All of the options I wish to see

The Garmin Fenix 7 sequence is likely one of the finest Garmin smartwatches available on the market, but it surely isn’t with out its weak factors. Though a real successor is probably going fairly a methods off, there are some things I’m nonetheless hoping to see when a brand new mannequin does lastly arrive. With that in thoughts, right here is my Garmin Fenix 8 wishlist.

The Garmin Fenix 7 had an amazing show with good indoor visibility and at the very least common outside visibility as properly. It additionally was the primary Fenix watch to supply a touchscreen expertise. Nonetheless, its distinction wasn’t the most effective and plenty of really feel it might have been even higher with an AMOLED show. I agree.

Actually, the Fenix sequence isn’t low-cost, and so paying for a transflective memory-in-pixel show simply appears unsuitable. Garmin can also be no stranger to AMOLED, as illustrated by gadgets just like the Garmin Epix Professional (Gen 2). Including it to the Fenix 8 wouldn’t be a giant deal, although it might make the value tag balloon up a bit additional. It might additionally make it a significantly better watch.

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus first launched a microphone that allowed you to make and obtain calls with out taking your telephone out of your pocket. Even higher, the mic makes it simple to speak to Google Assistant.

I’m strongly hoping Garmin will take a cue from this and introduce a built-in microphone on the Fenix 8. I’ve used a number of watches with these sorts of options and when you get used to them, they actually do make it extra handy to rapidly reply calls if you’re not in a position to attain your telephone as rapidly. Actually, I believe this needs to be normal in fashionable smartwatches, as there are occasions when it’s simply simpler to be hands-free.

Flashlight mode wants to return to extra variants subsequent time

The Garmin Fenix 7X has a built-in flashlight mode. It makes use of a built-in LED mild above the show, between the bezel and the band. Sadly, this isn’t one thing normal for all members of the Fenix 7 household. The Fenix 8 sequence ought to deliver this function to all fashions as it’s one in all Garmin’s most attention-grabbing standout options that isn’t about health or well being.

Sure, the LED would take a bit of more room and add some bulk to every mannequin, however its usefulness makes it value it.

The Fenix 7 has fairly stable battery life and may simply final over every week, relying on the sensors used and if in case you have a photo voltaic mannequin. That is actually higher than most mainstream smartwatches, particularly the Apple Watch and most Put on OS gadgets.

So why do I would like even higher battery life? Fenix isn’t a mainstream watch and is significantly better fitted to train, particularly within the nice outdoor. That features multi-day sports activities like hikes, kayaking with tenting stops, and different comparable actions. So extra battery life is an effective factor! I’d like to see it get nearer to to a month, although that may require a particular battery saver mode and would scale back the usefulness of the watch’s sensors.

The Garmin Fenix 7 is a good watch, however its coronary heart price sensor was a weak level in our Fenix 7 evaluation, as we famous the Elevate Gen 4 sensor was a bit inconsistent at instances. This wants to alter with the Fenix 8. The excellent news is that it’s nearly assured issues might be higher subsequent time round, due to the Garmin Fenix 7 Professional. This newer variant makes use of the Elevate Gen 5 sensor which we discovered to be far more correct.

Odds of getting a brand new Garmin Fenix quickly are beginning to really feel stronger than ever, and the newest Garmin leaks have raised the probability that we’ll see the corporate’s subsequent smartwatches make their public debut at IFA 2024 in Berlin, going down in early September. We’ve even been in a position to sneak a attainable early peek on the {hardware}, with the publication of what certain seem like some official-looking renders:

Whereas the supply behind these doesn’t share a ton relating to {hardware} particulars, we do at the very least get an replace on one in all our largest asks for the Fenix 8, and phrase is that Garmin is certainly transferring to an AMOLED panel for the watch’s show. Dimension choices ought to embrace the anticipated 47mm and 51mm — there’s no phrase but on if these might be joined by a smaller 42mm 8S variant.

European pricing for these two could possibly be as excessive as €1,099 (~$1,205) for the 47mm and €1,199 (~$1,315) for the 51mm watch, however we’re not in any respect anticipating US pricing to return in wherever close to as excessive as these direct exchanges would recommend.

We’re additionally trying ahead to the potential of getting an all-new Fenix mannequin this 12 months, with the identical supply additionally leaking some pics and particulars a few Garmin Fenix E:

With this one, we’ve largely simply received the renders to go on, and the one particulars we’ve heard about it sound extremely speculative. The overall vibe appears to be that the Fenix E could possibly be a lower-cost possibility that also retains the Fenix branding. That would imply that the Fenix E doesn’t get to get pleasure from the identical kind of upgrades anticipated for the Fenix 8 this 12 months — like remaining with an LCD as a substitute of stepping as much as AMOLED. Pricing on this one remains to be up within the air.

• Garmin Fenix 7 — January 18, 2022
• Garmin Fenix 6 — August 29, 2019
• Garmin Fenix 5 — January 4, 2017

Traditionally, the Garmin Fenix line has had at the very least two to 3 years between generations, with a Plus/Professional mannequin typically slotted in between this timeframe. With this in thoughts, the Fenix 8 might come anytime in 2024, as the corporate has no actual consistency so far as the launch month is anxious. It’s additionally attainable the corporate might wait even longer between generations. For the second, at the very least, IFA 2024 is trying like our greatest guess.

The Garmin Fenix 8 could possibly be as little as a number of weeks away, however there’s no assure it’s coming in 2024 in any respect. For that purpose alone, I wouldn’t wait in case you’re available in the market for a brand new smartwatch. When you’ve got your coronary heart set on a Garmin, we advocate the Fenix 7 or the newer Fenix 7 Professional sequence (on the product’s web site) in case you don’t thoughts shelling out much more. In order for you one thing a bit newer with out paying a fortune, The Garmin Forerunner 265 ($449.99 at Garmin) is priced equally to the Fenix 7 ($699.99 at Amazon) and but provides many more recent options and enhancements.