Customer reviews from Garmin
Garmin - fnix 8 AMOLED GPS Smartwatch 51mm Fiber-reinforced polymer - Slate Gray - (2024)
Average customer rating
4.5
(129 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 129 reviews
5 Stars
95
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
8
2 Stars
3
1 Star
7
Customer Reviews for Garmin - fnix 8 AMOLED GPS Smartwatch 51mm Fiber-reinforced polymer - Slate Gray - (2024)
Customer Rating
4
Awesome watch!
on December 2, 2025
Posted by: Scalpel
This is an absolutely awesome watch! However it still has several bugs, and probably for some people is overpriced. I had a high-end competitor's smart watch that accomplished three quarters of the amount that this watch is capable of doing, but was significantly less money. What this watch does extremely well and puts it way above its competitors, is its superior battery life and the ability to track in depth metrics on every sport imaginable for the sporting enthusiast. The high-end competitors watches cannot do either of those in my opinion. Some of the flaws with the watch include intermittent functionality bugs and glitches that require resets, not all metrics counting correctly intermittently, and an absolutely horrible speaker and volume level, though the microphone seems to work well when I use it for phone calls. You also cannot just click on a contact and text them directly unless you use messenger in which case your contact has to have messenger installed on their device. There is a way to initiate a text using your voice using phone assistant connected through your phone, but it is somewhat convoluted and does not always work correctly because the watch will lose the phone assistant connection with your phone frequently even if you've gone through the laborious steps to set it up correctly. My watch has the titanium bezel and it is prone to scratching, but then again this is a sports watch and is meant for being active. None of the flaws are deal breakers for owning this watch, however once again it is pretty pricey. It is still heads and tails above its competitors for battery life and tracking all in depth sporting metrics. I have to admit I absolutely love this watch!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
4
Transitioning from Samsung smart watch
on December 10, 2025
Posted by: Dutch724
I have had Fenix 8 for about 3 weeks. I have noticed the differences from a watch that is dependent on the phone and the Garmin which is like a stand alone (it does not need a phone all the time). I do wish Garmin would have some settings like tell me when I have walked away from my phone or that the focus/dnd & alarms modes work together, but they don't. Maybe one day Garmin will figure out how to have a setting for turning off the adaptive brightness. It doesn't matter how bright you set it, in dim light the watch face dims as well and it is hard to see. It is hit or miss with the other than factory watch faces that you can touch on the face with the features if they will open or not. Other than those things to get used to I am really loving the fact I can go 20 days without charging my watch. I can actually go on a vacation without my watch charger. The watch does take some getting use to but once you get the hang of it, it's something awesome. I do recommend it for active people, it is very robust and capable. Of course I'm hoping with some updates Garmin will get there. If your the type pf person that leaves their phone home a lot then this is the watch for you.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Awesome Features not just a watch.
on December 11, 2025
Posted by: Dj67
I got this as a gift about 3 weeks ago. NI really love it. I also have a Fenix3 HR, but is one takes it to the top of the hill. So many more features.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Long-time Garmin customer.
on December 12, 2025
Posted by: Phil J
I have been a long-time Garmin customer with many watches going back to the Fenix 3. I have been happy with all, and now that I have both Enduro 3 and the Fenix 8. Both watches are excellent, and I use them at various times for my daily needs. However, the Fenix 8 offers the most capabilities for what I hoped a smartwatch would be during my daily use. The AMOLED is excellent, and mapping is crisp. The build quality is superb, and I do not worry about damage to any part of the smartwatch. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a watch that can literally do it all and then some. The other great thing about Garmin is that they still offer updates to my previous watches, so I can say that all my previous watches still work well and have maintained great battery and functionality.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Awesome display!!
on December 18, 2025
Posted by: JoeyTGV
Big upgrade from my Fenix 6. The display is the biggest update!!
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Great watch overall, but recurring sensor dropouts
on December 18, 2025
Posted by: Anonymous
I really like the Fenix 8 overall — the display, features, training metrics and daily insights are excellent.
However, I’m disappointed with recurring sensor connection dropouts, especially during indoor cycling workouts.
My setup is entirely within the Garmin ecosystem: Tacx Flow Smart trainer, Garmin HRM, cadence and speed sensors. Using the same setup and environment, my Edge bike computer remains stable, while the Fenix 8 repeatedly loses connection.
I also previously used an Epix Gen 2 in the same indoor and outdoor scenarios, and this level of signal loss did not happen with the same frequency.
The issue is not limited to indoor training — I’ve also experienced sensor dropouts during outdoor rides.
Occasional dropouts can happen, but frequent and repeated losses on a premium watch are frustrating and affect confidence in using it for training. I haven’t found a reliable solution so far.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
5
Dependable, rugged, life saving
on December 18, 2025
Posted by: Husky300Crash
I got this shortly after it's release in October of 2024. I have worn it everyday since buying it. I've gotten many compliments on it. The features alone are worth it. This watch actually helped save my life. I use the GPS tracking for dirt bike rides daily. I've had multiple close calls on my bike, but this watch was able to provide help to me from the gps, flashlight, and body monitoring vitals. Although it doesn't take blood pressures it was able to show HR, RR, and BPM out of range when I became extremely dehydrated. Showed the way out of remote areas when turned around. The flashlight is perfect and lit my way out of the mountains when my other lights failed. The battery life alone is worth more than any other watch I have tried. I wish it had a few more features for text. Eg. talk to text or write to text. The voice calling failed on mine maybe a function disabled but it's still great. It helped me identify the sources of stress in my life too. There are so many features I don't use. If you question its worth. Don't. It's dependable, rugged, life saving, and lasts for weeks while using GPS, the led light, and texting.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin
Customer Rating
3
Way Too Pricey
on December 22, 2025
Posted by: ElTurko
Long time Apple Watch User, figured to give it a fair trial. Definitely have few nice niche fitness features, however its way too much of steep price difference. There is just no way for me to justify the price difference between the Apple Ultra. If they were at the same price point, than I can forgo some of the Apple integration I missed but for me it was not worth it.
Written by a customer while visiting Garmin