Garmin appears set to significantly change the makeup of its upcoming Fenix 8 lineup, with a set of retailer listings seemingly providing information relating to release date, pricing, and models.
Since Garmin released the mid-cycle Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro (Gen 2) updates last May, we’ve been following the latest rumors in our full Fenix 8/Epix 3 roundup for much of 2024.
However, this major leak – coming from Finnish retailer Multitronic – contains the first pieces of information that seem credible. And there are three key takeaways.
The first is the release date. As the listings below show, these are reserve pages for the typical Fenix model range, although the “estimated delivery” (translated from Finnish) is scheduled for September 4-6.
A Fenix 8 release date around then would make a lot of sense, given that Berlin’s annual IFA tech show is also scheduled for early September.
The second important thing to note in this leak is the pricing of the models – and what that perhaps tells us about the future of the Epix lineup.
With the Fenix 8 43mm/47mm appearing in the listing for around €995 (converted to around £850/$1,075) and the 51mm version at €1,095 (converted to £925/$1,185), it would seem that the pricing is closer to that of the Epix Pro (Gen 2) than the Fenix 7/7 Pro.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Garmin is still planning to release an updated Epix model that simply hasn’t been leaked via these product listings, and the margin for the next generation is higher than we’d usually see.
However, the third big takeaway – the Fenix 8 branding – also seems to hint at the death of the Epix line.
In addition to the three listings we’d typically see indicating case size (you may have noticed that the smallest model appears to be going from 42mm to 43mm), there also appears to be an all-new 47mm “Fenix 8 E” model arriving.
As we’ve speculated since reviewing the Fenix 7 Pro last year, it seems very likely that Garmin could start merging the lineup with the Epix, and this ‘E’ edition could denote a cheaper, pixel-memory model.
The Fenix 8 is set to be priced at €797 (£675/$860), which seems more in line with Fenix’s usual pricing. Meanwhile, the other Fenix 8 models will reportedly act as de facto 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 Garmin gives us official approval. It’s also important to keep in mind that this is the first credible information we’ve seen regarding the next generation. Stay tuned for more as soon as we know it.