We’ve been digging into Garmin’s strangely silent release of Connect IQ 9 and found some interesting new capabilities lurking in its mysterious depths. This article tells you what that means for you as a Garmin watch owner.
We start with the core tech capabilities before showing how these then translate into real features. Garmin clearly will use them, as has been the case with every previous Connect IQ release.
Finally, the speculative section asks whether any of the features could translate into new products. The answer is probably not. Let’s go!
The new capabilities
Connect IQ 9 gives app developers six new capabilities, the first three being the most interesting.
- QR codes. An app can now generate and display a QR code on the watch screen, at any size and colour, sharp enough to scan. Until now, an app could only show a saved picture of a code.
- Your zone settings are available to apps. Apps can now read the heart rate zones, power zones, FTP, and sport profile already stored on your watch, as well as your planned bedtime and wake time. Previously, an app needing your zones made you type them in again. (Aside: Apple’s watchOS 27 this week took a different tack for the same problem and instead pushes to an app when you have crossed from one zone into another.)
- Smarter workout steps. Apps can now adapt a structured workout in real time, adjusting steps programmatically as the session progresses. New step duration types add to the range of criteria an app can use to control the flow of workout.
These improve technical performance.
- Longer messages. Text entered on the watch can now run to 256 characters, up from 32.
- A faster, more reliable connection to your phone. The connection between a watch app and its companion phone app gained speed and better error handling.
- Easier testing of paired sensors. Developers can finally test securely paired Bluetooth sensors without the physical hardware. This one is purely for the people building the apps.
What the capabilities turn into
In the past, every new Connect IQ feature was introduced by Garmin to support planned features, usually within a year.
The uses of QR codes on a watch are relatively obvious. Garmin bought a race-organising company and runs events in the USA, so the watch or bike computer as a race check-in is one obvious next step. Others include a gym pass, a club card, a loyalty card and a parkrun barcode. The uses go beyond sport: anywhere a scanner points at you, the watch replaces the card or the phone, and an app can generate a live QR code.
The open-ended workout step brings Connect IQ capabilities more in line with Garmin Connect’s workout builder. No doubt the real beneficiaries will be external plan and workout providers.
WhatsApp arrived on Garmin watches eight days after Connect IQ 9 went live, the first third-party messaging app on the platform. The timing suggests coordination rather than coincidence.
Which devices get it, and which do not
Connect IQ 9 requires API level 6.0. The devices that meet the criteria are shown in the table below.
| Gets Connect IQ 9 | Connect IQ 8 |
|---|---|
| Fenix 8 (all variants) | Forerunner 965 |
| Fenix E | Forerunner 265 |
| Enduro 3 | Fenix 7 / 7 Pro |
| Forerunner 570 / 970 | Venu 3 |
| Venu 4 / Venu X1 | Instinct 3 |
| vivoactive 6 | |
| D2 Mach 2 Pro | |
| Edge 1040 / 1040 Solar – Was CIQ8 | |
| Edge 540 / 840 (incl. Solar) – Was CIQ8 | |
| Edge 550 / 850 | |
| Edge 1050 | |
| Edge MTB |
Interestingly, age does not decide the list. The Edge 1040 launched in June 2022 and qualifies. The Forerunner 965, a flagship from spring 2023, does not. Hmmm. The Edge 540 and 840, from the same month as the 965, do qualify. The Venu 3 and Fenix 7 Pro, also from 2023, do not. The Instinct 3, launched in January 2025, is already capped, outlasted in platform support by a bike computer two and a half years its senior.
Garmin publishes no precise eligibility criteria for CIQ9 that we could find; it will likely follow the chips and memory inside each device rather than its release date or price. For example, the Instinct 3 is relatively underpowered, which is the most likely explanation for its cap. Devices still on CIQ8 could, in principle, be raised later, as older Edge models were, but owners of 2023 flagship watches will reasonably ask why a 2022 bike computer made the cut while theirs missed.
Timing
Connect IQ 9 is live. The first version, 9.1.0 (March 2026), was superseded by 9.2.0 on 9 June 2026.
New hardware
Nothing in Connect IQ 9 points to a new device or product category.
Quick answers
What can Garmin watches do now that they couldn't before?
Connect IQ 9 lets apps generate real QR codes on the watch screen, end workouts based on calories, reps, or training stress, and read your configured zones and FTP directly without asking you to type them in. WhatsApp on Garmin also launched alongside it.
