Garmin Fēnix 8 AMOLED Evaluation – iRunFar

The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED ($1,000 to $1,200 relying on options, $1,100 as examined in 51-millimeter chrome steel model) is far more than a easy GPS operating watch; it’s in the same class as challengers just like the Coros Vertix 2S and Suunto Vertical. These are watches with usually 30 or extra completely different sport and exercise choices, fabricated from rugged titanium or sapphire supplies with a giant emphasis on mapping and navigation. But the one watch on this class thus far to supply an AMOLED choice is the Garmin fēnix 8.

The yr 2024 was the yr of AMOLED for the main manufacturers and legacy watch sequence within the GPS operating and outside classes. All the main gamers — Coros, Suunto, and Garmin — unveiled new watches boasting the attractive and high-definition AMOLED shows, previously reserved for the favored Garmin Epix.

Within the Garmin fēnix 8, Garmin has added an AMOLED model to considered one of its hottest and highly effective gadgets. Take a look again to our Garmin fēnix 7 evaluate to match this new version with the prior within the fēnix line.

AMOLED requires a number of battery energy in comparison with its Reminiscence in Pixel (MIP) counterparts, so whereas the development in GPS operating watches is to supply longer and longer life — principally with MIP shows — Garmin, and to a lesser extent Coros and Suunto, with the Coros Tempo Professional and Suunto Race and Suunto Race S, are discovering methods to supply finest in school mapping, optical coronary heart fee and oxygen sensors, and excessive efficiency GPS recording with out sacrificing a lot battery longevity whereas nonetheless delivering the AMOLED show enhancements.

What I’ve lengthy appreciated concerning the Garmin fēnix sequence although is its capacity to switch my cellphone. It syncs to streaming service Spotify, comes totally loaded with labeled maps, and has the most effective, most intuitive person interface of any watch I’ve examined.

The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED stays aggressive with the Coros Vertix 2S and Suunto Vertical in battery life, however it comes at a quite massive value enhance. The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED is about $300 greater than its class rivals, with roughly the identical battery life, however a greater show and singularly provided options.

Learn on to search out out if the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED is value the additional value while you’re contemplating a purchase order of a really well-rounded outside sports activities watch that can be utilized for ultrarunning. We additionally suggest you take a look at our finest GPS operating watch information, the place we rated this watch among the many different prime watches.

Store the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED Show

The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED display screen is additional vibrant, and paired with an anti-glare coating, it’s simpler to learn, even when the solar is instantly overhead. That is essential while you’re out within the mountains or deep in a canyon and don’t wish to be fiddling together with your watch to see the info. That brightness degree is adaptive too, so it adjusts relying in your surroundings, whether or not you’re within the shade or instantly beneath the solar.

The display screen is sharp, clear, and readable in virtually any situation. The upper decision makes textual content and icons pop, so that you’re not left squinting at small particulars while you want them most. One of many challenges with any watch in vibrant daylight is glare and this has been a specific knock towards AMOLED shows traditionally.

For top output sport watches for ultrarunners, AMOLED shows was a difficult proposition. Certain, it seems to be stunning and makes your previous watch appear to be a relic, however it comes at an enormous value to battery life. Or it used to.

AMOLED tech produces richer, extra vibrant colours and deeper blacks — the sort of distinction you don’t get with a standard MIP display screen. When you’ve used the Garmin fēnix sequence prior to now, or watches from the opposite main manufacturers within the GPS operating watch class, you’ll instantly discover the distinction.

This adjustment out of the field may be considerably annoying although. Usually, you wish to maximize battery life, which implies using inner battery saving options, like dialing again the display screen brightness and limiting power-hungry options when it is advisable stretch that final little bit of juice, however it’s the adaptive brightness that may generally hinder your expertise.

Take into consideration when doing intervals, observe reps, or actually any exercise state of affairs while you wish to test your tempo or another information rapidly. There may be severe lag between turning your wrist upward and the display screen turning into totally illuminated. This may be abated by turning on the always-on show choice in your particular exercise, so that you simply received’t must faucet the display screen or elevate to wake the system each time you wish to test your time, tempo, or altitude. However, particularly on lengthy runs, this will likely be a serious battery hog.

The display screen alone might warrant runners buying the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED over the still-exceptional Garmin fēnix 7, however the fēnix 8 AMOLED in addition to the Garmin fēnix 8 Photo voltaic ($1,100 to 1,200) additionally get some spectacular new options. I’ve all the time appreciated how shut the fēnix line involves killing off my smartphone dependence whereas operating, providing great options like offline Spotify streaming and the most effective mapping of any sports activities watch, making it simpler to only depart your cellphone behind totally — a minimum of on daylight runs in public locations, the place you don’t really feel such as you want a cellphone for security.

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED Measurement, Weight, Look, and Really feel

The earlier two variations within the fēnix line weren’t slight gadgets, however the 51-millimeter Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED by comparability appears much more gargantuan. Thankfully, the watch can be provided in 43- and 47-millimeter circumstances, however I examined the 51-millimeter model. This does appear higher suited to my body at 6 ft, 4 inches in top, however even I wrestle to search out it completely snug for all-day put on. The load of my stainless-steel check unit is 102 grams.

Garmin has by no means had the panache of Suunto from a design and person interface perspective, however, particularly with an AMOLED model, Garmin’s appear and feel is way improved, veering away from the Android/open supply comparisons of previous to a barely extra fashionable and complicated coloration palette throughout the customizable shows and menus.

