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Garmin's next big Fenix 8 smartwatch leaks out with a sleek design and sharp screen

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Aug 21, 2024, 3:26 AM

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Wearables Garmin

Garmin's next big Fenix 8 smartwatch leaks out with a sleek design and sharp screen

After last year's refined Apple Watch Ultra 2 generated positive reviews and (presumably) solid sales numbers around the world and Samsung's promising recent entry in the rugged smartwatch category, the pressure is clearly on industry veteran Garmin to fend off the competition with new and improved versions of its own outdoor-friendly wearables.

Following in the footsteps of a very impressive (at least on the inside) Fenix 7 family unveiled more than two and a half years ago, Garmin is expected to bring a, you guessed it, Fenix 8 roster to market very soon. Based on a detailed visual leak from last week, this is likely to focus primarily on design revisions and a big display technology upgrade rather than more under-the-hood improvements, which might just be precisely what the Fenix series needs to enhance its mass appeal.

Bigger is better

Whether you think that motto is always true or you believe it's not about the size, but how one uses a smartwatch's footprint to deliver the best user experience possible, it's pretty obvious that the Fenix 8 will be bigger and better than its predecessor... where it matters.

Specifically, in terms of screen real estate, with a "standard" edition expected to squeeze a 1.4-inch display into a case measuring 47mm in total and a 51mm (non-Pro) Garmin Fenix 8 model likely to bump that up to 1.5 inches. In contrast, the 47mm Fenix 7 Pro barely offers a 1.3-inch screen, with its 51mm big brother expanding the display size to 1.4 inches and nothing more than that.

The Fenix 8 (left) is pictured next to the Fenix 7 Pro in 47mm sizes here. | Image Credit -- GadgetsandWearables

If the Fenix 8's screen size upgrades over the Fenix 7 Pro don't sound like such a big deal to you, we have a couple of images concocted by the folks over at gadgetsandwearables.com that may well change your perspective. The two aforementioned (unreleased) Fenix 8 variants are depicted alongside their equivalent members of the existing Fenix 7 Pro family, highlighting just how much of a difference the extra 0.1 inches of screen real estate is likely to make from both cosmetic and functionality standpoints.

The larger screens will of course be surrounded by significantly thinner bezels in order to fit into virtually unchanged cases, and more importantly, the display tech itself looks all but guaranteed to go to the next level. That's right, the Garmin Fenix 8 series is almost certainly a high-end AMOLED affair, thus taking on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra in terms of screen quality.

Then again, there's a good reason why the Fenix 7 lineup employs inferior MIP (memory-in-pixel) display technology, and it remains to be seen just how much of an impact this major AMOLED upgrade will have on the Fenix 8's battery life.

Garmin Fenix 8 - when, where, and how much?

You might expect us to answer all those questions with the typical shrug associated with most unannounced smartwatches, but while it's true that we can't know anything for sure just yet, multiple sources are predicting an August 27 launch. A September 3 announcement is also a possibility, which means that Garmin will almost definitely unveil its next big rugged timepieces before the IFA trade show kicks off in Berlin for maximum global exposure.

While we bizarrely don't know much about the capabilities and appearance of any prospective Fenix 8 Pro variants, the aforementioned (and aforepictured) Fenix 8 models are likely to cost €1099 and €1199 in 47 and 51mm case sizes respectively in Europe.

The Fenix 8 looks undeniably better than the Fenix 7 Pro in a 51mm size as well. | Image Credit -- GadgetsandWearables

That's quite a bit higher than the recommended prices of Samsung and Apple's rugged smartwatches on the old continent, and if they prove legit, the two tags could translate to a whopping $1099 and $1199 stateside, making it very hard for Garmin to target a "mainstream" audience here.

On the bright side, the company is also expected to roll out an entirely new Fenix E version this fall, and with a significantly less snazzy design than the Fenix 8 and the same frugal display as the Fenix 7, that's likely to fit in an "economy" class of (rugged) smartwatches.

There are no actual price points predicted for that device at the moment, but August 27 is less than a week away at the time of this writing...

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.