Garmin is beefing up its Connect IQ operating system in a bid to make its sports watches and bike computers a whole lot smarter.
The wearable maker has officially launched Connect IQ 3.0 at its second Connect IQ Developer Summit, taking place at its headquarters in Kansas. Along with a host of new Connect IQ apps, it's hoping to make it easier for developers to build and integrate audio features for its wearables, and first debuted on the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music GPS watch.
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That means we should see more applications, watch faces and data fields that will allow you to access music, podcasts and audiobooks via Garmin devices that are built with those audio features. Garmin also wants to make it easier for devs to integrate Garmin's maps into their apps and take advantage of its smartphone notification features.
New Garmin Connect apps
Garmin users can look forward to more dedicated apps from the likes of MySwimPro, Trailforks, Yelp and iHeartRadio. The MySwimPro app will offer swimmers the ability to access six, eight and 12-week personalized training plans. Yelp is aimed at Edge bike computer owners helping them find nice routes and places of interest nearby. The Trailforks Connect IQ app is another one for cyclists letting you download mountain biking routes to your Edge computer.
The iHeartRadio app meanwhile is built with the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music initially in mind offering the ability to let premium iHeartRadio subscribers sync playlists to the wearable. Garmin has also announced the Gu data field 2.0, which can be added to your watch and alert users when to take a packet of Gu when they're out on their ride or run.
The Garmin Connect 3.0 software update, along with the new Connect IQ apps, will start rolling out to compatible devices today. You can check if your wearable or bike computer plays nice with the new features by checking out the Connect IQ compatibility list on Garmin's developer website.
The Connect IQ Developer Summit runs until 19 April, so there may well be more announcements to come and we'll be sure to let you know if there's any more Garmin software goodies on the way.
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By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.