Garmin has released another beta for its coming major software update, and it adds genuinely useful features, particularly for runners and cyclists.
Some are just for the Garmin Fenix 8 and Enduro 3, others will come to everything from the Forerunner 165 to the Lily 2.
The latest beta update has begun rolling out to beta program users, and it brings five big changes to the platform.
Perhaps the most impactful of the lot is strength workouts for the “Garmin Run and Cycling Coach” feature.
This means weight-based routines can be incorporated into your Garmin-planned schedule. It’s a smart move given how strength and conditioning can help you avoid injury when pushing your training volume.
It will come to the following watches:
- Fenix 8
- Fenix E
- Enduro 3
- Forerunner 255
- Forerunner 265
- Forerunner 955
- Forerunner 965
Unfortunately, this new feature won’t extend to last-generation models like the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Gen 2.
Garmin Update: Passcode And Workout Execution Score
Garmin watches are also getting a passcode feature, a layer of security that kicks in when the watch is removed from the wrist. You’ll be asked for your pin number. Garmin Pay uses a security pin, but now it’ll become a core, optional, part of the watch experience.
Passcodes will come to the watches listed above, plus the Forerunner 165, Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5. But, again, older models won’t get it.
What those older watches do get, though, is the Workout Execution Score changes Garmin introduced in the Fenix 8 and Enduro 3 watches.
These have been mentioned in a previous beta update I wrote about in December 2024, and presumably refer to a change in the algorithm used to determine the percentage ranking you are given at the end of a structured/guided workout.
Here are the watches that get this bump:
- Fenix 7
- Fenix 7 Pro
- Epix Gen 2
- Epix Pro
- Marq Gen 2
- Enduro 2
- Tactic 7
- Quatix 7
- D2 Mach 1
The widest-ranging change is a tweak of the Body Battery system. It’s will soon be a TrueUp stat, meaning it will be tied to your Garmin Connect account rather than the watch itself. If you use a single wearable, it won’t make any difference. But it does mean the data from multiple devices can feed into the Body Battery stat.
It makes a lot of sense, even if it’s not going to have a real impact on the average Garmin user. As a systemic change, this affects watches from the Lily 2 series as well as the ones mentioned already.
Finally, there’s a tweak coming to Fenix 8, Fenix E and Enduro 3 watches, “Keyboard Enhancements.”
This will make the watch keyboard smarter, bringing in features that are the norm in, for example, phones. These include text prediction and custom layouts.
Some of these features were teased in a beta update I wrote about at the end of last year. But this gives you a good idea of what’s coming to your watch in Garmin’s big Q1 2025 update when it’s finally fully released.
You can sign up for the Garmin beta program for early access if you like, over at the Garmin website. But most are likely better off waiting for the public releases.