Garmin has new software and feature updates for select smartwatches along with updates available to all users in the Garmin Connect app.
The feature updates including Venu X1, vívoactive 6, fēnix 8 Pro, Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 smartwatches, and others. These features can help users as they work to improve their health and fitness, know their bodies better and get more from their smartwatch.
Enhanced Gear Tracking
Athletes and adventurers can log the gear they use during workouts and activities more seamlessly in the Garmin Connect app. This allows them to track stats like distance, hours and days of use.
New updates include:
- More gear types: Choose from an expanded list of gear types including running shoes, skis, bike components, wheelchairs and more, while also including notes and photos of the gear.
- Gear collections: Group multiple items together and assign them to the same activity.
- Gear database: Save time and effort while logging gear by finding specific shoe brands and bike models within Garmin Connect.
- More automatic tracking flexibility: Auto-assign gear to specific Garmin Connect activities to track stats automatically.
- Tracking on the wrist: Users can now track their gear stats and see a progress bar showing them how close the gear is to the end of its life from their compatible Garmin smartwatch.
New to Garmin Smartwatches
- Course planner: Prepare for an upcoming race by planning out the course with cut-off times, rest plans, checkpoints, aid stations and more in Garmin Connect, then see the course on a compatible smartwatch.
- Sports scores: Sports fans can track their favorite teams across 15 different leagues and see live scores, schedules and standings from their wrist when paired with a smartphone.
Train Better
Use these features for more understanding during and after training sessions for fitness and health:
Fitness features
- Mixed session: Track multiple activities in one session rather than saving separate activities.
- Garmin Fitness Coach: Get personalized workout plans based on fitness, activity history and background information. Plans include a variety of time duration and heart rate-based cardio workouts that vary in intensity, plus optional strength workouts and more than 25 activity types to choose from.
- Varia™ voice alerts: Cyclists can get audible alerts from their paired Varia radar to their smartwatch, letting them know about approaching vehicles1 to help them stay more aware of their surroundings.
Health features
- Sleep alignment: To help maintain a more consistent sleep cycle, users can see how aligned they are to their circadian rhythm2 and see their sleep consistency on their watch.
- Lifestyle logging on watches: Users can now log behaviors – such as caffeine and alcohol intake – on their watch and view reports on how those choices impact sleep, stress and HRV2.
Other notable updates
- Simplify life on the road: New trucking features help professional truck drivers stay connected, track their health metrics, follow workouts that fit into standard break times, manage schedules and enjoy extra convenience at travel plazas – all from their watch.
- Accessibility: Hear the time of day, health data and more spoken directly from the watch face, plus hourly alerts for the start of each hour. Color display options are also available – including gray scale, red/green, green/red or blue/yellow – to help with various forms of color blindness.
These free software updates are rolling out to compatible devices. Customers can update by enabling automatic updates and syncing with Garmin Connect or Garmin Express. For a comprehensive list of features coming to associated devices, click here.
