Garmin looks set to considerably alter the makeup of the rumored incoming Fenix 8 line, with a set of retailer listings seemingly providing information relating to release date, pricing, and models.
Given Garmin released the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro (Gen 2) mid-cycle updates last May, we’ve been tracking the latest rumors in our full Fenix 8/Epix 3 round-up for much of 2024.
However, the substantial leak – coming from Finnish retailer Multitronic – contains the first scraps of information that appears to be credible. And there are three big key takeaways.
The first is the release date. As shown in the listings below, these are holding pages for the typical range of Fenix models, though the ‘estimated delivery’ (translated from Finnish) is slated for 4-6 September.
A Fenix 8 release date at this time would make plenty of sense, given that the annual IFA tech expo in Berlin is also scheduled for early September.
The second big thing to note from this leak is the pricing of the models – and what this perhaps tells us about the future of the Epix line.
With the 43mm/47mm Fenix 8 appearing in the listing for around €995 (converting to roughly £850/$1,075) and the 51mm version coming in at €1,095 (converting to £925/$1,185), it would seem the pricing is more akin to the Epix Pro (Gen 2) than the Fenix 7/7 Pro.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Garmin still plans to release an updated Epix model that simply hasn’t been leaked via these product listings, and the mark-up for the new generation is more than we would typically see.
However, the third big takeaway – the Fenix 8 branding – also seems to hint at the death of the Epix lineup.
Along with three listing we would typically see denoting the case size (you may have spied that the smallest model appears to be jumping from 42mm to 43mm), there also appears to be an all-new 47mm ‘Fenix 8 E’ model inbound.
As we’ve speculated since reviewing the Fenix 7 Pro last year, it feels very likely Garmin could begin to merge the lineup with the Epix, and this ‘E’ edition could denote a cheaper, memory-in-pixel model.
The listing has it pegged at €797 (£675/$860), which feels more in line with typical Fenix pricing. Meanwhile, the other Fenix 8 models would act as defacto Epix 3 watches, retaining the AMOLED display found in the Epix 2/Pro editions.
As with every leak, we won’t know for sure until we get official word from Garmin – and it’s also important to keep in mind this is the first bit of credible information we’ve seen relating to the upcoming generation. Stay tuned for more as we get it.