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Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is likely to arrive soon with LTE capability Rather than use a third-party data plan, leaks indicate Garmin is expanding its inReach messenger service In-app code reportedly reveals four new subscription tiers The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro looks set to be coming soon. While it's hard to improve on a five-star, super-premium watch like the Garmin Fenix 8 , the 'Pro' tag seems to indicate a feature that the standard models don't already have: LTE capability. For the uninitiated, LTE connectivity allows users to connect a device to the internet or a satellite network using a data plan. On the best Apple Watches and best Android watches , this is commonly done by extending your phone's data plan to also include your smartwatch for an additional fee. The smartwatch user can then use their watch like a 'mini phone' of sorts, exchanging messages, accessing internet services such as email, and even taking calls without a connected mobile phone nearby. It seems like Garmin wants to get in on this action. However, new leaks via Gadgets & Wearables seemingly reveal it's not doing this using third-party networks like other smartwatches. Instead, it sounds as though Garmin's going to be expanding its pre-existing inReach service, a satellite messaging functionality accessible on dedicated Garmin devices such as the InReach Mini 2 pictured below, used to find weather information, communicate location, and send messages outside of the reach of a normal cellphone. Rather than streaming music and accessing emails for convenience, the Fenix 8 Pro is likely to be positioned as the best Garmin watch to keep you connected while deep on the most remote trails, able to go places other watches can't – hence the 'Pro' moniker. (Image credit: Garmin) InReach subscription tiers Gadgets & Wearables found, in the Garmin Connect app, lines of code detailing four new inReach tier names: Enabled, Essential, Standard, and Premium . While nothing has been announced, this is likely a new expansion of the inReach service, and rather than allow the Fenix 8 Pro to be tied to a plan from the likes of EE or Mint Mobile, Garmin will be keeping everything in-house. The multiple subscription tiers do, at first glance, raise eyebrows: while you pay to connect a watch to a data plan, multiple tiers means that rather than pay a set price to unlock all the LTE-enabled features on the watch, you're again paying by tier, with features artificially locked behind yet another paywall. The situation has echoes of the backlash to the Garmin Connect+ premium tie r we experienced earlier this year, when hundreds of readers emailed in to voice their displeasure that Garmin was locking features behind a paywall in its fitness app. You might also like... Garmin Fenix 8 users are getting loads of new features for free – including one it should have had at launch A data scientist found the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is more accurate than Garmin, Samsung and even Whoop Strava-owned Runna just launched
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Original reporting: Latest from TechRadar US in News,opinion