Garmin has just announced an absolutely massive feature update via public beta for the Fenix 8, Enduro 3, and Fenix E watches. This adds in all of the newly announced Forerunner 970 running features, the new Venu X1 features, plus a few totally/entirely new to Garmin features as well. We got ourselves a calculator now!
Oh, and yes, I said Fenix E. Apparently Garmin decided it was better off to give it some love, than sell none of them. Congrats to all three of you that bought one.
With that, let’s simply dive into the newness:
What’s New:
Garmin has outlined all of the features within the release notes for this build here, which includes a huge pile of bug fixes and/or other performance related improvements.
For the list below, I’ve pulled out the ‘Added’ list specifically, and then added notes next to each one where it was notable.
Added Ability to Access Apps List by Swiping Left on the Watch Face: New to Garmin devices.
Added Calculator App: New to Garmin devices
Added Custom Focus Modes: Finally long-awaited expansion of this feature from when they launched it last summer
Added Editing for All Previous Sets in Strength: New to Garmin devices
Added Emoji Keyboard: Specifically for Android text/etc responses.
Added Evening Report Support: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Expanded Morning Report Support: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Garmin alerts to Notification Center: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Golf Range Finder Settings Menu: Not applicable to my wheelhouse of miniature golf.
Added Japanese Kana Keyboard: New to Garmin devices
Added More QWERTY Keyboard Layouts.
Added Multisport Workout Support: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Music Options to Music More Controls Page: New to Garmin devices
Added New Help Dialogs for Breathing Variations
Added Performance Glance Updates
Added Provisional Finish Point Support: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Race Timer Data Field to Sail Race Activity
Added Running Economy Support: Launched on Forerunner 970
Added Running Power to the Lactate Threshold Page: Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Running Tolerance Support: Launched on Forerunner 970
Added Smart Wake Alarm: Launched on Venu X1
Added Step Speed Loss Support: Launched on Forerunner 970
Added Support for Track/Road Display Transitions:New to Garmin devices
Added Tack Assist Data Page in Sailing Activities
Added Thai Keyboard.
Added Track Run Option for Daily Suggested Workouts: New to Garmin devices
Added Triathlon Adaptive Training Plan Support:Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Added Triathlon Race Events Support:Launched on Forerunner 570/970
Phew, got all that?
That’s a huge slate of things, including some interesting ones that are totally new here, like the ability to add a track run as the run option for daily suggested workouts. That’s super cool. Plus, things that were long promised last summer at the Fenix 8 launch, around being able to expand Focus modes to your own custom modes, and much more. Notably, about the only missing feature I don’t see yet is the AutoLap by Timing Gates feature, which came to the FR570/970 and also the Venu X1. I suspect we’ll see it in a future beta version in the coming weeks.
In the video up above I take a look at the new features, including the new Calculator which has a tip feature letting you not only calculate % of tips, but also divide it up amongst a number of people.
I’ll be digging into all these features a bit more over the coming weeks, but figured I’d just give you a quick first look at things.
With that – thanks for reading (and watching), I’ve gotta go and pack for Eurobike, which starts in the morning. Too early in the morning. Hang tight, plenty more to come this week!
FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!
Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.
Support DCRainMaker - Shop on Amazon
Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.
Amazing that the Fenix E gets those features and the Epix Pro/Fenix 7 Pro get none.
Garmins sure knows how to keep their customers happy.
Yep, garmin is done with the epix like yesterdays garbage
To be fair, They are still selling the Epix pro and Fenix 7 pro at full RRP and then putting it on sale advertising big savings 🙄
“teh release notes for this build hereXXX”
I guess you were planning to link that somewhere? :)
Indeed, here ya go! https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/fenix-8-series/f/announcements/415330/beta-version-17-11–check-for-updates-only
Is it meaningful that Garmin skipped an entire major version number going from 15.35 to 17.11b?
Possibly, but I can’t seem to figure it out. I thought maybe aligned to Venu X1, but Venu is on 12.xx at this point.
They skipped 14 already. Strange
Hi Ray – What’s multi sport workout support? Can you create you own group of activities (eg kayak,run cycle) from one activity?
Secondly, with triathlon training plan support, can this be utilised by those of us who don’t do swim training for a more complete run and cycling training plan experience that the existing daily suggested workouts?
Thanks
Ray talked a bit about it in the FR570 post: link to dcrainmaker.com
> Previously, you could only create single-sport structured workouts, but here you can tie together multiple pieces of suffering with specific per-sport structures.
There’s screenshot, etc there.
Thanks Paul
Epix Pro/2 Sapphire top of the line Garmin as a 1st time customer who bought June 2024, and in less than a year learned this would be my last Garmin purchase. Charge more for hardware and continue supporting and pushing updates. Or charge much less and change to micro transactions allowing people to open more feature that they care about from the ever updating code base. Do neither and greatly value your overpriced hardware to about as low as Garmin values their user base (but not their wallets).
