18.07 alpha firmware????.

What "data-driven" answer do you want?

The one showing how he and his girlfriend are getting pretty much different data for the same watch?(if I remember correctly it was regarding venu 3 and venu 3s?) And his girlfriend's results were much more accurate.

You guys should understand that some sensors and algorithms don't work with some people while it can be pretty good with others.

No optical sensor will be able to measure the HR accurately in all conditions and with everyone and that's simply because the optical sensor is NOT measuring heartbeats. 

If I affect the blood flow with my wrist, no IA or algorithm will be able to measure the HR accurately...they will try and sometimes it will be ok and sometimes not but that's it.

A lot of people were saying that Garmin's sleep detection was super bad but it's not for me...a lot of people are saying that Oura is one of the best sleep tracker and I still had nights with pretty weird data(big awake periods when I was not awake, longer sleep time when I was reading stuff after waking up, etc etc).

Yes, I'll try an Apple watch sooner or later too but not having an Iphone is not making it easy.

A friend of mine has one and he is always starting the run with some crazy high HR that looks better after a few minutes...i can't say if he is wearing it correctly or not and that's why I want to get and try one...sooner or later.

The issue with weird spikes with Garmin is definitely something that exists but, again, it's not with everyone and it's not a general issue.

Something intelligent like you just posted! A better answer than Quantified Scientist is this or that...also he's perfectly open that his data is limited to him, and that ink, pigment, watch weight, watch tightness, and other factors can effect results, etc...but he goes into more detail than say DC Rainmaker, Desfit, etc... because they are covering everything about these devices. Not just HR, Sleep, and GPS. If there is better scientific data than QS I'd love to hear about it. Also others, who are insiders, if you watch their reviews hint that Apple and others use a more machine learning algorithms vs Garmin which relies more on superior sensors. It's also more the tendons, than blood flow. For sleep, if you look at quantified scientist, you can see Garmin is really only poor at picking up on REM sleep, otherwise sleep detection is pretty good. Garmin is also continually updating their software and sensor firmware, and purchased First Beat...I fully expect them to keep improving on the machine learning side. I can also say he's spot on about Fitbit devices...they are above average at both HR and Sleep. Apple ecosystem, yeah, same reason I'm likely not getting an Apple Watch anytime soon.

But still, we don’t know if the OP really has 18.07 on his Epix Gen 2 watch. 

We do I posted it yesterday. I actually don't care any more this is the worst thread I've ever seen on any forum. People sniping over nothing and not a single useful comment especially from garmin. 

Sorry if I added to that...don't blame Garmin, you did buy a second hand watch. Don't they have a way to hard boot the watch with some desktop app and production version firmware. I'm sure people here could walk you through that.

Finaly Beta 18.09 is avaliable for every beta tester, thanks for your initial feedback, software About is not updated since 17.28 ...

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20240628 - System Beta - 18.09

Version updates - sub-components

• System Update : 18.09 (was 17.28)
• GPS : 10.01 (was 10.00)
• WiFi : 28.17 (was 28.15)
• Sensor Hub : 31.09 (was 30.23)
• BMX : 17.0.9 (was 16.1.2)
• WHR : 17.00.09 (was 16.01.02)
• NFC : 3.4.4 (was 3.3.1)
• WLT (ANT/BLE) : 3.3.2 (was 3.1.6)
• FirstBeat ETE : 6.20.0.4 (was 6.19.0.4)
• FirstBeat LHA : 2.6.0.4 (was 2.5.0.4 )

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18.09 / https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/fenix-7-series/f/announcements/377795/beta-version-18-09---check-for-updates-only

Added "Dark Mode" to map color.
Added "Popularity" toggle to map settings.
Added Garmin Share app.
Improved race time predictions.
Improved Daily Suggested Workout (DSW), adding Training Days option.
Various bug fixes and improvements.
Fixed issue causing missing pan/zoom on map during navigation for find my phone.
Fixed issue where the golf glance could display a 0 value when using stableford scoring.
Fixed potential issue with Garmin Coach benchmark runs.
Fixed potential issue with GPS track during snowshoe activities.
Fixed potential issue with the cursor on the golf map.
Fixed potential screen distortion on the watch face.
Fixed potential Wi-Fi lock up when requesting software.
Fixed Power Profile (PP) ignored during activity.

Any issues with that one? HR readings improved?