Garmin releases mysterious new update to mid-range smartwatch before broader rollout

Garmin has delivered an unusual update for one of its older Forerunner smartwatches. Specifically, the company has announced the release of Beta Version 27.03 for the Forerunner 165 (curr. $199 on Amazon), which must be downloaded manually by navigating through the Main menu, Settings, System and Software Update before tapping 'Check For Updates'.

For context, Garmin tends to update the Forerunner 165 alongside the Forerunner 255, Forerunner 265, Forerunner 955 and Forerunner 965. However, Beta Version 27.03 is only available for the Forerunner 165 at the time of writing. Potentially, this could be because Garmin considers the update at the 'pre-rollout' stage, although it has not elaborated further yet.

Beta Version 27.03 said to feature various bug fixes. For some reason, the company has not shared what these are, though. The same is true for stability improvements that Garmin claims Beta Version 27.03 also features. Thus, it is not exactly clear what this new beta build brings to the table at this stage. Likewise, it is unclear when Beta Version 27.03 will reach Garmin's other comparable Forerunner smartwatches. Please see the company's forum post for more details.