git fetch only downloads latest changes into the local repository and does not merge into the current branch. It downloads latest changes that other developers have pushed to the remote repo since the last fetch and allows you to review and merge manually at a later time using git merge.
$ git checkout develop
$ git fetch
This is in contrast with git pull that downloads and then merges changes into the current branch. Source
git fetchonly downloads latest changes into the local repository and does not merge into the current branch. It downloads latest changes that other developers have pushed to the remote repo since the last fetch and allows you to review and merge manually at a later time using git merge.This is in contrast with
git pullthat downloads and then merges changes into the current branch. Source