Garmin Watch to get Google Maps.

Today, we get a leak that Google intends to add Google Maps routing functionality to Garmin watches. Let’s take a quick look at how it will work and then move on to the implications, which are wide-ranging for Garmin and all of us.

Source: u/bendotlc/

How it works

Google Maps will determine the route on your smartphone and then communicate with a Connect IQ app, authored by Google.

All routing and rerouting logic is handled by Google Maps on your smartphone, meaning that the feature will not require a map-enabled Garmin Watch. Your Garmin watch will receive map tiles, which are ‘dumb’ images at various levels of zoom combined with a breadcrumb line representing your completed and target route, including any rerouting.

Evidence: String "Enable Garmin Watch Mirroring"

Google’s Connect IQ app for Maps will also determine and display turn-by-turn alerts.

A secondary feature option also appears to be included, allowing a destination POI to be shared with your Garmin watch. In this case, higher-spec Garmin watches with onboard maps capture the GPS coordinates of your destination and guide you there using their logic and maps. It’s unclear how Garmin will receive this POI outside of Connect IQ.

Evidence: String  GAIA_SHARE_WAYPOINT = “Share with Garmin watch”)

Isn’t that similar to DWMAPS from https://dynamic.watch?

A: Yes!

This kind of navigation already exists and, to some extent, has been proven on many Garmin watch models without maps, such as the Instinct 3.

And isn’t the second feature somewhat similar to Garmin Explore?

A: Yes

The free Garmin Explore app is a handy companion to anyone navigating with a Garmin device. One of Explore’s features lets you place a POI on a Garmin map on your smartphone and then send it to your Garmin Watch. The Garmin watch then utilises its mapping capabilities to navigate you to the point, whether it’s a routed or a bearing-based route.

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Is this the end of the premium we pay for Garmin Watches that have Garmin Maps?

A: No

I see the features discussed as pseudo-smartwatch features rather than serious navigation features. They will be convenient for navigating cities, and to some extent, may mimic city-based navigation features used by Apple Watch for several years. Venu and Vivoactive watches might become more attractive with these features.

Perhaps other Garmin watches below $500 might become slightly more attractive, as they tend not to have onboard maps. Thus, Garmin Instinct might be confidently purchased by casual weekend warriors who follow well-trodden routes. Perhaps they would have used Garmin Explore previously or been satisfied with a breadcrumb route a couple of times a year. This might be a more attractive option to them, making the watch seem more powerful and supported by a smartphone-based app with which they are much more familiar for routing – indeed, they may well be an avid Google Maps navigator in their car.

The more serious adventurer, equipped with a Garmin Fenix or bike navigator, such as a Garmin Edge 1050, will continue to use the (probably) superior mapping features on their device.

Perhaps the big loser here might be DWMAP.

What could possibly go wrong?

The main point of failure for this type of navigation, in my experience, is the Bluetooth Connection. Once you start moving quickly or zooming in and out rapidly, you suddenly require more map tile images to be sent over the Bluetooth link and a faster graphics engine to display them.

Google might be able to pre-cache tiles at the next level of zoom or along your route. However, Garmin’s graphics engines are a bigger weak spot. Even with my top-end Forerunner 970, a zoom or pan can take up to 10 seconds, which is pretty dire. I would guess that the memory limitations in Connect IQ might make for even worse graphics performance.

Some big Benefits

Potentially, this could work well for Google. Its well-recognised brand name, combined with a pent-up demand for maps on Garmin’s cheaper watches, could make the app a runaway success.

Pros

• Ease of Navigation: Start a route in your familiar Google Maps app, and it appears on your watch with no need for exporting, syncing, or pre-planning.
• Real-Time Turn-by-Turn (TBT): Live directions with automatic rerouting.
• POI & Address Support: Navigate to any location on Google Maps, not just pre-planned courses or GPS coordinates.
• Reduced Friction for adoption by existing Garmin Owners: More plug-and-play than Garmin Connect or Explore route builders.
• No Course Import/Export: Reduces reliance on GPX/TCX file transfers or third-party routing platforms.
• Compatible with Multiple Sports: Useful for running, walking, cycling, or touring with minimal setup and learning curve.
• Competitive edge vs. Suunto, Polar: Garmin becomes the only major sportswatch brand with official Google Maps TBT support.
• Potential to Attract Casual Users to Garmin, or increase the use of Garmin Watches by owners: Converts “non-Garmin” and “non-Google” fitness watch users who rely on phones or 3rd parties for navigation.

Cons

• Requires Phone Connection: Navigation stops if Bluetooth is disconnected; not suitable for phone-free workouts.
• Increased Battery Drain: Streaming maps and directions over Bluetooth will drain batteries faster.
• A to B, Not Routes: This is more of a ‘navigate to’ solution rather than a route.
• No Offline Navigation: Unlike Garmin Courses or Explore, you can’t download routes or tiles for offline use.
• Not Native to Garmin’s Nav System: No integration with native Garmin features like ClimbPro.
• Devalues Garmin’s Tools and routing ecosystem by reducing the need for Garmin Connect’s course builder, the Explore app, or Course sync from Strava/Komoot.
• Third-Party App Disruption: Apps such as dwMap and r.485 may become obsolete or rendered obsolete.
• Dependence on Google’s Ecosystem: Shifts routing control to Google, potentially weakening Garmin’s independence and differentiation.

Take Out

This could turn out to be a damp squib, if it technically performs so poorly on lower-spec models that no one uses it. Or it could be transformational, with many positive ramifications for Google and its maps. Either way, Garmin will still own the platform on the wrist so I wouldn’t expect a significant shift away from that in its importance.

The biggest winner will be us. For sooooo long, I’ve found everyday routing to be a complete PITA. Google Maps and (yikes), dare I say even Apple Maps, are generally very handy and typically work well. When groups of us go cycling, there’s still technical inertia that means it’s rarely the case that we all get to the start of our Sunday cycling adventures with the same routes on our various devices. We’ve been doing it for years….or failing to do it (navigating routes correctly) for years. Why is it so difficult?

…it’s a logical step for Google since they can see from Apple Watch and Google Wear watch integrations that people like to be able to keep their phone in their pocket during hikes and (especially) bike rides and just rely on prompts on the watch.  The key problem Google faces is that Maps is not a very good way to find and create routes — it’s geared towards getting from A to B rather than finding a scenic loop that gets you from A back to A.  Route planners like dynamicWatch are all about the roads and paths you want to go on, not the start and end points. [@MarcusN, dwmap]

Source: u/bendotlc/ via Garmin Rumours.

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tfk, the5krunner
Sports Technology Reviewer and International Age Group TriathleteWith 20 years of testing Garmin wearables and competing in triathlons at an international age group level, I provide expert insights into fitness tech, helping athletes and casual users make informed choices.

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