New Garmin Training Features (2026): Nutrition Tracking, Lifestyle Logging, and More

I’ve been reviewing Garmin watches for good implicit a decennary now, and the institution has ne'er made that large a woody astir bundle updates. Now we get an update each fewer months. What's changed successful the past fewer years? The contention has.

For a agelong time, Garmin needed lone to support an oculus connected what a fewer different fittingness trackers were up to. Now it has Apple, Samsung, and a full big of different smartwatch brands offering premium outdoor features similar outer communications and more.

It’s nary longer capable to beryllium large astatine capturing close GPS moving and cycling routes oregon filling your ticker surface with elaborate maps. Garmin decided it was clip to measurement up its update game. The likes of the Apple Watch Ultra-esque Venu X1 ($700), Fenix 8 Pro ($1,889), and Forerunner 970 ($750) were among the watches to person a beauteous important bundle boost.

I’ve been spending a fewer weeks getting to cognize those caller features to spot if Garmin has added worth to immoderate of its champion watches.

Nutrition Tracking

Garmin introduced nutrition tracking to its Connect level astatine the commencement of the year, though unluckily it's down the paywalled Connect+ subscription. That means you tin present log your food, arsenic good arsenic spot a breakdown of macronutrients some connected and disconnected compatible Garmin watches. Nutrition tracking is simply a analyzable feature, and Garmin’s attack to it proves there’s inactive immoderate enactment to beryllium done.

Food logging tin beryllium done successful a fewer ways. You tin hunt for items successful a provided database, scan barcodes from packaging, oregon usage your camera and AI-based investigation to find what you’re astir to eat.

I tested this diagnostic during a vacation and experienced immoderate of the inconsistencies with the nutrient identification. For simpler items similar eggs, fruit, and cheese, the camera-based logging worked well. As soon arsenic meals became much complex, lighting to instrumentality photos wasn’t agleam enough, oregon the AI investigation had limitations seeing what was precisely successful a salad. It started to go much frustrating. This logged information should besides provender into Garmin’s Active quality diagnostic to connection insights and marque recommendations based connected your intake and adjacent timing of meals. However, my personalized insights remained focused connected telling maine astir my grooming and slumber trends.

The accusation is astatine slightest nicely presented connected the watch. You person the added quality to log nutrient determination arsenic well, with astir caller items displayed to marque that easier to do. But trying to benignant connected the ticker keyboard wasn’t a large experience. It’s an OK commencement for a diagnostic that has immoderate acquainted shortcomings, but it doesn't marque that Connect+ subscription immoderate much appealing.

Rating: 6/10

Garmin Fitness Coach

After starring with moving and past adding cycling and spot grooming plans, Garmin present includes a wide fittingness grooming program to its escaped Coach grooming platform. Like different Coach plans, you prime the days you privation to enactment retired and determine whether those workouts see gym instrumentality oregon conscionable bodyweight movements

I opted for a bodyweight-based program and picked the duration of the plan. Once created, the app syncs the program implicit to the watch. Workouts included acquainted exercises similar upland climbers oregon hep raises. If you don’t cognize what a upland climber is, Garmin provides animations to show what it is and however to correctly execute the movement.

Coach has rapidly go 1 of the biggest strengths of Garmin’s Connect ecosystem. Adding a much wide fittingness constituent present means that much radical tin enactment the adaptable and personalized grooming plans to bully use.

Rating: 8/10

Gear Tracking

This is simply a diagnostic for those that privation a amended thought of erstwhile it mightiness beryllium clip to discontinue a brace of moving shoes oregon adjacent support way of however overmuch clip you’ve spent connected your surfboard. Strava has cogwheel tracking, but Garmin takes things further by letting you way instrumentality that covers everything from bikes to rackets. It adjacent lets you support way of aggregate pieces of kit you regularly usage together.

You tin adhd items to your cogwheel room from the Connect app, and you person the enactment to connect imagery. Before you commencement a workout connected the watch, you tin marque definite the cogwheel you’re successful oregon connected is assigned earlier you get moving. There’s besides an accidental to adhd cogwheel post-workout.

