Garmin Fenix 8 owners are unlikely to have had any interest in buying the new Garmin Venu X1 and Garmin Forerunner 970 watches — they already own one of the best Garmin watches, after all.
They should have been paying close attention to those new launches, however. Both the Venu X1 and Forerunner 970 arrived with new features that weren’t yet on the Fenix 8, like running economy measurements and a smart alarm.
Those upgrades are now heading for the Fenix 8, along with the Garmin Enduro 3 and Fenix E, courtesy of a free software update that is now available as part of Garmin’s Public Beta program, and will go on wider release in due course.
There are 28 new features in total in the software update, along with 30 fixes and other improvements for the watches. You can see the full release notes on the Garmin Forum, and if you’re signed up to the Public Beta program you can get it now by hitting ‘check for updates’ in the settings menu on your watch.
I’ve been testing the Forerunner 970 and Venu X1 since they launched and have tried the new features heading for the Fenix 8/E and Enduro 3. Here are the ones you should be most excited about.
Running tolerance
This is my favorite new feature from the Forerunner 970. Running tolerance estimates how much mileage your body can handle in a week based on recent training, and takes into account how hard your runs actually are.
For example, when I did a flat-out 10K race, and the impact deemed to be 15km of running. So my acute impact load for that week was higher than my actual mileage — a helpful reminder that hard runs have more of an effect on the body.
You can use this feature to build up your mileage gradually and safely, and ensure not doing more running than your body can handle in total. While avoiding excessive fast or hard running, which increases your risk of injury.
Evening report
Each evening your watch will now give a breakdown of your day’s activities and things like your stress levels throughout the day, and give a sleep suggestion from Garmin’s Sleep Coach feature, which basically amounts to saying you need more or less sleep than usual.
The report also shows upcoming weather and appointments, along with your suggested workout for the following day. It’s a handy way to get your data from the day shown to you without digging through a load of menus or widgets.
Running economy and step speed loss tracking
To get these new stats you’ll need to use your watch with the Garmin HRM600 chest strap, which enables measurement of your step speed loss during runs.
This shows how much you slow down with each step, with a lower number being better as it takes less effort to then speed up again during a stride.
These step speed loss measurements feed into an overall running economy estimate, which says how efficient you are as a runner.
It takes a few runs to get the running economy measurement on the watch, but once you do it’s another handy way to look at the impact of your training in making you a better runner.
In general, running more and doing structured training will help to improve your running economy, and a more efficient runner is a faster one, because it takes less effort to maintain higher speeds if you’re running more economically.
Smart alarm
The smart alarm feature initially launched on the Garmin Vivoactive 6 and is also on the Venu X1, and basically involves the watch tracking your sleep and waking you up when you’re not in deep or REM sleep so you don’t feel groggy.
You set a 30-minute window when you want to be woken up, and your watch will then detect when you’re in light sleep and buzz to wake you.
As someone who has two young children I haven’t needed an alarm in years, but lately my youngest has decided to sleep in on rare occasions — usually when I need to be up early myself — so I’ve tried the smart alarm.
I wouldn’t say I’ve felt less groggy while using it to wake up, but that could be because it’s summer and I’m generally waking up early naturally as it’s lighter.
Once the dark days of winter arrive it should be a handy addition to my watch, and it will be more useful for those with less consistent sleep schedules.
Calculator app
Turning your $1000 smartwatch into a retro Casio calculator watch is surprisingly enjoyable, and the calculator app available in the update also includes a useful tool to work out tips and split bills between people.
Custom Focus modes
Focus modes allow you to say which notifications you want coming into your watch at certain times, if any.
Standard focus modes on Garmin watches include sleep and activity, and since this update you can now create your own modes to turn on in certain situations, like when you’re watching a movie.
How to get the software update
To get the update now you have to enroll in Garmin’s Public Beta program through the Garmin Connect website. Navigate to your device page there and click ‘Join Beta Software program’.
This will give you access to early updates, but it does also mean that you won’t be getting the finalized versions of that software, so it can mean less stable performance, though I haven’t had any real problems using the program myself.
However, there is a downside if using the program as a Fenix 8 user. The watch’s ECG and Dive features are disabled when using the current beta software, so you’ll have to wait for the full update if you want to keep those features.
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