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Door staff@engadget.com (Gabriela Vătu) - 26 Sep 2026
Stacking the two side by side, the Fenix 9 improves on the Fenix 8 in the following ways:
It has a brighter display.
It has twice as much storage space.
It delivers faster and more detailed maps.
It brings new software features like stamina tracking and Garmin Epic.
At the same time, the fundamentals are strikingly similar as they both share the same starting price, size options, dive rating, health tracking suite, speaker and mic combo, ECG capabilities and flashlight. The Fenix 9 is more of an evolution than a revolution.
If you already have the Fenix 8 and you're content with the features and specs it delivers, it's probably not worth shelling out another thousand dollars for it. If you're running out of storage, have a hard time seeing what's on the screen at times and you're dreaming about a faster map, the upgrade may be worth it.
If you don't own the Fenix 8 but are just looking for a new smartwatch that will keep up with your training sessions and outdoor activities, then the Garmin Fenix 9 is an absolute beast that is well worth your attention and your money.
Here's another thing to help you make a decision. Garmin guarantees critical security vulnerability patches for a minimum of two years from launch, and that window has already passed for the Fenix 8. The company doesn't have a clear schedule we could check, and we've reached out for clarification on this particular policy. But if it does decide to cut off these updates anytime soon, it could leave sensitive information, including that integrated into Garmin Pay, vulnerable, much like it will happen to a bunch of other popular smartwatches.
It has a brighter display.
It has twice as much storage space.
It delivers faster and more detailed maps.
It brings new software features like stamina tracking and Garmin Epic.
At the same time, the fundamentals are strikingly similar as they both share the same starting price, size options, dive rating, health tracking suite, speaker and mic combo, ECG capabilities and flashlight. The Fenix 9 is more of an evolution than a revolution.
If you already have the Fenix 8 and you're content with the features and specs it delivers, it's probably not worth shelling out another thousand dollars for it. If you're running out of storage, have a hard time seeing what's on the screen at times and you're dreaming about a faster map, the upgrade may be worth it.
If you don't own the Fenix 8 but are just looking for a new smartwatch that will keep up with your training sessions and outdoor activities, then the Garmin Fenix 9 is an absolute beast that is well worth your attention and your money.
Here's another thing to help you make a decision. Garmin guarantees critical security vulnerability patches for a minimum of two years from launch, and that window has already passed for the Fenix 8. The company doesn't have a clear schedule we could check, and we've reached out for clarification on this particular policy. But if it does decide to cut off these updates anytime soon, it could leave sensitive information, including that integrated into Garmin Pay, vulnerable, much like it will happen to a bunch of other popular smartwatches.