Garmin unveils tactix 8 smartwatch: Stay active, stay mission ready

Rugged tactical watch offers two sizes, speaker and mic, and rucking activity to keep you ready for any  mission

OLATHE, Kan./February 13, 2025/Outdoor Wire – Garmin (NYSE: GRMN) today announced the tactix^® 8, its next-gen tactical smartwatch. Available in a new 47mm case size and traditional 51mm  size, tactix 8 adds dedicated rucking and dive activities, as well as a speaker and mic to create the  ultimate tactical smartwatch. Built to a U.S. military standard (MIL-STD-810) for thermal, shock and  water resistance and a 40-meter dive rating with leakproof buttons, users can now take tactix 8 to new  depths. And with incredible battery life, it’s easy to always be prepared; the new 47mm AMOLED  display offers up to 16 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, while the 51mm solar model with an  always-on display offers up to 48 days.  

“Whether you train for a mission, or your mission is training, tactix 8’s premium design and innovative features like the new rucking and dive functionality make it the ultimate tactical GPS smartwatch on  land, air or sea.”  

–Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Sales 

Field-ready features 

• Advanced design: Available in your choice of a 51mm or new 47mm case size, tactix 8  features leakproof buttons and a new sensor guard to help protect essential sensors. Premium  materials like a titanium bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire lens are built to endure, even in  the harshest of conditions. 
• Built-in speaker and microphone: Make and take phone calls from the watch when paired  with a compatible smartphone. Voice commands like “start a hiking activity”, “set a timer for 5  minutes”, “save waypoint” and more can be activated right from the watch—no phone  connection required.  
• Dive capabilities: Dive in with a 40-meter dive-rated case and support for scuba and apnea  dive activities. 
• Rucking: This new dedicated activity profile allows users to input pack weight to better  understand the physical exertion associated with rucking. In addition, a new pack weight feature  allows users to add pack weight to various activities like trail running, hiking and walking, which  disables VO2 Max recording when carrying 2kg or more. 
• Ballistic solutions: All tactix 8 units come preloaded with Applied Ballistics® (AB) Ultralight  solver and are compatible with the new AB Quantum app. For advanced solutions, tactix 8 Elite  integrates the AB Elite solver.  
• AMOLED or enhanced solar: Choose between a bright AMOLED display or an always-on  display with a solar charging lens that harnesses the power of the sun even better, resulting in  up to 50% more solar power than previous models¹. Both models also feature refreshed  graphics. 
• Advanced mapping and navigation: Users can view terrain contours on TopoActive maps for  a better understanding of terrain. A newly integrated map interface allows users to easily  customize map layers to get the most out of their navigation. While exploring, enter a distance  on the watch and receive suggested routes to stay on track and on time with dynamic round-trip  routing. 

Lead the charge 

Ready for any mission, tactix 8 is packed with premium mapping features to help users stay on track.  Preloaded TopoActive maps provide multi-continent mapping from around the world while an Outdoor  Maps+ subscription (purchased separately) provides users with premium mapping content, like satellite  imagery, public land maps, hunting units, burn zones and more directly on the watch. SatIQ and multi band GPS help provide superior positioning accuracy—all while optimizing battery life. Before training,  users can create or find existing courses in Garmin Connect and seamlessly sync them to their watch  to get turn-by-turn directions.  

During night operations, the smartwatch provides a built-in multi-LED flashlight, providing quick access  to a bright, steady light in either white or green. While in Night Vision Goggle (NVG) mode, the display  dims to levels functional to the primary user (including those wearing night optic devices) but nearly  invisible to anyone else.  

In sensitive locations, users can utilize Stealth Mode, which turns off wireless communications but still  collects distances traveled and biometric data without recording location data. Leveraging this feature  allows the watch to be used and even upload logged data – while concealing its location, which is  typically visible through popular mobile training apps.  

Train for the mission 

In addition to dozens of dedicated activities like rucking to help users stay active, tactix 8 can help  users power up their body’s performance, endurance and resistance to injury with targeted strength  training plans, real-time stamina tracking, sport-specific workouts and a full range of built-in sports  apps. 

Every morning, a training readiness score can help determine if it’s a good day to go hard or take it  easy, while advanced training metrics like endurance score, hill score, VO2 max, training status and  more can help gauge overall performance². Loaded with 24/7 health monitoring features, tactix 8  includes wrist-based Pulse Ox³, Body Battery energy monitoring, jet lag adviser, advanced sleep  monitoring, nap detection and more. Upon waking, users can receive a morning report that provides a  customized look at last night’s sleep, their training outlook and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Status. All  tactix 8 models are also compatible with the ECG app⁴, an FDA-cleared app that can help users record  their heart rhythm and check for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib) right from their wrist. 

Reach new depths  

The tactix 8 smartwatch is at home on land, air and now sea thanks to its support of scuba and apnea  diving up to a 40-meter depth. The scuba diving activity tracks entry and exit location of dives and  provides divers underwater navigation through a tilt-compensated digital compass and supports  multiple gas mixes up to 40% oxygen. Apnea mode provides freedivers and spearfishermen a suite of  underwater alerts and timers that are designed to help improve their diving and situational awareness  as well as track the location of each dive. Leakproof buttons, also new to tactix 8, allow divers to feel  confident operating the smartwatch underwater without risk of damaging the unit.  

Applied Ballistic integration 

Tactix 8 comes preloaded with Applied Ballistics® (AB) Ultralight solver, giving users access to  advanced aiming solutions for long-range marksmanship. Users wanting enhanced solutions can  purchase tactix 8 Elite, which integrates Applied Ballistics Elite Solver. Available for use with all tactix 8  smartwatches, the new AB Quantum app provides users with profile, target, and ballistic data  management as well as the ability to use a smartphone as an additional display.  

Aviation features  

Both civilian and military aviators will benefit from tactix 8’s Direct-To-Navigation feature, which allows  users to navigate straight to a location or waypoint or use the “Nearest” function to activate a path to a  nearby airport. Additionally, pilots can access aviation weather, including NEXRAD radar, METARs and  TAFs to see winds, visibility, barometric pressure and more directly on their smartwatch⁵.  

During airborne operations, Jumpmaster can be used for three jump types: HAHO, HALO and Static.  Set the watch to dual-positioning mode, and it will simultaneously display two sets of coordinate  systems, such as MGRS and latitude/longitude, on a single data screen. 

Available to order on Garmin.com on February 21^st, tactix 8 models have a suggested retail price  starting at $1,299.99. For more information, please visit garmin.com. 

Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for  adventurers, athletes, off-road explorers, road warriors and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere. Committed  to developing products that enhance experiences, enrich lives and help provide peace of mind, Garmin  believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. Visit the Garmin  Newsroom, email our media team, connect with @garminoutdoor on social, or follow our blog.  

¹ Assumes all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions. 

²Activity tracking accuracy. 

³ This is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition; see Garmin.com/ataccuracy.  Pulse Ox not available in all countries. 

⁴ The ECG app is only available with the latest version of the Garmin Connect smartphone app and watch software. The ECG app is not  available in all regions; see Garmin.com/ECG for availability. The ECG app is not intended for use by people under 22 years old. With the  ECG app, tactix 8 smartwatches are capable of generating an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. ⁵ When paired with a compatible smartphone 

About Garmin: Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN) is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States,  Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin and tactix are registered trademarks and SatIQ, Garmin Connect and Body Battery are trademarks  of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. 

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights  reserved. 

Notice on Forward-Looking Statements: 

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s  current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ  materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed  in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2023, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission  (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at https://www.garmin.com/en-US/company/investors/earnings/. No  forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin  undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or  otherwise.