Garmin Fenix 8 51 mm vs. Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) 51 mm
Is it worth the switch?
I owned a Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar Edition until August 2023. Loved the watch. Hated the MIP display.
From Fenix 7 to Epix Pro
The switch to the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) 51 mm was a giant leap when it comes to screen visibility for me. The AMOLED display is great, I didn’t miss the solar functionality, I loved the LED flashlight.
I was hesitant to make the switch to Garmin Fenix 8, as I didn’t see the reasons. It has an AMOLED display, it has an LED flashlight, it’s the same size.
Ok, I hated the fact, that in August 2023 when I bought the Epix Pro, I went for the white/gray version, as I like the look, reminded me of the Samsung Galaxy Watch I used to own. Big mistake. I own 15+ Quickfit bands and only 2 or 3 can be combined with this color version of the watch. Terrible, I know.
From Epix Pro to Fenix 8
So, when on Tuesday Garmin released the Fenix 8 I watched DC Rainmaker’s video about it. What I quickly noticed in that video was the interface was overhauled. Could it be the fonts only? As screen resolution is the same on both watches, 454 x 454 pixels.
What caught my eye in that video was, when DC Rainmaker mentioned notifications right here in the video I noticed timestamps on the notifications. That is not the functionality that exists/existed on the Epix Pro.
Maybe not a big deal for anybody else, but a big deal for me.
I can’t ever remember when we go swimming with the kiddo how long have we been in the pool, so when I pay the entrance fee with my phone, I get a notification about it… while floating in the pool, I always wanted to check on my watch and well, the notification is/was there, but the timestamp was not.
I was able to get a hold of a 51 mm Fenix 8 Sapphire, Titanium with Spark Orange/Graphite Silicone Band on Tuesday, quickly set it up, even tho, you have to re-setup mostly everything on the watch, minus the notifications part for example, what notifications you want to receive on the watch, and your user profile is synced, but custom Data Screens, etc., is all from scratch as there is no real backup and restore from your old device available when it comes to settings.
Experience after 5 days of usage
The watch is completely different compared to Epix Pro.
At first, the watch was a bit sluggish, but I quickly figured out it was because it was downloading a huge update via Bluetooth, as I hadn’t enabled wifi yet (I wasn’t at home when I set up the watch). The update took about 8–10 minutes.
The responsiveness was different after the update, with no issues anymore, but I did notice another update in the evening is available, this one was smaller and took no more than 2 minutes.
So do update the watch the first day and update it at least twice!
It’s way more responsive compared to Epix Pro, my best guess would be, due to the processing power being bigger for the voice recognition.
Do I actually use the voice commands? I do, for timers.
Do I use the possibility of using the phone Assistant (I’m on Android)? I’ve set the keys shortcut to the long-press start button for it and I use it all the time. Only now I have noticed that I really missed this functionality with the Epix Pro.
Some people hate the “new buttons”, I’ve seen some posts on Reddit where they started calling the marshmallow buttons, but I’ve noticed that after 5 days I just got used to them, they don’t bother me at all.
The overhauled interface is something I believe makes a huge difference, it’s more intuitive, more user “friendly”.
A tiny change I’ve noticed and still haven’t found a “workaround” for it: On the Epix Pro, you were able to end sleep by pressing the Start button, which asked you, if you want to end your sleep, on Fenix 8 this doesn’t work. Just throws you in the Activities menu.
Conclusion
So, why, in the flood of all the reviews and Reddit posts about Fenix 8, did I write another one?
Because I’ve noticed a lot of posts on Reddit about people asking if it’s worth the switch.
I’ve answered 2 posts about it, and both times the OPs responded that my comment was what they were looking for, when it came to real everyday use and the difference comparison in the flood of all the comments where people compare the two watches on paper for specs.
I didn’t write about battery life (I’m down to 58% from 76% since Tuesday, with AOD on, HR tracking all day, Pulse Ox tracking all day), as I don’t care about it, in the sense of: if I charge my watch once a week, that’s ok with me.
Do I miss anything at the moment with my Fenix 8? My favourite watchface, Tempestas. I have already contacted the developer, hopefully he’ll release it soon for Fenix 8.