if you Want all those features then ultimately You're going to have to pay for it here And I think I think from what it looks Like you are going to get a strong Experience whether those extras over the Previous versions really are going to Make a massive difference in terms of Experience and make it worth the upgrade That's definitely something to be Decided as yet but so far I've had a Good few days with the gy Phoenix 8 and The Amed version the 51 mm version is
Very nice to wear and you've got a Lovely Amed screen on there which I Enjoyed using and interacting with so Far okay so there you have it some Initial thoughts on the Garmin Phenix 8 Obviously plenty more test and do we've Only had it for a few days we haven't Had access to that Garmin Connect app as Well and there is a lot going on that Garmin has really tweeted here with its Newest Phoenix now if you've got any Questions about the Phoenix 8 or the Phoenix e or anything else we've spoken About in this video do let us know in The comments as always like And Subscribe hit that little bell to find Out about our latest videos and yeah We'll see you the next F test video
