Fenix 5/5s Plus - 6.57 Beta Release

I noticed that power consumption is much more pronounced with this beta... Mine is always at about 0.5/0.7% pe hour with 6.55 I had an average of about 0.3%/h

the Fenix 5 Plus seems pretty darn stable to me. If you're on a stable release, that is. I can't speak to the Beta channel. I use the Fenix as my reliable device of record, so I don't mess with the beta.

Fact:
The power spike problem was introduced in a stable version.

Fact:
The power spike problem was solved in a beta.

Fact:
There has not since then been any stable version which solves the power spike problem.

Conclusion:
Sticking to stable versions is not necessarily a way to avoid trouble with Garmin watches.

AllanOlesen67 if you stick to a "stable" versiob that you know works for the things that are important to you then that's a very good way to avoid trouble. If you take new releases with new features or maybe fixes for features that you don't use then you do open yourself up to introduced problems. I choose generally to take the latest features and fixes in the betas but accept that this may screw up big time every now and then like when GPS for OW swimming was trashed on the 935 last year

I think you're exaggerating the situation. There are definitely situations that cause crashes, but I promise you that they are edge cases. This is exemplified by the many users that have literally never experienced a crash (such as myself). Even the power spikes, I use a Powertap C1 power meter and have never seen a power spike. If you want a device with zero bugs, you need to get a simpler one. There have been Garmin devices that have lived in a perpetual state of Beta (I've owned a couple myself), but the Fenix 5 Plus seems pretty darn stable to me. If you're on a stable release, that is. I can't speak to the Beta channel. I use the Fenix as my reliable device of record, so I don't mess with the beta.

Sorry this is complete nonsense. OWS not working since launch!!! A whole activity not working for nearly a year!!! Why?!!

Given the current pace of beta updates (and the lack of a release to the stable channel) there are mulitple devs working on different branches. The music bug fixes you're likely seeing could be related to the complete device crashes that some users have had while running with music, btw, which is a pretty important thing to fix before a stable release.

I am on the current stable, and I don't get any power spikes with my power meter, have never had a crash, etc. But those are real issues, and there are likely devs working on those branches separately. That's how agile development works, you don't have every dev working on the same thing. If the music fixes are quicker, then those devs are finishing, and submitting pull requests. The beta channel receives an update. Meanwhile other developers will work on bigger issues. It's possible that there have been sprints with internal alpha release updates that have attempted to address other underlying issues as well, but they don't get past QA and regression testing. Hence we see a branch with more minor updates.

It is telling that the stable channel hasn't received an update in several sprint cycles. They're working on more stuff behind the scenes than what we're seeing.

This exactly!

Sorry this is complete nonsense. OWS not working since launch!!! A whole activity not working for nearly a year!!! Why?!!

If it's a limitation of the hardware, then no end of firmware updates is going to fix it. We had the same issue with bluetooth connection problems with the 5 series - at the end of the day there was no way around the fact that the BLE receiver just wasn't strong enough.

Halldrine - AFIK Open Water swimming is now fixed as it is on the 935

AllanOlesen67 if you stick to a "stable" versiob that you know works for the things that are important to you then that's a very good way to avoid trouble. If you take new releases with new features or maybe fixes for features that you don't use then you do open yourself up to introduced problems. I choose generally to take the latest features and fixes in the betas but accept that this may screw up big time every now and then like when GPS for OW swimming was trashed on the 935 last year

You are missing my point. So I will try again:
The usual beta/stable paradigm doesn't apply to Garmin's software.

The way it should work is:
1. A beta is released. Compared to the latest stable version, this beta contains new functionality and new bugs.
2. Users test the beta and report bugs to the developers.
3. Another beta is released, containing fixes to the reported bugs.
4. Step 2 and 3 are repeated, until the software is deemed adequately free of bugs.
5. A stable version is released. This version contains no new functionality which wasn't tested in the beta.
6. Goto step 1 and start over.

If you look at Garmin's firmwares it is obvious, that this is not the cycle they run. When they release a new stable version, it usually contains new functionality which hasn't been in beta. And of course, this will sometimes cause new errors, which didn't exist in the previous betas.

As a consequence, Garmin's betas can be more stable than their stable versions.

You are missing my point. So I will try again:
The usual beta/stable paradigm doesn't apply to Garmin's software.

The way it should work is:
1. A beta is released. Compared to the latest stable version, this beta contains new functionality and new bugs.
2. Users test the beta and report bugs to the developers.
3. Another beta is released, containing fixes to the reported bugs.
4. Step 2 and 3 are repeated, until the software is deemed adequately free of bugs.
5. A stable version is released. This version contains no new functionality which wasn't tested in the beta.
6. Goto step 1 and start over.

If you look at Garmin's firmwares it is obvious, that this is not the cycle they run. When they release a new stable version, it usually contains new functionality which hasn't been in beta. And of course, this will sometimes cause new errors, which didn't exist in the previous betas.

As a consequence, Garmin's betas can be more stable than their stable versions.

please read into "agile" software development

please read into "agile" software development

No, I will not.

My message is that Garmin's development model deviates from the normal stable/beta paradigm, and consequently people shouldn't expect Garmin's stable versions to be more stable than their betas.

This fact is not changed by Garmin's development model having a name or not. Putting a name on it will not change what stability we have already seen in previous Garmin versions.