It’s a slow news day. I’ll improvise and include a few things that have been waiting to find a story to be added to.
As well as some new premium VivoMove finishes, Garmin and Spotify have finally pieced together all the bits that need piecing together to enable a Spotify CIQ app to work via a touchscreen. Yay.
But first some VivoMove images.
Moving swiftly on and back to the subject that brought you here.
It was interesting to see that there are nearly 84,000 downloads/installs of Garmin’s SPOTIFY app which I assume will be almost entirely accounted for by Fenix5 models and the Forerunner 645 Music. That’s a lot of downloads since SPOTIFY for CIQ was launched in October 2018 initially for the Fenix 5 Plus devices but then also to the Forerunner 645 Music within the space of a month.
Now that Spotify works on the Vivoactive 3 Music (VA3M) as well it will be interesting to both see how high those installs rise to and to test this all out on the LTE version for ‘proper’ streaming….if it works…which I don’t think it does (yet).
Garmin’s VA3M in many ways competes with the Apple Watch and I think I’m right in saying that even Apple is not quite there yet when it comes to ‘proper’ live streaming with Spotify.
Anyway, I could show you a picture of a VA3M with Spotify but you’ve probably already seen the same spoon-fed media images so I will try to avoid being boring and repetitive as I know you are a clever and enquiring lot and need a little more mental stimulation for your gadgetry.
Let’s widen things up a bit.
It’s not just the official SPOTIFY app that adds the functionality. CIQ contains more apps that augment your SPOTIFY experience such as the G-PLAYLIST shown in this video and which has 60,000 downloads…not bad.
It’s also interesting to see how Garmin classify their relationship with SPOTIFY and, indeed, SPOTIFY are classified as a STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP in music. No big surprise there and no big surprise that DEEZER and iHEARTRADIO are also formally classified as ‘strategic’ on garmin.com
So, let’s widen things up even more
Q: What else does Garmin classify as STRATEGIC?
Well, for MUSIC HEADPHONES they include AFTERSHOKZ, JAYBIRD SPORT, PLANTRONICS and SKULLCANDY so if you want to be sure which headphones will most likely work best then choose one of those. I’ll stick with my Jabra Elite 65t, thank you very much (I used them today)…but that’s another story relating to >1 mile of swimming and two hours of running. 
Q: Does anything else count as strategic?
Yup. The FITNESS sphere also includes the following strategic partners of STRAVA, SHIMANO, TRAINERROAD, THE SUFFERFEST, TRAINING PEAKS and TRAILFORKS.
Sometimes it’s as interesting to see what’s not in the list as well as what is in the list.
I will let you ponder that.
Last Updated on 20 January 2026 by the5krunner
My favourite kit and nutrition
- Maurten — the race nutrition trusted by elite athletes. Gels and drink mix engineered to be easy on the stomach.
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter — the small adapter that keeps your charging cable tidy at the stem. Essential for race day.
- Garmin charging puck — the fastest and most reliable way to top up your Garmin before a session.
- Ravemen FR300 — front light that mounts directly under your Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Keeps your bars clean and your beam pointed where it matters.
- Garmin Varia RTL515 — radar rear light that alerts you to vehicles approaching from behind. Pairs with your Edge or Garmin watch.
- Stryd — the footpod that brings running power to your Garmin. The single most useful running upgrade I have made.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2 — the power meter pedals most serious cyclists end up choosing. Accurate, easy to move between bikes.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID
