Garmin releases new update with improved navigation experience for high-end smartwatches

Earlier this week, Garmin issued a surprise update for the Fenix 8 and Fenix 8 Pro (curr. $1,199.99 on Amazon). The first new stable release in over a month, System Software 20.29 did not represent the month or so's development that Garmin had undergone with its Beta Program participants.

Instead, the update represented a reversion to Garmin's older development phase with a few key bug fixes that were missing during earlier v20.xx development. This time, Garmin has introduced a new update that pushes current v21.xx development forward. However, the disablement of Aviation, Dive and ECG features indicates that Garmin anticipates more beta development before transitioning v21.xx to its stable software channel.

In a forum post, Garmin claims to have resolved an additional four bugs that existed in Beta Version 21.16 and its predecessors. For instance, the new beta should resolve an issue that resulted in navigation ending when a smartwatch loses GPS. Garmin reports to have issued Beta Version 21.17 to around 50% of Enduro 3, Fenix E, Fenix 8 and Tactix 8 smartwatches enrolled in its Beta Program. The full changelog for Beta Version 21.17 is as follows:

• Fixed Active Navigation loop missing data fields after restoring from a backup.
• Fixed an issue where losing GPS could cause navigation to end.
• Fixed the backup confirmation page to have a three-second wait before confirming.
• Fixed Portal watch face readability when accent colour is red, and Red Shift is on.