Garmin: New update introduces voice note improvements for high-end smartwatches

Garmin has delivered yet another beta update for the Fenix 8 and Fenix 8 Pro (curr. $949 on Amazon). The thirteenth in this development cycle, Beta Version 23.30 directly replaces Beta Version 23.28, which landed on September 4.

As we discussed at the time, Beta Version 23.28 succeeded Beta Version 23.27 with five overarching changes. By contrast, Beta Version 23.30 brings two new improvements to the Fenix 8 series, as well as the Enduro 3, Fenix E, Quatix 8 and Tactix 8 that Garmin maintains on the same Beta Program.

On the one hand, the new beta contains new fixes for what Garmin describes as ‘minor issues’. Unfortunately, it continues to avoid detailing what these issues were or how it has fixed them. On the other hand, Beta Version 23.30, fixes an issue when recording voice notes while connected to earbuds.

At this stage, it remains unclear when Garmin will transition v23.xx beta development to its stable software branch. However, Dive and ECG functionality remain disabled on Beta Version 23.30. Typically, this indicates that Garmin intends to launch at least one more beta build before moving to a major stable release. Please see the company's forum post for more details.