So Garmin have released the new ‘Pro’ Fenix 8s with LTE and Satellite comms.
Got to be honest, I was holding on to my 955 until this Pro release purely for the LTE LiveTrack, so my wife could follow along on my races, and not rely on the sporadic tracking from the ankle bracelets.
Tried an Epic Pro last year and didn’t get on with the AMOLED in direct sunlight, and so was looking forwards to a MIP device with LTE. Alas now I’m really stuck, its either AMOLED or the eye watering MicroLED behemoth - that appears to only last 17hrs with LTE active, so maybe might not last a full IM day (from getting up, racing and getting home…)
Who else has been keeping their eye on the new Pro models? Which one you going for?
I don’t mind the price (well I do, but I want the live tracking - so what can you do…)
However I’ve just re-read the MicroLED specs and with Multiband, Always On Screen and LTE - we are getting 10hrs battery - that’s not enough for an IM, given the time from waking up on race day, getting there, hanging around, racing and then finishing for the day… what a fail…
I’m re-evaluting my thoughts on buying the MicroLED one and seeing if I can get on with the AMOLED version.
The new 970 / Fenix Pro Amoled is much better btw. I returned a Fenix 8 amoled because I couldn’t read it in direct sunlight (pool especially). I have no issues with the 970.
It’s also not standard LTE. You’re locked into Garmin inReach for messaging; can’t send to ordinary phones as I understand it, only other Garmin users with this capability.
It really is a proper mess the messaging aspect of all this. Apple, Samsung, Google and no doubt others don’t seem to have issues doing a proper eSIM for their watches - Garmin aren’t going to win customers with this offering.
Not quite. DC Rainmaker explains it, you can message anyone, and they can reply. To make a CALL then they need to have the app installed on their phone.