Garmin today announced significant software improvements for a variety of their smartwatches as part of their ongoing effort to give their users better and more accurate data. The most recent customers will be able to enhance their safety and health monitoring features thanks to the new upgrades. They will also offer an enhanced user experience and extended activity profiles.
The Garmin smart watch user can download the updates via Garmin Express.
The new software update will deliver an expanded and enhanced list of sports activities, supporting more customer needs for varying active lifestyles and sports preferences. It will include Garmin’s proprietary Health Science data, including advanced sleep monitoring, intensity minutes, and fitness age. The patch will also provide a tonne of user experience enhancements for improved use on a daily basis.
Garmin offers sophisticated statistics for both wellness and performance thanks to its Firstbeat Analytics engine. Additionally, users are now able to easily use the data on their wrist to monitor their performance and general well-being. The extensive collection of data enables users to recognize trends in their own health, enhance their exercise regimen, and eventually comprehend their body and health better.
Garmin latest software update features:
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 – Newly added Fitness Age display to user profile settings
Improvements to safety features
- Incident detection update – Updated Incident Detection recognition across different activities including Walking, Hiking and generic use. Available in selected 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 so that in case of emergencies, your watch can instantly help call for help.
Expanded Sports Activities List
- New sports activities including Horseback Riding, Tennis, Jump Rope across selected models
Jump Rope download via Connect IQ App
- 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 – Newly added feature to modify settings in Garmin Connect mobile app across latest Outdoor models
- Additional metrics in post activity summary – Added post-activity metrics including Acclimation, Pace, Detailed Speed, Bouldering metrics, Strength metrics and Indoor Climbing metrics across corresponding activities
The complete list of software updates for different watch series:
Garmin FNIX 7/EPIX/TACTIX 7/QUATIX 7: New Software Update July 2022
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Fishing, Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ)
- 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 Steps widget. allow goal streaks for steps to sync between device and Garmin Connect
- Fitness Age display added to User Profile settings
- Updated downloads via Wi-Fi
- Added ability to perform Manager Wi-Fi downloads when connected to a computer
- Added download time estimation to Manager
- Added support for preloaded to be updated via Manager (Golf and Ski , etc.)
- Added new watch face data field types: 3-item data fields, sunrise/sunset, calories, alternate time zones, Body Battery, steps
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle , improved 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 made to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph
- Added Streak display to Steps widget
- Added ability to toggle smart notifications in notifications and alerts menu
- Improved ability to modify settings in Garmin Connect mobile app
- Updated language translations and bug fixes
Garmin FĒNIX 6/ MARQ/ ENDURO/ TACTIX DELTA SOLAR: New Software Update July 2022
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ)
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle map, 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 made to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including 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: New Software Update July 2022
- Newly added sports activities: Horseback Riding, Tennis, Snowshoeing, Track Run, Pilates and Yoga, Breathwork, Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ)
- Added support for bike radar and lights
- Added the Respiration Rate and Active Calories data fields
- Added the new Body Battery, new Intensity Minutes, 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 made to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph
- Improved the Health Snapshot widget to allow hot keys when not in an active health snapshot reading
- Other minor improvements and bug fixes
Garmin FORERUNNER 945/ 745/ 245 MUSIC: New Software Update July 2022 (Forerunner 745 will be updated in August.)
- Newly added sports activities: Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ)
- Added Enhanced Strength functionality, which includes an improved workout preview with a muscle, improved user interface in free and workout modes, and improvements to the Rep and Weight editing experience
- Improvements made 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 new notification to inform user 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
- Added new activities: Tennis, Snowshoeing, Pickleball, and Paddle, Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ)
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices
- Added Run/ Walk/ Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity
- Improvements made to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined Restlessness score and graph
- Improved the user experience for Incident Detection and Assistance
- Added support for syncing step Goal Streak with 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
- Improvements made to Safety Tracking feature
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices
- Added support for syncing step Goal Streak with Garmin Connect app
- Added next pose/ move button in Yoga/Pilates activities
- Rectified the syncing of the hydration value between device and Garmin Connect app
- Improvements to display smart notifications smoothly
- Added battery status when connected via USB
Garmin VENU 2 AND VENU 2 PLUS SERIES: New Software Update July 2022
- Added new activities: Tennis, Snowshoeing, Pickleball, and Paddle, Jump Rope (requires download via Connect IQ).
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices.
- Added Run/Walk/Idle detection to the activity summary page for running activity.
- Improvements made to on-device sleep detection and sleep staging, including a new combined restlessness score and graph
- Improved the user experience for incident detection and assistance.
- Added support for syncing steps 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 the 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: : New Software Update July 2022
- Improvements made to Safety Tracking feature
- Added support for syncing resting heart rate across devices
- Added support for syncing step Goal Streak with Garmin Connect app
- Added next pose/ move button in Yoga/Pilates activities
- Rectified the syncing of the hydration value between device and Garmin Connect app
- Improvements to display smart notifications smoothly
- Added battery status when connected via USB
Commenting on the new software updates, Sky Chen, Regional Director Garmin Southeast Asia & India stated,
“Accuracy of data has always been a focal point of our research. We want to be able to provide accurate data to our users and that is precisely what this new update is aimed towards. We consistently collect customer feedback on their user experience and how we can improve their experience. We use that information to consistently optimize our software so that we’re able to deliver the best possible user experience. That is also the reason we’ve insisted on improvements such as regular software updates so that consumers can use our smartwatches for longer durations. By doing so, we’re able to ensure that users can enjoy our products in more aspects of their daily lives.”
