Garmin’s older flagship watches just got smarter – here’s what's new in the latest beta update

If you’re the proud owner of one of Garmin's best watches, you might have just been handed a free upgrade.

The sports watch cobbler has been busy behind the scenes with its latest round of software updates, and has quietly pushed out a new beta for its older flagship wearables.

So, if you're still rocking one of the following: the Fenix 7, Fenix 7 Pro, Epix 2, Enduro 2, Quatix 7 or MARQ Gen 2, you can expect a decent upgrade any day now, rolling out now over the air (OTA) for anyone signed up to Garmin’s public beta programme. What's more, it’ll be more than just a bug patch.

The update (version 23.08) focuses on improving connectivity, with the headline change being that certain external sensors can now be paired using both ANT and Bluetooth Low Energy+ (BLE+). Garmin hasn’t said exactly which accessories this covers, but for those serious multi-sport users, it’s likely to mean broader compatibility with training tools, environmental trackers and possibly third-party health sensors.

The update also brings a fix for a specific but annoying problem which saw earlier beta builds struggling to connect properly to Kestrel environmental monitoring devices. This version, thankfully, sorts that out, so if you use your Garmin for weather and environmental data, you should see more reliable readings.

A quality-of-life update

As usual with Garmin’s beta cycle, the rollout is staggered. Around half of eligible users should get the update within 24-48 hours, with the rest following soon after. If you don’t want to wait, you can manually trigger it on your watch by going to Menu > System > Software Update > Check for Updates.

One thing to mention, however, is that Garmin has warned ECG is disabled in this build and will stay that way until later in the 23.xx beta cycle, when the company moves towards a more stable release. If you use ECG regularly, you might prefer to stick with the live software for now - or be ready to backdate if you change your mind.

Notably absent from this beta are the Tactix 7 and MARQ Aviator Gen 2, which remain outside Garmin’s beta testing group.

While the news isn’t exactly a massive overhaul, it’s a smart quality-of-life update for Garmin’s older premium range. Better connectivity means more flexibility in training setups, and the Kestrel fix will make niche users happy. For everyone else, it’s a reminder that Garmin still puts time into improving older flagships, not just the latest shiny releases.