Moving a flagship product to a dead product line in less than a year is a surefire way to lose customers. Mission accomplished and now I know better than to continue looking for an Edge successor to my aging Wahoo Roam. Or HRM. Was really happy I opted for Assioma over Garmin power meter pedals, and now it’s icing on the f you Garmin cake.
As an Epix owner the lack of new features, and updates to this watch is pretty disappointing. I get that it’s a few years old now, but this is ridiculous. For such an expensive watch there should be guaranteed updates and enhancements for longer than a few years. This product cycle doesn’t make me want to spend more money on Garmin devices.
Just a note, the smart wake alarm was first launched on the Vivoactive 6, before the Venu X1.
There has been an ConnectIQ Calculator from Garmin wich can also handle currency conversion, the new native one can’t do this.
Where do we find the new music controls?
The road/track display transitions seem to be a cool thing. It’s already in the 970 documentation so I think it’s not totally new.
The most important thing missing is a fix for the navigation crashes with round trip routing.
The way Garmin dropped support fpr the 7 Gen watches and is threating us with subscriptions has destroyed my trust into this company. I will stiil use their devices for now, but my “early adopter days” are over. I am going to wait until I can strike a really good, discounted deal on ebay…NO MSRP for me.
When you know that Fenix E is only a rebranded Epix 2 (non-pro, non-sapphire) … :-(
Coming from a VA4 to F7P, the absence of swipe left/right (customizable shortcuts on the button-starved VA4) was quite a letdown. Buttons are awesome, for some things, but for others that quick sideways flick is so much better.
I really do not understand Garmin.
Since 2021 all the component are quite similar, SoC is the same into all familise and models, Fenix E is a rebranded Epix 2.
But Garmin prefer not to implement a One OS experience, and split there development effort and work over plenty of family products.
The result is a lot work to fix bugs and develop features by product family, etc…
In the same time
– Forerunner 965 is always sold 600€
– Epix 2 Pro 51 is always sold 1050€
– Marq2 also with a price up to 3200€
Yes, a lot of new features. But still no custom datapages for navigation like the Fenix 7 has.
This is very usefull. These Datascreens will only apear in an activity while navigation.
On the Enduro 3/Fenix 8 you have to add the pages in every activity an they mess them up because there is no datas to show when not navigation.
If only genius hackers were as nerdy about sport as they addicted to junk food and Redbull, Garmin devices and their artificially induced upgrade cycles would have been already jailbroken wide open, a custom firmware back-porting all new features to way older devices would be pretty much the norm, and Garmin would be pressed to actually INNOVATE hardware-wise rather than their current enshittified incrementalism.
Instead we get this, while the quality of the software is still utterly horrendous, issue reporting and followup is a complete nightmare, and they keep on piling on activity profiles clearly aimed at US rednecks.
Sad sad state.
No Evening Report?
Haven‘t you read the list?
„Added Evening Report support“
It is right there …
Yes have, 2 times, but i missed it both times. think i have a heat stroke :/
No love for the Fenix 7 any more? I was hoping we’d get another year of major releases…
I’d actually pay to get updates.
Anyone else have update problems to beta 17.11? My Fenix 8 finds and downloads the update, but when installing it shows “preparing” and then reboots to 15.32 without the update
Do Garmin watches, or some specific sub-models have a problem with the altimeter after some time? I’ve had a Garmin Instict for a while and suddenly the altimeter stopped working after they swam with them – reading online it seemed like that other people have had the same problem with various models. Has this been a wider problem as far as you are aware of?
I remember having this issue with my Fenix 3 HR. It was due to the small barometer opening on the side of the watch getting clogged up (or maybe the inner membrane hardening/braking down). Try leaving your watch in warm water for a while then gently scrubbing it with a soft toothbrush.
Maybe consider getting in touch with the Garmin support… they can be quite generous regarding replacement for known issues.
Yeah, ok… I understand that not every Hardware out there can get every software update/feature, but c’mon! A F7P (and Epix pendant) isn’t THAT old yet…?! And I really do think of myself as someone who tries to get both sides. But in this instance? Nope, just won’t get why at least some of these features aren’t coming to the previous gen…Well, Ray has called this out already in another article (if I remember properly) and many other will call it out too, here or on other platforms. I’m just one of many, won’t matter, won’t change anything. I guess it’s just about venting for me… First year that Garmin ist slowly starting to p… me off (subscription service for some GC features that aren’t worth the money AND after paying a premium price for the hardware!? And now they go back to their old “no big feature updates for previous gen devices” path!? Really Garmin…?)
Rant over. Sorry.
only real solution: vote with your wallet.
What the market needs is a proton style company that is privacy-focused, or a home-assistance style project. Garmin, like many (most? all?) US style companies, are despicable their ability of innovating, then ruining.
What I still miss big time in the Morning Report is the nightly RHR.