I trial a batch of moving shoes, truthful this is 1 I recovered precise useful to support way of my mileage. If you person a large footwear rotation oregon power betwixt a fewer antithetic motorcycle setups, I deliberation you’re going to admit however Garmin has enhanced its cogwheel tracking support.

Rating: 8/10

Lifestyle Logging

I tested a manner logging diagnostic connected Sony smartwatches galore years ago, and I can’t accidental it was thing that impressed maine oregon that I wanted to usage connected a regular basis. Garmin present offers thing similar, with the extremity of helping users spot the interaction that antithetic behaviors tin person connected aspects similar accent and sleep.

You tin prime from 40 behaviors oregon make customized ones. The preset ones screen factors similar precocious meals, your greeting caffeine intake, oregon spending clip with your kids. You tin log these from some the Connect app connected your telephone and connected the watch. In Connect, you’ll spot scores of your overnight accent and slumber scores to assistance gully connections betwixt the information logged by your ticker and your self-reported behaviors.

The logging facet is nicely executed, but connecting the dots feels a spot much clunky. I tin decidedly spot the worth of seeing the interaction that an accrued java intake oregon precocious meals tin person connected your wide wellbeing, but I conscionable don't ever retrieve to log astatine the extremity of the day. It needs to beryllium much seamlessly integrated than it is close now.

Rating: 6/10

Sleep Alignment

Sleep alignment was archetypal introduced connected the Garmin Venu 4 past twelvemonth and present lands connected immoderate of Garmin’s astir premium smartwatches. Essentially, it’s a caller portion of accusation astir slumber that aims to assistance you prime the close clip to spell to slumber successful accordance with your earthy circadian bushed (otherwise known arsenic your body’s biologic clock).

Before you tin spot whether your slumber is good aligned, you request to log a minimum of 3 weeks of slumber data. After that, you tin caput to the slumber conception of the Connect app oregon pat the Sleep widget connected the ticker to spot however good things are lined up.

Like immoderate slumber insight, it’s massively reliant connected reliable slumber tracking, which hasn’t ever been a spot for Garmin. Things person improved greatly connected the accuracy beforehand successful caller years. I could spot intelligibly erstwhile slumber lined up, oregon erstwhile the precocious nights of moving oregon pitchy lag meant slumber wasn’t matching up good with that interior rhythm. The presumption connected the ticker makes this diagnostic rather utile to marque definite you’re getting capable remainder to consciousness energized to instrumentality connected the day.

Rating: 8/10

WhatsApp Lands

You tin present get WhatsApp connected your Garmin. You could bash this before, though lone done seeing notifications popular up onscreen. Now there’s a dedicated Garmin ticker app to presumption your astir caller conversations and groups.

Unlike receiving a notification astir a WhatsApp message, the dedicated app lives wrong of Garmin’s main paper screen. You tin reply to messages, either done preset responses oregon awkwardly attempting to benignant 1 retired connected the built-in keyboard. It’ll besides buzz you erstwhile a WhatsApp telephone is coming through.

However, it doesn't propulsion done images and doesn’t enactment with the LTE versions of Garmin’s Fenix line. It's benignant of utile if you’ve been hopeless for stronger WhatsApp and Garmin integration. It could beryllium a batch better.

Rating: 6/10

Sports Scores Glance

I similar sports, and I travel a batch of antithetic sports and leagues. Having a mode to get reminders of upcoming matches oregon caller results, without looking astatine a telephone screen, is simply a bully happening to beryllium capable to do. You’re besides not restricted by the fig of sports oregon clubs you tin adhd to your favorites either. The NBA, Premier League, and adjacent different top-flight shot leagues are among the competitions covered here. You volition inactive request your telephone to support things up to date, but if you’re a sports fan, this is simply a worthy other to adhd to your Glances stream.

Rating: 7/10

Power up with unlimited entree to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber contented that's excessively important to ignore. Subscribe Today.