Which Garmin watches support Connect IQ 9?
The Fenix 8 family, Fenix E, Enduro 3, Forerunner 570 and 970, Venu 4, Venu X1, vivoactive 6 and D2 Mach 2 Pro. Several Edge bike computers also qualify. The Forerunner 965, Fenix 7 Pro, Venu 3, and Instinct 3 do not.
Will older Garmin watches get Connect IQ 9 later?
Possibly. Garmin upgraded the Edge 1040, 540 and 840 from CIQ 8 to CIQ 9 after launch, which shows it can and does raise older hardware. Whether 2023 watches as the Forerunner 965 follow is unknown.
What is Garmin Connect IQ 9?
Connect IQ 9 is the 2026 update to the platform that runs third-party apps on Garmin watches and Edge bike computers. It gives app developers six new capabilities, including QR code generation and smarter workout steps.
Last Updated on 29 June 2026 by the5krunner
My favourite kit and nutrition
- Injinji – Runners protect your toes. Avoid discomfort and minor injury. Run more. Run faster. I use them.
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter — The small adapter that keeps your charging cables tidy. Essential for race day. I use one.
- Garmin charging puck — the fastest and most reliable way to top up your Garmin before a session. I use one.
- 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. I use one.
- Body Glide – The blue anti-chafe stick that all swimmers and many runners use. I use it.
- Maurten — The race nutrition trusted by elite athletes. Gels and drink mixes engineered to be easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Garmin Varia RTL515 — A radar rear light that alerts you to vehicles approaching from behind. Pairs with your Edge or Garmin watch. I use this model.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2 — The power-meter pedals most serious cyclists choose. Accurate, easy to move between bikes. I use this model.
- Garmin Forerunner 970 — A serious choice for a pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Polar H10 — My daily driver for accurate, waking HRV readings.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3 — The bike computer that has the feature Garmin lacks: usability. I use mine on most rides.
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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
For watches, it seems like it’s all devices based on the new UI that was introduced with the Fenix 8 and I believe now share most of their code. FR570/970, Venu 4, X1. Fenix 7, FR965, and Venu 3 were all on older sw so would have been way more development and testing effort. Not sure about the Edge – somewhat surprised it got taken back to the x40’s.
quite!
I think it is tied to the unified GarminOS. Garmin has drawn a line in the sand that the fenix 8 generation has a major OS rewrite and they are not porting it back to older devices — even when the hardware is identical. The Fenix E is identical to an epix. The Fenix 8 and enduro 3 and 970 have only the most minor internal chip hardware differences.
Garmins cost a fortune and in return you get poor support. Glad I sold my forerunner 965 and went back to Suunto.
Forerunner 70/170 are also on CIQ9, right?
I would assume so. I’ll have to check, I don’t think it was on the docs I saw.
Edge x40 support isn’t so surprising as they are keeping it updated with most features from the x50. It also has the extra CPU and RAM to easily handle the overhead. (Ie doesn’t have to be as optimized as adding to a watch like the Fenix 7 plus may share it’s code base with the x50 so much easier to back port)
When the 1050 Edge was released, they claimed that the 1040 Solar would continue being considered their current long distance model. I guess they are not completely forgetting that claim.
540 and 840 (and regular 1040) are essentially the same, it would make little sense to exclude them from update deployment. In fact there stories like that of the fabled USB-C 530 (*) that indicate that Garmin is truly open to considering older models an extension of their portfolio rather than a cannibalisation that to current models. When the 30/+ Series was cut off pretty fast they already mentioned a big UI overhaul and unification, so I guess on the *40 Edge it already is an early version of that new shared codebase for all watches approach.
(*) https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/edge530/EN-US/GUID-CE71E601-BA73-4807-8D30-84EDCC1CCBBA.html
I agree, this is disappointing but a the same time , these new features are just nice to have. Someone selling their 965 to buy a 970 so they can put a barcode on their watch seems like a waste of money for me. I have the parkrun barcode on my watch, I’ve used it once much more convenient to carry my laminated little tag in my zip pocket in my shorts.
hi
yes i have the parkrun barcode. personally i find it useful as i can put all the family’s bardcodes on it to and i never got round to having a plastic tag, i’m an og paper parkrunner.
the differnce here is that QR can be generated dynamically, im not sure if that app does that?? also i’ll need to think about the wider significant of it