Cheap Garmin Forerunner smartwatch receives major update with new features and other changes

Garmin has kicked off a new round of development for the Forerunner 70. Its cheapest Forerunner smartwatch (curr. $249 on Amazon), the Forerunner 70 arrived simultaneously alongside the Forerunner 170 in May. Incidentally, the Forerunner 170 has received a new update too, full details of which we have covered separately.

For context, Garmin finished v18.xx beta development with the release of Beta 18.29 at the start of September. Less than a week later, the company transitioned v18.29 to its stable software channel as Software Version 18.29. Over a month later, Garmin then replaced Software Version 18.29 with Software Version 18.32, which promised to resolve multiple outstanding bugs.

By contrast, Public Beta Version 19.15 is said to introduce seventeen changes to the Forerunner 70. Of those listed, three are new features of some kind. Additionally, Garmin reports to have shipped ten bug fixes, the full list of which we have reproduced below. On top of that, Public Beta Version 1915 contains four other refinements, including improved swim length accuracy and swim stroke type detection. Please see Garmin's forum post and the changelog below for more details about Public Beta Version 19.15.

• Adds instructions for entering pairing mode for HRM 200/600.
• Changes Auto Lap prompts to announce lap numbers during workouts.
• Changes Pulse Ox App to only block vibrations while taking a reading.
• Fixes activity pause menu navigation so Resume can be reached by list wrapping.
• Fixes alert volume unmuting itself after silent mode is turned on.
• Fixes an issue preventing removal of the Radar Camera Controls data screen.
• Fixes an issue that could cause Breathwork Live Activity instructions to appear blank.
• Fixes battery drain issue that could happen while using Alipay
• Fixes inconsistent Bluetooth headset volume control and volume synchronisation.
• Fixes list becoming stuck when entering Pinyin.
• Fixes missing Find My Device alerts on repeated searches.
• Fixes notifications appearing during high-intensity workout intervals by delaying delivery.
• Fixes the watch not immediately moving a stock up/down in its list when rearranging stocks.
• Improves accuracy of swim length and swim stroke type detection.
• Keeps showing weather data when hitting outages.
• Updates activity discard behaviour for activities longer than 30 seconds.
• Updates move alerts by adding manual snooze options and automatic suppression conditions.