The first Garmin Fenix 8 details have reportedly leaked via an early listing on a Finnish online store, with release dates seemingly confirmed.
The Garmin Fenix 7 and its AMOLED screen-bearing sibling, the Garmin Epix Pro, are still regarded as some of the best Garmin watches ever released, and we’ve been waiting on news of a Garmin Fenix 8 for several years. Leaker Florian of the Fitness Tracker Test website reportedly spotted the leak on Finnish outlet Multitronic’s store front, which claims the new watch will be launched in September 2024.
The alleged leak also lists the Fenix 8 in 43mm, 47mm and 51mm sizes, which tracks with the Fenix 7’s sizing (I’m currently wearing a 47mm Epix as I type), and colors titled ‘slate gray steel’ and ‘black’ with the ‘w/blk bnd’ prefix, presumably meaning “with black band”.
Florian writes that he believes the Epix name will be discontinued, and the Fenix 8 will pack an AMOLED screen as standard, compared to the existing Fenix’s low-poly MIP screen.
Florian also suggests potential pricing details on his blog, alongside a cheaper Fenix model packing that MIP screen to lower the upfront cost, which is referred to as the Garmin Fenix E. However, the Multitronic leak doesn’t confirm any details other than the dates and model information shared above.
What we want to see from the Garmin Fenix 8
Let’s get this out of the way: the Garmin Epix Pro is arguably the best premium running watch on the market, and my favorite running watch period. It’s amazing, and really does do it all from a running point of view.
A Fenix 8 update would need to bring a slightly updated AMOLED screen in line with the more recent Garmin Forerunner series, an updated heart rate sensor for greater accuracy, and (perhaps inevitably) it will need to bring some sort of AI element into Garmin Connect to compete with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and other adventure watches.
Garmin already makes extensive use of sophisticated personalization algorithms to recommend daily workouts, generate routes for runs and rides, and create training programs. Using AI will just make these processes more efficient, faster and allow extra detail and information to be added.
A Solar model with Garmin’s battery-extending Power Glass technology would also be great – if Garmin can get its Power Glass to work with an AMOLED display.
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matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans)