Possibly my greatest gripe concerning the watch’s really feel is the button sensitivity. The watch maintains a prime and backside proper button format, and a prime, backside, and center button on the left. The issue is that they are often very mushy. They merely require an excessive amount of specificity for my liking and in comparison with different watches in comparable settings. With gloves over your fingers, it may be additional tough to begin and cease an exercise or navigate utilizing the buttons. Alternatively, the touchscreen performance when not carrying gloves could be very stable.

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED Voice Instructions and Notes

In a nod to Siri and Alexa, the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED will get voice command capabilities, permitting you to begin a run, a nap, a timer, and plenty of different choices by holding the beginning/cease button on the highest proper and talking into the system. The voice recognition app opens in the same technique to Siri by listening then enabling your command. Among the key voice instructions are:

• Begin or cease an exercise;
• Pause your run;
• Alter settings like display screen brightness, don’t disturb mode, or music playback with out having to navigate via menus — I actually like this notably when utilizing my Spotify playlists, so that you don’t must click on via the cumbersome screens; and
• Activate particular options, just like the flashlight or stopwatch.

The fēnix 8 AMOLED additionally integrates together with your cellphone’s voice assistant, corresponding to Siri for iOS or Google Assistant for Android. This implies you need to use your watch to ship textual content messages or make calls, get climate updates, and set reminders or timers.

Whereas it’s not fairly a totally immersive voice assistant such as you get with a sensible speaker in your house, it provides simply sufficient performance to make actions smoother, particularly while you want a fast adjustment or replace with out pulling out your cellphone or twiddling with the watch’s buttons and menus.

Since voice instructions nonetheless require touching a button on the system, it isn’t as seamless as maybe if it was all the time on and hands-free. However voice instructions and recognition know-how convey the fēnix 8 AMOLED ever nearer to its smartwatch counterparts from Apple and Google, and since I often put on the system full time, I truly take extra benefit of voice instructions throughout day by day life for options just like the flashlight or for nap timers and alarms.

Voice notes are one other very cool characteristic that syncs and saves together with your GPS location. On journey runs or whereas navigating new routes it is a worthwhile characteristic for leaving your self reminders about landmarks, obstacles, or variations to route-finding. It’s far more seamless than pulling out your cellphone and recording the main points there.

There may be the helpful new capacity to make the most of the built-in speaker and mic to allow you to make and take cellphone calls out of your wrist when your watch is paired to your cellphone. Alongside these strains, some bank card corporations will will let you register your card and will let you use Garmin Pay for contactless funds at distributors — one other phone-killing perk!

Garmin Fēnix 8 AMOLED GPS Accuracy and Battery Life

One of many stand out options on the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED that carries over however is improved over the fēnix 7 is SatIQ, Garmin’s clever satellite tv for pc reception system. SatIQ is a GPS characteristic that adjusts how your watch interacts with satellites in actual time. As an alternative of utilizing a continuing, full-strength GPS sign which drains battery, SatIQ dynamically adjusts to the circumstances round you.

SatIQ runs within the background to provide essentially the most correct place monitoring when it counts, and conserving battery while you don’t want excessive precision. For instance, for those who’re out on a wide-open path or a comparatively flat part of a race, SatIQ may change to utilizing simply GPS. Alternatively, for those who’re in an space with dense tree cowl, a valley, or rocky terrain, SatIQ will change to pulling in alerts from international navigation satellite tv for pc programs GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo to enhance accuracy. By consistently monitoring the surroundings, SatIQ mechanically switches to the most effective satellite tv for pc configuration in your environment.

The consequence? You get extra out of your watch, particularly on these lengthy days while you want each ounce of battery life to complete a race or coaching run. However it is best to nonetheless alter your GPS-sampling fee (i.e. change between efficiency modes) when it is advisable get essentially the most battery efficiency potential, and also you’ll additionally wish to flip off a number of different battery draining options corresponding to sensors or music playback when full battery life is required for observe recording and navigation.

Actual world battery efficiency stats for the 51-millimeter model of the watch I examined, even with the AMOLED show, routinely provides me round 65 to 68 hours. This information got here via disabling SatIQ and with all satellite tv for pc programs enabled and using the AMOLED battery saving options. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, in Expedition GPS mode, the fēnix 8 AMOLED ought to give about 31 full days of energy. AMOLED shouldn’t be accessible in Photo voltaic variations of the fēnix 8, so in a direct comparability to earlier fēnix fashions with photo voltaic, battery efficiency may very well be a little bit worse with the brand new fēnix 8 AMOLED.

Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED General Impressions

Some individuals will discover that the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED is a consolidation of the most effective options from the Garmin Epix — the show — and the prevailing Garmin fēnix 7 — its unimaginable mapping, battery, well being, and sensors know-how. This could be so, though persevering with to construct on the inspiration of the SatIQ clever satellite tv for pc reception system to comprise and keep battery life at the side of AMOLED is an thrilling improvement, proprietary to Garmin.

The actual selection for a lot of will hinge on how necessary show high quality is for you. I’ve to confess that it’s considerably arduous to return to different shows after spending a number of time with watches which have AMOLED shows.

There’s a large value for this know-how proper now although, so whether it is only a show dialogue, you would go for extra reasonably priced AMOLED sports activities watches just like the Coros Tempo Professional or Suunto Race S. You’ll sacrifice rather a lot from a options standpoint by turning to those different gadgets, and maybe most significantly, for those who worth a watch that may put a ways between you and your cellphone whereas providing a number of the identical options, the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED is a really worthy funding.

Store the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED

Our Favourite GPS Operating Watches

Take a look at our finest GPS operating watches article to study our present favourite GPS operating watches for operating!

Name for Feedback

• Have you ever tried the Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED? What have been your ideas?
• How does this model evaluate to prior variations within the Garmin fēnix line?