Garmin Fenix 8 (Pro) LTE – is this the first image?
Initially prompted by an image handed to Gadgets & Wareables, I did some digging in Garmin connect and found a watch resembling a Fenix 8 that boasts a mysterious LTE connectivity option. Can this be right? Does LTE make sense for Fenix 8?
A: Yes. It might.
We’ve already had leaks for the next generation of Fenix 8 – variously rumoured to be either a Fenix 8 Pro or a Fenix 8 Pro microled. These are ironclad rumours, emanating from materials certainly created by Garmin. The new LTE image and the older microLED screenshot images came from my live version of Connect on my iPhone. All these images are real, and all were created by Garmin.
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However, like the image above, these could be elaborate hoaxes from Garmin or simple errors. Other ‘leaks’ that could be deliberate hoaxes from someone on the internet. As you saw with my April Fool’s post on Garmin’s withdrawal of the Connect+ subscription, the best hoaxes are ones we want to believe in, are technically realistic, and are created in a style commensurate with the source.
That said: I doubt Garmin has the inclination to pursue a misinformation strategy.
Why LTE
4G Long-term Evolution (LTE) is a well-used technology found on Garmin 945LTE and the LTE/stainless steel versions of Apple Watch, amongst many others. The emergent standard designed explicitly for wearables is 5G Reduced Capacity (5G Redcap). I expect to see 5G Redcap on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 in a few months. Samsung will use the latest snapDragon W5 chipset with 5G Redcap. However, I believe there are no other wearables yet using 5G, although several are rumoured to use chips in advanced stages of production.
Perhaps Garmin needs to move forward with its existing 4G LTE connectivity option with its high-end watches and doesn't want to take the 5G risk this year? It has experience with LTE, and that is the least risky option.
Other factors going against 5G Redcap and toward 4G LTE are network readiness, chip readiness, power consumption and market demand.
When
I’ve said previously that Connect IQ 8 had new connectivity-related features. It’s also apparent that Garmin’s safety and group features would benefit from an LTE option. Furthermore, the company must surely want to move its watches as much towards being Apple Watch/smartwatch contenders as possible. These and several other factors suggest that Garmin will move forward with 4G LTE or 5G Redcap at some point in the next year or so.
LTE could appear on a Fenix 8 Pro with LTE, justifying the ‘Pro’ moniker.
It’s unlikely LTE will appear alongside microLED on the leaked Fenix 8 Microled watch – if that even sees the light of day this year. A new Garmin watch with two major technologies is a risky move and one that Garmin will avoid.
It’s reasonable to assume that this image shows a feature ready for launch within months. A new Fenix 8 LTE option (non-Pro) could be available within weeks. Or not! There will be a LOT of fireworks from Garmin from May to June. This could be one of them, pushing a Fenix 8 Pro launch back to January 2026 – I bet that LTE is added to Fenix 8 Pro, but I hope I’m wrong and that something else with LTE comes sooner.
For Garmin’s LTE to ever be a real contender against apple watch, it really needs to have eSIM that can be attached to your existing phone number, so it can send and receive SMS messages at the very least, ideally even phone calls. Anything short of that, it’s not going to really pull away any market share from apple. The extremely limited “safety features” their previous LTE products have had just aren’t enough to pique many people’s interest. I don’t know how many 945 LTE watches they sold, but it was few enough that they abandoned the idea of adding it to any other watches for years afterward.
https://the5krunner.com/2025/03/20/garmins-ios-victory-eu-dma-will-disadvantage-apple-watch/
to catch up with apple it needs access to the features i the above post…and satellite if AWU3 gets that this year!
it also need automatic voice control (currently its manually initiated).
I owned the 945LTE for a while after buying it on ebay for half the price and I have to say, it was a sobering experience because it was quite useless for me as I barely used the LTE features and so I canceled the subscription after a few weeks, even though I know other user liked the connectivity. I just hope that if LTE is back on the menu, they will use an eSim that can be activated with certain providers as C.Sco already stated, otherwise it will be probably be DoA.
But if LTE comes, it will give Garmin the opportunity to raise prices again without adding any other new features, so we can finally see a 1500$ Fenix or a 1999$ Tactix 8 ProPlus LTE….
I would expect the venu 4 with LTE first as a “beta test watch” as it’s more of a smartwatch than a sports watch (as AW competition). Venu series is the first to get “smart” features like voice assistant etc. This summer? As it is 2 years since the release of the 3.
