Garmin – Parallel announcements on 'new' CIQ apps at CES 2017

Garmin Fenix 5xAlongside the Fenix 5, Garmin have also announced some interesting new CIQ apps. They will also work on other CIQ devices rather than just the Fenix 5.

Hold on to your hats folks, there follows a long and super interesting post (or not).

The UBER app is for your UBER taxi arrival  – expect more of these as Garmin expand beyond useful sports apps to useful NON-sports apps. Ultimately though (longterm) I don’t see CIQ winning out over AndroidWear and Apple’s Watch OS.

Many of the apps/data fields announced, below, are not new. Probably most/all of them are not new. Hey! don’t blame the messenger, it’s Garmin’s press release. But the ‘news’ is the broadening beyond useful sportiness.

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OLATHE, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced several exciting new apps, data fields and watch faces available for Garmin users to download from its Connect IQ Store from companies including Uber, Trek, GU Energy Labs and nuun Active Hydration. Connect IQ, an open platform for third-party developers to create content for Garmin wearables, bike computers and outdoor handhelds, lets users customize their Garmin device to reflect their unique personalities and needs. Since its inception just two years ago, there have been more than 20 million Connect IQ app downloads to the more than 3 million compatible devices that have shipped around the world. These new Connect IQ apps are being announced in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 5-8.

“Connect IQ is a pillar of the Garmin wearables strategy which is centered on purpose-built devices for consumers who want to measure and enhance their active lifestyle pursuits, whether it’s running, cycling, swimming, golfing, boating, walking or simply being more active,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “Just as each Garmin user is unique, so are all of the apps available through Connect IQ. We’re excited to launch these new apps as we continue to integrate data from brands and developers and grow the Connect IQ store to make customizing your Garmin device both useful and fun.”

One of the newest apps for Connect IQ is UBER ETA by Garmin. Once a user has ordered a ride from the Uber app on their cell phone, UBER ETA will show the estimated time of the driver’s arrival directly on the Garmin wearable. No more going back and forth to the phone to see the status of the ride or key information about the driver – the UBER ETA app lets the user keep doing whatever they need to do while keeping track of their ride’s arrival on their wrist. UBER ETA will also provide the driver’s name, make and model of the car, license plate and guidance (direction and distance) to the pick-up location.

Connect IQ apps are also available for Garmin Edge® GPS bike computers, including a new data field from Trek/Bontrager. Committed to cycling safety, the Connect IQ data field from Garmin and Trek/Bontrager makes it easy for cyclists to get quick access to and control of their Bontrager headlights and taillights without leaving the Edge activity during their ride. Cyclists see the battery level of multiple lights and control the light setting for each across automatic, daylight, nighttime and more.

Other new Connect IQ apps include a GU Energy Labs data field that reminds the cyclist thru the Garmin Edge device when it’s time to fuel with GU Energy Gels while training and racing, as well as helping the athlete keep track of how many gels they should have eaten for optimal performance. For nuun Active Hydration users, a new custom watch face is now available so users can show off their nuun love from the wearable device on their wrist. The nuun watch face will also keep track of the user’s step progress towards their goal.

Garmin users will also benefit from other recently-released Connect IQ apps, including a widget from JOIN for cyclists that makes it easier to take part in group rides anywhere, anytime. In addition, various data fields are also available from Xert Advanced Power Analytics, including Maximal Power Available, Time to Exhaustion/Recovery, Fat/Carb Utilization, Strain Score and more. For runners, the Stryd IQ app displays data from a Stryd foot-mounted power meter onto a Garmin wearable to help improve running efficiency and longevity.

The Strava Live Suffer Score data field is also available for both Garmin bike computers and wearables, analyzing how much time the user spends in different heart rate zones, and measuring total activity effort with a simple rating. Also available for both wearables and bike computers, an update to the AccuWeather Edge MinuteCast Minute-by-Minute widget that provides the user with the most accurate hyper-local, by-the-minute precipitation forecasts for their active lifestyle.

Connect IQ is available on a wide range of Garmin products across all of the markets the company serves, and each app, widget, watch face and data field can be downloaded at no charge to the user. The Connect IQ Store can be found at apps.garmin.com or in the device tab of Garmin Connect. It can also be found in the device page of Garmin Express, or the More section of Garmin Connect Mobile. To learn more about developing a Connect IQ app, visit developer.garmin.com.

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