Some Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970 owners say Garmin's new "OK Garmin" hands-free voice feature has cut their watches' estimated battery life by 35% to 50%, Gadgets & Wearables reported on October 17. Turning the wake word off restored much of the lost estimate, and voice commands still work with a button press.

The wake word arrived in Garmin's September software updates for the Fenix 8, Forerunner 570 and 970, Venu 4 and several other models. Gadgets & Wearables says the feature is switched on automatically once the update installs, so many owners may not know it is listening.

Days of estimated runtime lost

Complaints have been piling up on Garmin's support forums over the past month, Android Authority reported on October 19. In one Forerunner 970 thread , an owner wrote that the battery estimate "was reduced from 15 days to 9 days at 100% charged" and went back to 15 days after disabling OK Garmin. Fenix 8 owners describe estimates falling from about two weeks to seven or eight days.…