new smartwatches to tame nature.

It was from Chamonix, the starting point of the UTMB, the world’s largest ultra-trail race, that the Garmin teams unveiled the new absolute benchmark in terms of connected watches. With the Fenix 8, Garmin has simply assembled the best chips available in a single connected watch.

The American brand thus offers an ultra-durable product (13 days of autonomy with the always-on display, 29 days otherwise). But also very versatile. The watch is able to track our sleep, our blood oxygen level, heart rate. It also offers daily workouts based on our fitness level.

Fenix 8: The Ultimate Watch

But the big new thing about this watch, it is the arrival of an AMOLED screen. For the first time in the history of Fenix watches at Garmin, AMOLED is making its debut. It replaces the MIP screens that were previously used by Garmin. However, it will still be possible to have a Fenix 8 with such a screen if you choose the “Solar” option which, as its name suggests, can be recharged while being worn outdoors.

Thanks to this energy supply during use, the watch’s autonomy can exceed a whole month without having to go through the recharge box. A dream come true for Apple Watch owners who have to monitor the battery life of their device every day.

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Another major change is that the Fenix 8 now has animations to make it a little more lively. One of the main criticisms of the general public about this watch was its austerity. If the few software changes made this year were not enough to please everyone, it shows that Garmin is aware of the problem and is working to improve the user experience in the coming years.

The arrival and presentation of this Fenix 8 nevertheless leave a bitter aftertaste. If the watch is incredible and packed with technology, it could lack innovations for some. Indeed, the technical sheet of this Fenix 8 looks very similar to that of the Epix Gen 2 Pro, released only a few months ago.

Enduro 3: Simply Immortal

The other watch presented today by Garmin from the French Alps is the Enduro 3. As its name indicates very well, the Garmin Enduro 3 is a watch… enduring (no joke). But this is not just a matter of a simple announcement effect. Behind the words, there are actions. Concerning the watch, it can work for 320 hours in GPS mode. That’s 13 whole days. Rest assured, your legs will give out before the clock.

Despite this endurance that would make a marathon runner look like a sprinter, the watch is not a weight on your wrist. On the contrary, it weighs only 63 grams. For comparison, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which has 2 to 3 days of battery life, weighs 61.5 grams.

Prices and availability

With these two watches, Garmin is targeting highly experienced positives, even elites. These products are not designed for everyone, Garmin knows this very well. The choice to present them from Chamonix, a few days during the UTMB, is yet another demonstration of this knowledge of its audience.

But of course, like all high-end products, the Fenix 8 and Enduro 3 watches are not cheap. Far from it. For the Fenix 8, you have to pay more than 1000 euros to afford it in its AMOLED version. We can manage to go down to 999,99 € for “Solar” versions with the MIP screen. These models are available now on the official Garmin website and at selected retailers.

The Enduro 3 is slightly more accessible. It is available now from 899,99 €.