Put on OS Weekly
My new weekly column focuses on the state of Put on OS, from new developments and updates to the newest apps and options we need to spotlight.
Garmin watches are common with health fanatics who’ve the persistence to sift by means of its difficult UI, the Labyrinthian Join app, and the bizarre IQ spinoff the place Garmin hides its greatest third-party instruments.
It is not particularly accessible to individuals coming from Apple and Android watches with higher smarts. Whereas I evaluation most of our Garmin watches, my colleagues who’ve examined some fashions have complained in regards to the excessive studying curve and pointless confusion.
Final month, I wrote about each function Put on OS ought to borrow from Garmin, an extended listing from downloadable programs and higher accent assist to battery life issues, amongst different weak factors. So, I feel it is solely honest to show issues round on Garmin: there are areas the place it might study from a model like Put on OS, which is designed to cater to “mainstream” customers and be as accessible as attainable.
Garmin cannot provide sure smarts as a result of at the very least half of its customers use iPhones, and Apple will maintain blocking different watches from syncing correctly till the EU forces them to open issues up. Within the meantime, with so many smartwatches including health instruments like coaching load to try to compete with Garmin, it is smart for Garmin to show the tables and compete extra on smarts.
Unfold the Fenix 8’s offline assistant as quick as attainable
The Garmin Fenix 8 added the model’s first offline voice assistant; you maintain down a button, then say a command like “Open Spotify,” “Begin a Biking exercise,” or “Present me my most up-to-date exercise,” and have it take you the place that you must go.
It is not excellent — it is a bit of gradual, and Garmin must maintain including extra acknowledged instructions — however it’s very helpful. So it is a disgrace that only a few Garmin watches have a mic, and the one (considerably) inexpensive mannequin (the Garmin Venu 3) solely helps passthrough instructions to your telephone assistant.
If a $50 Amazfit Band 7 can afford to pack in a mic for Alexa instructions, I feel extra Garmin watches can match them in, not simply the mainline Venus and Fenixes. And voice instructions will assist newer customers discover data earlier than they’re accustomed to the UI. Google Assistant is a key cause individuals purchase Put on OS watches, and Garmin must make its assistant as widespread.
Copy Put on OS tiles
Garmin lastly made its UI a bit of smarter final 12 months by making its apps simpler to seek out and including an inventory view that’s accessible with the principle Begin button. It could not have a grid view just like the Pixel Watch 3 or Galaxy Watch 7, however I feel that is extra about aesthetics than performance, and Garmin would not have as many apps to fret about.
What would assist way more is copying Put on OS’s tile view, letting you swipe left and proper from Garmin’s principal watch face to see your favourite graphs or capabilities.
Slightly than having to swipe all the way down to the compact climate widget, choose it, after which scroll down to seek out the hourly or every day forecast, it might be good to swipe proper and have a full view of that knowledge instantly. The identical goes for flashlight controls or seeing your every day calendar with the steered/scheduled exercise — there are such a lot of capabilities that require two or three faucets each time that Garmin might make them extra accessible for many who need to prioritize that knowledge.
In my case, I discover it a bit annoying that to see my acute load or load focus, I’ve to scroll all the way down to the Coaching Standing widget, then scroll all the way down to the sub-widget and choose it. Some graphs have watch face shortcuts, however you are restricted for those who purchase an “S” mannequin with a smaller show and fewer room for knowledge. Different knowledge like Challenges and month-to-month mileage require diving into the cellular app.
If, as an alternative, Garmin took after Put on OS and allow you to spotlight your favourite graphs and app views with a few swipes, that might additionally make issues extra accessible. Now that extra fashions use AMOLED shows and touchscreens, it is time to reap the benefits of the additional pixels.
Make LTE an possibility already
Loads of Garmin followers have clamored for this for years. Apart from the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE — which solely used mobile for primary security check-ins — and the kid-focused Garmin Bounce LTE, Garmin by no means enables you to pay additional for mobile, at the same time as competing flagship watches just like the Galaxy Watch Extremely or Apple Watch Extremely 2 make it a default.
I personally do not care about LTE watches as a result of I am too low cost to provide my provider extra money and nearly all the time have my telephone readily available. However being unable to ship check-ins, incident detection warnings, or guide SOS as a result of your telephone battery died is tough to simply accept for Garmin followers who’d willingly pay for that peace of thoughts…however do not need to trouble with an InReach Messenger Plus and a hyper-expensive satellite tv for pc subscription.
Fenix and Venu fashions with the mic/speaker combo ought to permit for standalone calls or the flexibility to file voice clips and add them to your subsequent check-in for family members to listen to.
Make Garmin Coach a chatbot / well being guru (I assume…)
Garmin’s Firstbeat Analytics and Teaching algorithms make it the model to beat for coaching steering. It is also the most effective for total knowledge accuracy. But relating to normal well being recommendation or making its knowledge accessible, it is simple to argue that Google and Samsung have lately gained the sting and even some good rings.
Samsung solely lately added its Vitality Rating (just like Physique Battery), however it additionally has new Galaxy AI Wellness suggestions; the picture above reveals the way it can observe and show traits like altering resting coronary heart fee or dipping physique fats.
Fitbit has all the time been common for summarizing your well being data in accessible methods, so long as you pay for Premium. A newer improvement is its Gemini-based Fitbit Perception Explorer: It is an opt-in service that analyzes your steps, Lively Zone Minutes, sleep high quality, HRV, RHR, and different knowledge, then enables you to ask its chatbot questions on your averages, traits, and private bests.
Garmin has a wealth of knowledge it might summarize in weekly or month-to-month reviews, however its “In Focus” widgets present primary weekly traits for issues like mileage and cargo with out commentary, and all of its Well being graphs are buried just a few layers deep within the “Extra” tab the place most individuals by no means look.
As a substitute, Garmin may spotlight promising or damaging well being traits in its Morning Report; ideally, it might additionally present month-to-month summaries of how your coaching load, VO2 Max, and different health stats examine to previous months. It might suggest modifications like extra anaerobic exercises or extra steps.
To be trustworthy, I am not thrilled to think about Garmin Coach progressing from this silent, data-driven platform to some public-facing chatbot like Amazfit’s Zepp Coach. However for all of the individuals who use ChatGPT as their default search engine and information base, they’re going to discover Put on OS watches extra accessible as a result of they’re beginning to go all-in on AI insights, and Garmin may want to seek out an AI accomplice to assist them compete.
Above all else, accessibility is essential
I do not need Garmin to develop into a carbon copy of Put on OS. Core clients love its watches for his or her lengthy battery life and would not need to lose that for “smarts” that they do not want. However on the similar time, I do know loads of individuals who need to love Garmin watches however cannot get previous how dense and sophisticated every part is.
If Garmin can use voice instructions, pseudo-tiles, and off-device AI processing to assist customers discover well being and health data, it can have taken a few of the greatest facets of utilizing the greatest Put on OS watches whereas nonetheless retaining its id.
