New Garmin software update just made battery anxiety measurable on the brand's most underrated smartwatch

Garmin just started rolling out a software update for one of its most underrated smartwatches.

It addresses one of the most common frustrations with wearables: battery life that vanishes without explanation.

Arriving as Beta Version 16.11, the update introduces battery usage tracking, a new feature designed to show users how their habits actually affect battery drain over time.

Instead of relying solely on a vague “days remaining” estimate, Vivoactive 5 owners can now see how things like GPS workouts, always-on display, notifications, music playback and background health tracking contribute to overall power consumption.

For a watch that blends lifestyle design with serious fitness prowess, that extra transparency matters.

The Vivoactive 5 packs quite a few battery-intensive features, including an AMOLED display, continuous heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring and built-in GPS.

Until now, figuring out which ones were responsible for faster drain has largely been guesswork.

By turning battery life into something measurable, Garmin effectively treats it like another performance metric.

That’s a familiar mindset for long-time Garmin watch users, but it’s notable to see it applied to a more lifestyle-focused, mid-range smartwatch.

Beyond battery tracking, Beta Version 16.11 also includes general system stability improvements and smaller refinements.

These aren’t headline-grabbing changes, but they reflect Garmin’s broader approach of gradually improving devices over time rather than leaving them static once they’re on sale.

Because this is a beta release, features may still change before the update reaches a wider public rollout.

However, it's clear that Garmin wants users to worry less about battery life by understanding it better.

The update is now rolling out to those who signed up for Garmin's beta updates, with the alpha version expected to drop soon.

[via NotebookCheck]