Garmin’s new feature ruins one of the best reasons to own its smartwatches
- Garmin’s new “OK Garmin” hands-free voice feature is reportedly taking a significant toll on smartwatch battery life.
- Some Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970 owners report battery estimates dropping by 35% to 50% after enabling the feature.
- Disabling the wake word can restore the previous battery estimates without sacrificing manual voice commands.
One of Garmin’s biggest selling points is battery life, with many of its watches lasting well over a week between charges. That’s part of what made the company’s recent feature drop so appealing. It introduced all-day fall detection, new running tools, and hands-free voice commands using the “OK Garmin” hotword. Unfortunately, that last addition is now giving some owners an unpleasant surprise, with battery life estimates dropping dramatically after enabling it.
Over the course of the past month, complaints have been piling up on Garmin’s support forums, particularly among Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970 owners (via Gadgets & Wearables). Some users report losing 35% to 50% of their previously estimated battery runtime, with some Forerunner 970 owners reporting drops from 15 days to nine. Disabling “OK Garmin” immediately restored the original estimate.
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