I received BC26R last week.
The beam is shaped slightly, you really have to look for it, or directly compare with another light. It's very definitely a wider beam than my L&M Blacktop. That and battery capacity is why I bought it.
The flash goes from high to low to high ....
I don't have a way to measure the rate, maybe half a second, could be a quarter. Nothing like the strobe in my other Fenix lights. Flashing is an accurate term, strobe is not.
Weather has been horrible here, and I'll ride in the upper 20s, but not in snow, and not on purpose in the cold rain. So I don't have practical experience with it yet.
I did not notice any strobe effect, while walking my dog, in the various brightness levels.