Some recurring Focus Mode > Voice Alerts no longer working after update to 12.70

As you said "That feature isn’t a gimmick — it’s mission-critical when you’re grinding through a mountain bike race where your heart rate can rocket 20 BPM in seconds. ". i also experience "20 BPM increasing in seconds." for some special sport (interval running), so i expect there is options to reduce alert intervals to  15/30/45 seconds or 20/40 seconds.  Sometimes 1 minutes are too long to show heart rate changes. 

According to my POC at Garmin support, I received this information today and am incredibly disappointed:

Based on what ive seen the update is scheduled to release sometime between November and December, the fix for your issue is not the only thing being released so there is not goin to be a hotfix for this specific issue decreasing the total speed it will be put out. I tried to get a specific date but there were not dates given to me due to us operating between a qtrly range not specific date.

That would be a bummer, I have 3 races between now and then , It would be very useful to have

100% agree you get it, I did a race last weekend HR went up 90 BMP in under 3 minutes,  A very hard clime at the start. But reliable  1 minute beats nothing, the watch is designed to have 1 min,  They really need to fix it I think about 8 weeks now broken.

I 100% agree. I have three as well and as much as I'd like to say I dont depend/rely so heavily on a device, I do. That's why I decided to upgrade, which I now honestly regret 

IF I would not of sold my wife's 265, to buy her a NEW 970, I would have the feature on one device,   My Almost new Fenix 8 is Broken as well as her NEW 970, so i have $1800+ in watches that do not function for the PRIMARY reason I purchased them.   I have medical issues my Electrophysiologist said It's not a "medical device" but it is a very good general guild line for HR.

Similar boat here. I sold my 265s when I purchased the 970 as well. I should have waited to do so. If only I knew an expensive watch would fail so quickly after purchasing. 

That's something you always have to take into account, when you buy such kind of high-end devices which are new and frequently updated with new features, expecially if they're working in parallel with other devices which have their own life cycle, and are independently updated on their side. Sadly, sh**t can always happen, I understand that and as a developer I can empathize with developers who often find themselves under pressure between bugs and deadlines. I am not really concerned about the bug: I am concerned about the fact the it's not been solved yet. The question is, in my opinion, not when it will be solved, but IF it will be solved. And the fact that they're delaying the fix without any official communication does not lower my concern at all. That's the issue: not WHEN, but IF.

I am not a developer but I do work with them and am absolutely empathetic! It can be quite a high pressure job which means high stress. Bugs are just part of the process with any device regardless of cost. Similar to you, what I dont appreciate is the lack of communication,  what we can expect, timeliness. Had I not reached out multiple times, I never would have heard a word. With so many users impacted, and frustrated,  communication is key. Talk to us, keep us updated. It may not be what we want to hear but at least we are not sitting here begging for information with little to no response. 

Another beta, another no fix, they don't listen, they don't care :(