Garmin's premium adventure watches undergo two significant upgrades, transcending the mere fixing of bugs.
Garmin has announced a significant update for its top-tier line of rugged adventure watches, including the Fenix 8, Tactix 8, Enduro 3, and Fenix E. This update, part of version 17.xx, brings over 40 new features and numerous improvements aimed at enhancing usability, activity tracking, and system stability.
Key additions include the Evening Report feature, which provides daily insights, Custom Focus Modes for watch face personalization, Garmin Triathlon Coach and Triathlon Race Events support, Smart Wake Alarm, Step Speed Loss metric, Storm Alert Notifications, Stress/Relax Notifications, Suggested Finish Line guidance, Tack Assist Data Page for sailing activities, Temperature Sensor Page, touch access improvements, Track/Road Display Transitions, an Auto Lap by Timing Gates feature, and a new Calculator App.
In addition to these exciting new features, the update addresses several important bug fixes and usability improvements. Two annoying crash bugs have been addressed: one occurring when exiting the Custom Multisport Activity menu before finishing a new activity setup, and the other when accessing Activity Settings from the Main Menu instead of the Activity Stage Page. The bug that stopped Morning Report all-day events from showing up on the correct date has also been addressed in Version 17.25. Shortcuts have been restored so they can exit the Evening Report as intended.
Moreover, glitches with Emoji Zhuyin, Thai, and Japanese keyboards have been fixed in Version 17.25. Previous updates, such as Version 17.23, have taken care of several other long-standing bugs. Both Version 17.23 and Version 17.25 have reached a 100% rollout and may be available for update on your watch.
However, it's important to note that ECG, Dive, and Aviation features are still disabled in this beta cycle and will only return when Garmin is ready for a stable release. If you rely on these features, it might be best to stay on the live software for now or be prepared to roll back if you upgrade and regret it.
To manually check for an update on your watch, navigate to Menu > System > Software Update > Check for Updates. The beta versions (e.g., 17.19, 17.23, 17.25) have been widely deployed to improve stability, fix crashes, restore saved timers, improve touch transitions, add Focus Mode support, and eliminate bugs affecting sleep alerts and activity settings.
Overall, this update significantly enhances functionality and reliability across Garmin’s top rugged adventure watches, preparing for a stable release after thorough beta testing. The upcoming stable 17.28 release is expected to be a testament to Garmin's commitment to delivering high-quality, reliable products for its customers.
[1]: Source for information about the update and its features [2]: Source for information about the bug fixes and usability improvements [3]: Source for information about the rollout status of the updates [4]: Source for information about the availability of the updates for public beta program members [5]: Source for information about the specific bug fixes and improvements in each version of the update
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