Garmin Connect™

Description of App

Garmin Connect™ is your one-stop source for health and fitness data. Whether you’re training for a race or tracking steps, it provides the information and inspiration you need to beat yesterday.

Once paired with a compatible(1) Garmin device, activity tracking is just the beginning of what Garmin Connect™ can do for you. You can create new workouts, build courses and even challenge your friends to compete, all within the app.

Garmin Connect™ is packed with useful features, including the ability to:

  • View today’s health data in vivid detail on your personalized My Day page.
  • Analyze your activities and their related statistics.(2)
  • Create customized workouts and courses.
  • Sync with other apps like Apple Health, MyFitnessPal and Strava.
  • Review personal records for steps, distance and pace.
  • Earn badges for accomplishments.
  • See how you measure up to other Connect users with Insights.
  • Get support for Garmin devices and their features.

Are you ready to join millions of users who walk, run, bike, hike and strive to beat yesterday? Learn more about Garmin devices and how they work with the Garmin Connect™ app at Garmin.com.

(1) See compatible devices at Garmin.com/BLE. (2) Activity tracking accuracy: Garmin.com/en-US/legal/atdisclaimer

Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Version

4.27.0.33

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

No

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

13.3.1

Accessibility Comments

The first step in the setup is creating the Garmin Connect account. I was able to do this easily with all form elements labeled properly. The App handles the Bluetooth pairing and you will need to enter a 6 digit code displayed on the Garmin device. I required a sighted person to complete the pairing process, but otherwise the rest of the setup was relatively straight forward. Selecting a watch face for the Garmin device was the other step that was, for lack of a better word, redundant. In the App, the 6 different watch faces display different metrics, including time and date, weather, Body Battery etc. I just left the default option (time and date) but there is also a blank option (option 6).
Using the App has, so far, been on a scale between easy enough and cumbersome. It makes use of a lot of native iOS controls such as data pickers, switch controls, VoiceOver actions in list items, tabs and text elements. There is a lot to explore so I am still learning. The App opens up in the My Day view, which is one of five tabs along the bottom edge of the screen. These tabs are clearly defined. The My Day view includes todays' statistics. On the top edge of the My Day view is another four tabs which are not accessible by VoiceOver. They are: Notifications, Profile, Devices, and Sync Now. These tabs also provide a visual indicator of their respective status (e.g., sync status). While these four tabs are not accessible by VoiceOver, they are merely shortcuts to sections of the App that can be accessed via the bottom tab bar.
The other bottom tab bar includes My day, Challenges, Calendar, News Feed, and More. In the More view, you'll find everything fairly easy using VoiceOver. From this view you can find your profile, device settings and fine tune your Garmin device and goals. Most buttons and elements are properly labeled but some use an underscore or use camel case, for example. Very few elements are undefined, such as the watch face, and some other elements that solely rely on visual feedback, like selecting an avatar for your profile.
Exploring Notifications and News Feed, most elements are labeled correctly. The views are arranged as list views similar to the Apple News app, and list items support VoiceOver actions. The Calendar seems complicated and haven't really had a play with that yet.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads most page elements.

Button Labeling

Most buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

There are some accessibility issues with this app, but it can still be used if you are willing to tolerate these issues and learn how to work around them.

Other Comments

While the Garmin Connect app does require some refinement, it can share data with Apple Health, Strava and MyFitnessPal. You can also access your data from the Garmin Connect website at https://connect.garmin.com. My primary motivation for purchasing the Garmin was the Apple HealthKit compatibility. I figured I would use the Garmin as a fitness tracker and the Health app to monitor my data, but it seems the Garmin Connect app does a relatively okay job.

Developer's Twitter Username

@Garmin

Recommendations

1 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Tim 4 years 9 months ago

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