Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: Beta program allows smartwatch owners to try out new features and updates early

Garmin updates its smartwatches for quite some time after the initial release. In addition to bug fixes, the company also brings new features onto wearables that have been on the market for a while, including features that have been introduced on its latest watches. Garmin benefits from the technical similarities of its smartwatches, many of which feature similar hardware as well as software.

That said, owners of a Garmin smartwatch can also participate in a beta program. The manual installation of beta software updates via a computer or laptop is not necessary anymore, since registered participants of the beta program can use the convenient OTA update feature on their watch. Naturally, beta versions can still contain bugs and cause some other issues, but based on our limited experience with the Fenix 6 Pro, Garmin’s beta software tends to be quite stable.

Another limitation also affects the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro (from $1,199 on Amazon), which has just joined the beta program and can now be used to try out the latest smartwatch firmware. However, Garmin still disables certain features for safety or even certification reasons. For instance, Fenix 8 Pro users who install the latest beta update won’t be able to use the ECG or diving features. Anyhow, updates for the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro will likely be rolled out simultaneously with those for the regular Garmin Fenix 8 going forward.