Garmin smartwatches: New feature reportedly slashes battery life in half

Many smartwatches, including several Garmin offerings, feature an integrated microphone and speaker. These components enable Bluetooth hands-free calling without needing a dedicated cellular connection, alongside text dictation and voice assistant integration. Garmin recently introduced a new feature allowing users to trigger this voice assistant using a spoken wake word instead of pressing a physical button.

While some added power draw is expected when a device actively listens for voice triggers, the resulting increase in standby power consumption is surprisingly substantial. Consistent user reports on Garmin's support forums indicate that enabling the feature can cut battery life nearly in half.

That said, context is key: Garmin smartwatches are known for exceptional battery endurance, especially compared to competitors like the Apple Watch. For instance, one user reported that their Garmin Forerunner 970 (on Amazon) saw its estimated battery life drop from 15 to 9 days—a drastic decline, but one that still leaves plenty of runtime for daily use. Users can easily disable the "OK Garmin" activation word in the watch settings, and Garmin may address the efficiency issue in upcoming software updates.