Fenix 5/5s Plus - 6.57 Beta Release

We released a new beta (on top of the previous beta) for you to test with the following (new) functions.
I think Allan is making a valid observation here.

OWS not working since launch!!!

As in not working at all or not tracking properly?

As in no track recorded, distance drifts while stationary. Other GPS activities are fine

OWS does have some issues but tracks are generally recorded, sometimes erratic. Distance increasing when stationary is a facet of GPS anyway. However, in OWS, if the signal is lost, during a swim, but regained when stationary the distance can increase quite a lot - I've had 40m/s plus before now. So, OWS is flawed on occasion, but it does work most times for me. I'm currently swimming 3 to 5 times a week in the sea. Granted I do get results ranging from terrible to not so bad, but it works reasonably well. I know Garmin are trying to resolve this in time for the northern summer.

Is reboot bug with every 1 km info and music fixed since 6.55? or i should revert to 6.00?

Lowek Yes, the reboot bug at every 1 km (or mi depending upon settings) and music is fixed for me in Beta 6.57.

please read into "agile" software development

Agile software development requires developers to be very disciplined for it to work well. Yes you get a lot of "freedoms" - but freedoms can only exist if you are a responsible developer.

But 70-80% of projects I have been called in to oversee and bring back on track - Agile has been the excuse - and not the solution - resulting in complete chaos - no documentation at all - and source spread out far and wide with no controls. Code checked out and in by multiple people with no discipline so old bugs come back when someone fix something on a local version overwriting bug-fixes already done - and ignoring check in warnings.

Yes - Agile can be great - but it requires a lot of management resources to make it work - and dedicated programmers who have actually READ and understood ALL the Agile "manifests" and not just the headlines that gives them the excuses to do no documentation and ignore bugs, Unit Tests, debugging, maintenance, build standards and delivery/roll-out plans.

So usually/often Agile = "a complete mess" with developers doing what they want when they want - without a plan.

But occasionally there are the "diamond" developer teams who understand the benefits of Agile and does it with respect for themselves, colleges - and customers - and those teams are very productive. But those teams are far far apart.

But Agile is NOT and should not be an excuse - it is a tool - and like any other it can be misused and abused. And I mostly see that latter part.

Agile software development requires developers to be very disciplined for it to work well. Yes you get a lot of "freedoms" - but freedoms can only exist if you are a responsible developer.

But 70-80% of projects I have been called in to oversee and bring back on track - Agile has been the excuse - and not the solution - resulting in complete chaos - no documentation at all - and source spread out far and wide with no controls. Code checked out and in by multiple people with no discipline so old bugs come back when someone fix something on a local version overwriting bug-fixes already done - and ignoring check in warnings.

Yes - Agile can be great - but it requires a lot of management resources to make it work - and dedicated programmers who have actually READ and understood ALL the Agile "manifests" and not just the headlines that gives them the excuses to do no documentation and ignore bugs, Unit Tests, debugging, maintenance, build standards and delivery/roll-out plans.

So usually/often Agile = "a complete mess" with developers doing what they want when they want - without a plan.

But occasionally there are the "diamond" developer teams who understand the benefits of Agile and does it with respect for themselves, colleges - and customers - and those teams are very productive. But those teams are far far apart.

But Agile is NOT and should not be an excuse - it is a tool - and like any other it can be misused and abused. And I mostly see that latter part.

I agree with everything that you've said, almost. But I think it's more about having good managers and product managers guiding the development cycle. Something missing from a lot of agile shops fo sho.

However, I am on the current stable and have literally never seen a single bug. I use multiple sports most days, as I use my watch for triathlon training. Last week, I had a little over 9 hours spent across 3 pool swims, 3 runs, and 4 rides. On the bike, I used a power meter and saw no power spikes in over 4 hours of riding. Running, I spent a bit less than 3 hours, and used bluetooth music for all runs and saw no crashes during the summary voiceovers announcements at the end of each lap. My swims used an HRM-swim, but I haven't heard about any issues with regards to that, but it's worth noting that's another 2+ issue free activity hours. I also used it to navigate to a store walking downtown, and on a couple stroller walks with my daughter. I used structured workouts, designed by me for the swims, and downloaded from my coach using the TrainingPeaks app for the bikes and runs.

This notion that the 5 plus is some crazy buggy device that barely works that seems to be in the mind of some users seems like utter fantasy to me. Listen, I've used super buggy Garmin products. I've pre-ordered 2 watches (645M and Vivoactive HR), I have an Edge 810 that to this day can't give TBT directions. The 5 Plus is extremely stable, full stop. I know you weren't replying to me, but I'm the one that first brought up agile (to explain to someone why I think we're seeing a quick cadence of beta releases that have only one or two lines in the changelog without an update to the stable branch).

I kind of get the feeling that people are talking about issues that used to exist, are extreme edge cases that they perceive as having a wide impact, are open water swimmers, or just think that Garmin always releases buggy firmware (probably because of past Garmin ownership). While I question some of the PM decisions on the 5 Plus, the stable channel is really pretty darn stable, and I think some users are exaggerating the situation.

reginalb whilst I agree that some of the fuss is about boundary cases that probably impact only a small percentage of users there are other issues that impact far more. The battery life issues have impacted large numbers of users (you are obviously lucky on this score) and these seem to have causes that are a mixture of hardware and software (as many people report fixes after replacement watch or battery). GPS for running is poor compared with a number of similar devices - not bad enough to make it unuseable but worse than a number of cheaper Garmin devices - this may be due to the Metal body as the 935 performs better with similar hardware and software. Open water swimming is still not good - better than it was but still poor - I'm surprised that as a triathlete you are not impacted by that.

"Last week, I had a little over 9 hours spent across 3 pool swims, 3 runs, and 4 rides. On the bike, I used a power meter and saw no power spikes in over 4 hours of riding. Running, I spent a bit less than 3 hours, and used bluetooth music for all runs and saw no crashes during the summary voiceovers announcements at the end of each lap. My swims used an HRM-swim, but I haven't heard about any issues with regards to that, but it's worth noting that's another 2+ issue free activity hours. I also used it to navigate to a store walking downtown, and on a couple stroller walks with my daughter."

In the above activities - how much of that did you get on a single charge ?