Garmin officially reveals Google Health Connect support for wearables
Yesterday, Garmin finally introduced Google Maps integration for many of its smartwatches, ranging from the Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5 to more expensive options like the Fenix 7 and Fenix 8 (curr. $999.99 on Amazon). As we discussed separately, the new app only works when these smartwatches are paired with an Android smartphone. Unfortunately, Garmin provided no clarity about the functionality ever reaching iOS.
Nonetheless, Garmin also buried a second new feature within the same press release relating to Google Health Connect. For some reason, Google Health Connect integration was only given a one-line mention in yesterday's press release. However, its rollout introduces the option of synchronising the data that a Garmin smartwatch collects with third-party services, the full list of which can be found on the Google Play Store. The full list of data that Garmin can send to Health Connect is as follows:
Activity Data
- Active and Total Calories Burned
- Cycling Pedal Cadence
- Distance
- Elevation Gained
- Heart Rate
- Speed
- Steps
- Swimming Strokes
Wellness Data
- Body Fat
- Total Calories Burned
- Floors Climbed
- Heart Rate
- Sleep Stages
- Steps and Step Distance
- Weight
It is worth noting that Garmin can only send data to Health Connect in a one-way transfer. In other words, the Garmin Connect app cannot read data from Health Connect. Also, one must consent to Garmin synchronising data with Health Connect; the process will not happen automatically. Moreover, synchronisation will only occur with smartphones running at least Android 14. Please see Garmin's support page for more details.
Source(s)
