Garmin Q4 Features

In its Q4.2023 update, Garmin has finally made public some of the features we’ve reported on here for almost a year! with caveats, you get the new features providing you have one of the more modern watches. These will now automatically update on your watch.

Garmin HRM-FIT – closer – more info leaks – What is it?

Notable additions include nightly skin temperature tracking, body battery enhancements, and nap monitoring.

• Nap Detection (Fenix 7 derivatives and above, Forerunner 255 and above, Venu 3, Vivoactive 5): Automatically track or log naps and learn how they may benefit the body and the suggested time and duration they should be.
• Skin Temperature (Requires Elevate 5 oHR Sensor, Fenix 7 Pro, Venu 3): When wearing the watch to sleep, see how average skin temperature changes over time, which can be related to recent activity, sleep environment, potential illnesses and more. Check out Garmin’s experimental CORE Body Temperature CIQ Datafield or GreenTEG Core’s 3rd party sensor if you want to do it properly.
• Body Battery Energy Monitoring Enhancements: Nap Detection (Fenix 7 derivatives and above, Forerunner 255 and above, Venu 3, Vivoactive 5) Get even more details and personal insights on how sleep, naps, daily activities and stress specifically impact energy levels – even get a daily summary every evening recapping energy use throughout the day.
• Wrist-based Running Dynamics and Wrist-based Running Power: new to Venu 3
• Red Shift Mode – All new AMOLED-screen watches (except Vivoactive 5) now get this.
• Ski Activity Enhancement (Fenix 7 derivatives and above, Forerunner 255 and above): Continuously record an entire activity, even while on a chairlift (doh!) and during downhill runs, to get a more accurate recording of metrics like heart rate, activity time and elevation.
• Smart Notification Images (Fenix 7 derivatives and above, Forerunner 255 and above, Venu 3, Vivoactive 5, Edge x40 and Android): View photos directly on the watch screen. Not iOS.
• Face It Improvements: Add more data to customizable analogue or digital watch faces using Face It in the Connect IQ app.
• Dexcom Watch Face Integration (Fenix 7 derivatives and above, Forerunner 255 and above, Venu 3, Vivoactive 5): People with all types of diabetes (Type 1, Type 2 or gestational diabetes) who use a Dexcom G6 or Dexcom G7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System and a compatible Garmin smartwatch can view their glucose levels and trends on their watch face

Garmin Nap Detection – Insights & An a Explainer

Take Out

These are undoubtedly a decent set of features that will excite many owners, especially if you have one of the top-end watches and get the whole bunch.

Perhaps instead, like me, you’ll be having one of your ‘meh moments’

• Nap Detection: debatable scientific usefulness
  
• Skin Temperature: Not that relevant to sports. Only recorded at night. Garmin doesn’t yet use it for its algorithms for sleep stages and ovulation cycles.
• Body Battery Energy Monitoring Enhancements: slightly improved display
• Wrist-based Running Dynamics and Wrist-based Running Power: what’s taken so long fro Venu 3 to get this?
• Red Shift Mode – Love it or meh. I’m in the meh camp.
• Ski Activity Enhancement – it’ll be nice to record those ski-lift journeys (hmm, why?)
  
• Smart Notification Images – I have iOS
  
• Dexcom Watch Face Integration: I use Supersapiens
  

Parody: Garmin Fenix, Forerunner and Edge Messages – What they really mean