All of the options I wish to see

The Garmin Fenix 7 sequence is likely one of the finest Garmin smartwatches in the marketplace, nevertheless it isn’t with out its weak factors. Despite the fact that 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 incredible show with good indoor visibility and at the least common outside visibility as properly. It additionally was the primary Fenix watch to supply a touchscreen expertise. Nonetheless, its distinction wasn’t the very best and lots of really feel it could 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 improper. Garmin can be no stranger to AMOLED, as illustrated by units just like the Garmin Epix Professional (Gen 2). Including it to the Fenix 8 wouldn’t be an enormous deal, although it might make the value tag balloon up a bit additional. It will additionally make it a a lot 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 straightforward 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 just a few watches with these sorts of options and when you get used to them, they actually do make it extra handy to shortly reply calls once you’re not in a position to attain your telephone as shortly. Actually, I feel this must be commonplace in fashionable smartwatches, as there are occasions when it’s simply simpler to be hands-free.

Flashlight mode wants to come back to extra variants subsequent time

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

Sure, the LED would take just a little extra space 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 per week, relying on the sensors used and you probably have a photo voltaic mannequin. That is actually higher than most mainstream smartwatches, particularly the Apple Watch and most Put on OS units.

So why do I need even higher battery life? Fenix isn’t a mainstream watch and is a lot better suited to train, particularly within the nice open air. That features multi-day sports activities like hikes, kayaking with tenting stops, and different related actions. So extra battery life is an effective factor! I’d like to see it get nearer to to a month, although that will require a particular battery saver mode and would cut 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 overview, as we famous the Elevate Gen 4 sensor was a bit inconsistent at instances. This wants to vary with the Fenix 8. The excellent news is that it’s virtually assured issues can be higher subsequent time round, because of the Garmin Fenix 7 Professional. This newer variant makes use of the Elevate Gen 5 sensor which we discovered to be rather more correct.

Odds of getting a brand new Garmin Fenix quickly are beginning to really feel stronger than ever, and the most recent 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 potential early peek on the {hardware}, with the publication of what positive look like some official-looking renders:

Whereas the supply behind these doesn’t share a ton on the subject of {hardware} particulars, we do at the least get an replace on one in every of our greatest 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 can be joined by a smaller 42mm 8S variant.

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

We’re additionally wanting ahead to the opportunity of getting an all-new Fenix mannequin this yr, with the identical supply additionally leaking some pics and particulars a couple of Garmin Fenix E:

With this one, we’ve largely simply bought the renders to go on, and the one particulars we’ve heard about it sound extremely speculative. The final vibe appears to be that the Fenix E might 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 yr — like remaining with an LCD as an alternative 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 least two to 3 years between generations, with a Plus/Professional mannequin generally 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 potential the corporate might wait even longer between generations. For the second, at the least, IFA 2024 is wanting like our greatest guess.

The Garmin Fenix 8 might be as little as just a few weeks away, however there’s no assure it’s coming in 2024 in any respect. For that purpose alone, I wouldn’t wait should you’re out there for a brand new smartwatch. When you have 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) should you don’t thoughts shelling out much more. If you would like 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 presents many more moderen options and enhancements.