Garmin today announced substantial software updates to the range of its smartwatches in India. According to Garmin, the new updates will allow users to upgrade their health monitoring and safety features and further provide expanded activity profiles and optimized user experience. Check out all the details below.
Health monitoring enhancements
- Advanced sleep tracking – Improved on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, new combined restlessness score, and graph
- Intensity Minutes widget update – New Intensity Minutes widget for users to gauge their intensity minutes each day
- Breathwork Activity and Respiration widget – New Breathwork activity and Respiration Rate data field and Respiration widget in the Instinct 2 Series
- Body Battery Algorithm update – Enhanced algorithm in the Instinct 2 Series
- Fitness Age display – Fitness Age display in the user profile settings
Safety feature improvements
- Incident detection update – Recognition across different activities, including Walking, Hiking, and generic use. (Select models)
- Updated user experience for Safety and Tracking – Easily share a message with your live location with preselected contacts or pre-designate an emergency contact in case of emergencies.
Expanded sports activities list
- New sports activities – Horseback Riding, Tennis, Jump Rope (Select models)
- Added Green Contours support to Golf activity – Pair with the Garmin Golf app to see the slope direction of the green on selected courses right from your watch.
- Enhanced Run/ Walk / Standing detection – Enhanced algorithm to improve detection for stops during activities, and added Run/Walk/Standing detection to the activity summary page for running sports
- Updated Up Ahead – Updated Up Ahead feature to support imported GPX file for the latest outdoor range of watches
User interface improvements
- Garmin Connect App Real-time Settings keyboard – Modify settings in Garmin Connect mobile app across the latest Outdoor models
- Additional metrics in post activity summary – Acclimation, Pace, Detailed Speed, Bouldering metrics, Strength metrics, and Indoor Climbing metrics across corresponding activities
The updates are rolling out in a phased manner, and Garmin smartwatch users can download the updates via Garmin Express.
Garmin Fēnix 7, Epix, Tactix 7, Quatix 7 update changelog
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Fishing, Jump Rope. This requires download via Connect IQ app.
- Added Green Contours support to golf. With your active Garmin Golf app membership, you can plan your best approach shot and sink your putt with green contour data.
- Added Acclimation, Pace, Detailed Speed, Bouldering Metrics, Strength Metrics, and Indoor Climbing Metrics to post activity summary UI.
- Updated Up Ahead feature to support imported GPX file.
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Added Goal Streak tracking to the Steps widget. Allow goal streaks for steps to sync between the device and Garmin Connect.
- Fitness Age display added to User Profile settings.
- Added new watch face data field types: 3-item data fields, sunrise/sunset, calories, alternate time zones, Body Battery, and steps.
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle map, the enhanced user interface in free and workout modes, and improvements to the Rep and Weight editing experience.
- Added backlight keys settings adjustment using touchscreen or button controls.
- Improvements to on-device sleep detection and staging include a new combined Restlessness score and graph.
- Added Streak display to the Steps widget.
- Added ability to toggle smart notifications in the notifications and alerts menu.
- We have improved ability to modify settings in Garmin Connect mobile app.
- Updated language translations and bug fixes.
Garmin Fēnix 6, Marq, Enduro, Tactix Delta Solar update changelog
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Jump Rope. This requires download via Connect IQ app.
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle map, the improved user interface in free and workout modes, and improvements to the Rep and Weight editing experience.
- Updated Incident Detection to better distinguish between supported and unsupported activities.
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Added Goal Streak tracking for Steps and Floors Climbed widgets.
- Added animation to progress arc when viewing the Intensity Minutes widget.
- Updated support for Shimano Di2.
- Updated support for Varia RCT 715 widget.
- Updated inReach messaging to now allow the watch to send messages up to 160 characters in length.
- Improvements to on-device sleep detection and staging include a new combined Restlessness score and graph.
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices.
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes.
Garmin Instinct 2 update changelog
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Tennis, Snowshoeing, Track Run, Pilates and Yoga, Breathwork, Jump Rope. This requires download via Connect IQ app.
- Added support for bike radar and lights.
- Added the Respiration Rate and Active Calories data fields.
- Added the new Body Battery, new Intensity Minutes, and Respiration widgets.
- Added watch face data field options for Pulse Ox, Recovery Time, Training Status, 7 Day Load, VO2 Max, and Weekly Run/Bike Distance.
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Added Goal Streak tracking for Steps and Floors Climbed widgets.
- Added Fitness Age display to User Profile settings.
- Improved ability to modify settings in Garmin Connect mobile app.
- Added support for Hydration Tracking app (requires download via Connect IQ).
- Improvements to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph.
- Improved Health Snapshot widget allows hotkeys when not in an active health snapshot reading.
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes.
Garmin Forerunner 945/745/ 245 Music update changelog
- Newly added sports activities – Jump Rope. This requires download via Connect IQ app.
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle map, the improved user interface in free and workout modes, and improvements to the Rep and Weight editing experience.
- Improvements to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph.
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices.
- Added a new alert to notify the user that the Wrist Heart Rate Sensor is disabled. This alert will be displayed whenever accessing a heart rate-related glance while the wrist heart rate sensor is turned off on the device.
- Added a new notification to inform users that Wi-Fi networks configured to WEP security are no longer supported.
- Updated support for Shimano Di2.
- Updated support for Varia RCT 715 widget.
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes.
Garmin Venu 2, Venu 2 Plus Series update changelog
- Added new activities: Tennis, Snowshoeing, Pickleball, and Paddle, Jump Rope. This requires download via Connect IQ app.
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices.
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Improvements to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph.
- Improved UI for Incident Detection and Assistance.
- Added support for syncing step Goal Streak with the Garmin Connect app.
- Added Voice Assistant volume slider to settings (Venu 2 Plus Only).
- Added additional Voice Assistant and Bluetooth calling improvements (Venu 2 Plus Only).
- Fixed a bug where music doesn’t pause when Voice Assistant is activated and will now resume after the Voice Assistant is completed (Venu 2 Plus Only).
- Fixed a bug where users could get stuck on the call page if the phone did not respond to a hang-up attempt (Venu 2 Plus Only).
- Fixed an issue where invalid distances could be shown on the golf front-middle-back page
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes.
Garmin Vívomove Sport Series update changelog
- Improvements to the Safety Tracking feature.
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices.
- Added support for syncing step Goal Streak with the Garmin Connect app.
- Added next pose/ move button in Yoga/Pilates activities.
- Rectified the syncing of the hydration value between the device and the Garmin Connect app.
- Improvements to display smart notifications smoothly.
- Added battery status when connected via USB.