Later, early next year Fenix 8 Pro with LTE and microLED screen.
yes, i think that is a likely series of events
i would expect 8 pro this year.
i’m now much less convinced microLED will happen this year
It is visible-> add device-> browse all compatible devices -> Fenix -> Fenix 8 -47mm, amoled-> do nothing untill at the bottom of the screen “Open Troubleshooting” appears-> the click “show me how to pair-> then when watch movie you see LTE popping up at bottom. It is better visible for Amoled then for MIP fenix
awesome.
will add above
You can see a few pixels the the LTE letters when you try the same on the Enduro 3
I’m currently in T-mobile’s beta test for Starlink, which uses 4G LTE. By supporting LTE, the Fenix 8 could then be used anywhere in US (or world with the right plan). There would be no more dead spots in the mountains or deserts.
yep
i think we (someone) has to look in detail at what chips are avaialble in 2025. what physical size they are, how much power they draw and what size aerial they need.
i’d be personally interested to know what sort of range a watch could get with 4glte…obivouly its enough to get up to a starlink satellite!
I have never had the need for LTE, and when I had it in my AW I also did not use it much, but because I do spend a few weeks a year in the back country with a Fenix I would argue the real move is integrating their inReach satellite connections into a Fenix. To me this would be more in line with an adventure watch. LTE seems to me like something a road runner would use more and would be a great feature for a Venu or a Forerunner.
I would use the heck out of a inReach in Fenix design. Love being able to communicate with family while on multi-day backpacking trips to check in or even arrange pickups. Plus Garmin could keep the subscription moneys going as they seem to love to do.
My dream is something like an Enduro 4 with mic / speakers – so a fenix solar I guess – with LTE, 5g and Iridium.
Nice to have would be some very basic browser (for example to check how long xyz operates. Let’s say you’re in the mountains and want to go down by the cable car / mountain railway. It would be helpful to knwo how many time you’ve left until you have to be there. … ) Not a must have, but a nice to have.
I would happily leave the phone at home. Don’t need all that distracting stuff – but staying in contact, at least in an emergency like situation: Great. Plus you don’t lose a watch as easily as a phone.
I don’t personally think InReach/Iridium is realistic on a watch, the existing Iridium satellite network requires a very large and powerful antenna to transmit to their satellites. Other satellite networks are more realistic (starlink, and whatever it is that iPhones use).
But then that poses a problem for Garmin. Do they step on their own feet, essentially killing off their own InReach product line, and all those customers paying expensive IR subscriptions, in favor of adopting a newer satellite network for their wearables? Or do they continue to just not offer satellite connectivity on their watches at all, and let the competition beat them to it? It’s sort of a lose-lose scenario for Garmin, which is why I think they’ve opted to just ignore the elephant in the room.
If I were Garmin, I would adopt Starlink (or whatever) going forward, and Iridium be damned. They’re already losing that battle anyways with most mobile phones these days having some form of satellite beacon built in, it’s only a short matter of time before InReach is completely obsolete, so they might as well just ditch it now in favor of advancing their satellite connectivity on their product lines that do actually have a future.
yes the status quo will evolve, garmin must know that. they eventually will have to decide on what to do with satellite conenctivity.
if it loses a big chunk of Fenix sales and inReach subscription to AWU3/4 satellite watches , what is the cost there? inaction means the hardware sales are lost as well as the subscription
The satellite connectivity for iPhones is still is its “infancies” since it is limited to North America and the EU (and I think not even the entire EU at this point). If they roll it out worldwide, I can’t imagine this will be a free feature going forward. So, Garmin has some time to find a possible solution to the conundrum you described. But I think in the long run, they have to come up with something to catch up to the competition and starlink might just be the thing they could use. The question is, how much more expensive will devices be with that feature and how much will a subscription be and will it offer enough to make people pay extra for it??
Ich brauche eine sportuhr und kein Telefon. Das lasse ich zuhause. Dann brachte man wohl auch kein LTE usw.
Depends…if you only walk your dog around the block, the phone might distract you from doing your civic duty picking up our dogs droppings, so by all means, leave it at home! But if you go on a 100km bike ride, taking your phone just might be just common sense in case something happens…in this case a LTE connected watch could be a boon to you.
Danke für Ihr Kompliment. Es braucht wohl mehr als nur ums Haus um ein top Marathon Läufer zu sein. Und für gute Qualität brauchts davinitiv kein Telefon.
Aber in ihrer schönwetter fährt natürlich schon den stava und insta und ko müssen sicher alles wissen.