Tag: Updates

Instinct Pro version 2.4.0

What’s new

Dataset switching by gesture

You can choose how many datasets you want to switch by gesture (from 0 to 4).

Switching datasets requires double gesture, to minimize unintended switches when you move your hand for other reasons than looking at your watch.

When you raise your wrist the first time, an indicator bar appears between Data 3 and Data 5. It shows which data set is currently active – the number of bar segments (1 to 4) reflects the currently active set.

While you see the bar, move your wrist again to cycle to the next data set. This movement must be completed within the ‘Gesture timeout’ defined in the settings, or before the bar disappears. If you find it difficult to get the dataset to switch, try making the timeout longer.

Waking up to full display by gesture in power save mode

If you set ‘Full on gesture’ to ‘On’, wrist movement while in power save mode will activate the regular full screen display for about 10 seconds.

Two configurable data line gauges

They are located above (Top line) and below (Bottom line) the time and present the same collection of data as the circle arcs or highlight.

3 new entries have been added for line gauges at the end of the ‘Color setup’. First for line background color (applicable to top/bottom), second for top line foreground, last for bottom line foreground (foreground color reflects the selected data current level/progress). Remember that each entry has two colors for black and white screen background (this applies to AMOLED devices too even though white screen background is not supported).

If you don’t want to see these new data lines, on monochrome devices just set them to ‘Off’. On color devices, the background color will still be visible, so to hide it completely, you will need to edit the ‘Color setup’ to change the line background colors to black and white (white does not apply to AMOLED devices).

For example, with yellow accent:

Before: 61,56,63,0,60,56,56,52,63,56,62,0,60,0,63,0,61,0,61,52,56,56,61,0,61, 0

After: 61,56,63,0,60,56,56,52,63,56,62,0,60,0,63,0,61,0,61,52,0,63,61,0,61,0

Live HR in the circle

This is the new default setting for the circle number. If you have ‘Live HR’ selected for more than one data field, only one of these fields will be updated live, the rest will update according to your ‘Data update’ setting.

Removed the gap between hours and minutes in 24h time format

Rails version 3.0.0

What’s new

New time font option

Select ‘Opt4’ from the ‘Time font’ list.

Date field now configurable to allow showing bottom icons text instead

This allows much more information to be shown in the bottom icons. Since the Date is no longer displayed in the bottom field, it can be selected for Opt1 – Opt6 data fields. The choice of data points for the top and bottom icons is now the same.

Launching widgets by screen press

This is only possible on devices with touch screen which run ‘System 6’. According to Garmin, it will not become available on Venu, D2 Air and Venu Sq / Music.

In Rails, these elements are sensitive to touch:

  • Top icons
  • Bottom icons
  • Left data icon
  • Right data icon
  • Opt1 – Opt6 data icons
  • Bottom field (if set to date)

A long press on any of the above launches an associated app (if available).

New data options

• Next calendar event time data option

This is only available on System 6 devices, and will not work unless your watch firmware is updated to System 6.

• Battery days icon option

Only available on compatible devices (notably, not on Forerunners).

New power save mode showing big hollow time

Option to activate full screen on gesture when in power save mode

Allows to display full screen information for about 10 seconds on gesture.

Night & Day version 2.11.0

What’s new

  • Weekly activity distance (run, cycle, swim)

    It is only available on compatible devices (generally those running CIQ 3.3.0 or higher).

    Shows the distance recorded in run, cycle and swim activities since the beginning of the week.

    The beginning of the week (Saturday, Sunday or Monday) is defined in Garmin Connect User Settings.

  • Compass showing heading, bearing and speed

    It displays meaningful data only when there is an activity running in the background.

    While recoding an activity you can switch to the watch face by a hotkey or a screen swipe.

    The compass field contains 4 numbers:

    1) Heading – This is the direction the watch is facing
    2) Bearing – This is the direction in which the watch is moving. If stationary, it will show the same value as heading
    3) Speed in m/s
    4) GPS signal quality (0 = GPS is not available, 1 = last known GPS fix, 2 = poor, 3 = usable, 4 = good)

  • Escape character in date format

    Entering ‘=’ in the date format will cause the next character to be taken literally (not substituted with a date component).

  • Bug fix for the seconds sometimes displayed incorrectly

Instinct Pro version 2.2.0

What’s new

  • 4 configurable datasets for quick changes of displayed data

    How this works:

    A new ‘Dataset’ setting option was added for quick changing of the displayed data configuration. It allows to choose sets Opt1 to Opt4. Each set keeps the configuration for the main data fields, left and/or right data fields (depending on the device), and the circle.

    You will start with Dataset Opt1 which keeps your existing data setup. When you choose a dataset that was not used before, it will begin with the default settings. Then you can can select the data that you want in this set and save the settings.

    The next time you switch to this set from another, your configuration will be restored.

  • Switching between datasets can be done quickly on the watch, without the need to reach for the phone

    NOTE: This is only possible on watches running CIQ 2.3.0 or higher.

    How this works:

    When you go to the watch face selection menu on your device, besides the ‘Apply’ option, you will see ‘Customize’ if your device supports it. When you select it, you will be able to cycle between the 4 data sets by pressing the select key or tapping on the ‘Dataset’ option. Once done, press the exit key.

  • Switching color themes on the watch

    How this works:

    Press the select key or tap the ‘Theme’ option. Then press the exit key.


  • Escape character in date format

    How this works:

    If you enter ‘=’ (equals sign) in the ‘Date format’ field, the following character will be taken literally, i.e. not substituted by its assigned data.

    So for example ‘=n’ will show an n instead of the day name.

    If you input ‘Garmin’ in the ‘Date format’, you will get something like Gar1iFri or Gpr1iFri (depending on the time of the day), but if you input ‘G=ar=mi=n’, you will always get Garmin.

  • Military Date Time Group (DTG) option for some data fields

  • Removed units in distances to save screen space

  • Changed wind speed ‘kn’ (ISO recommendation) to ‘kt’ (used in aviation)

Instinct Pro version 2.1.0

What’s new

Graphs

  • Graph options have been added for Data 5, Data 7 – 10 (or 7 – 12 on Instinct Crossover)

  • Possible data / graph duration:

    HR – 1 hour
    Body Battery – 3 hours
    Stress – 3 hours
    SpO2 – 2.5 days
    Elevation – 2 hours
    Barometric pressure – 2 hours
    Temperature – 2 hours

    The actual choice depends on the device capabilities.

  • The graph duration may be dependent on the device. If you find that it is different on your watch please send feedback to vgfsyhcxft@gmail.com.

  • There are three presentation options for the graphs (line, area or colors).

    Colors is only available on devices with color display.

  • Color mapping depends on the type of the graph:

    HR: according to the sport for which the current activity retrieves heart rate zone thresholds, or ‘generic’ if there is no activity (zone 1 – gray, zone 2 – blue, zone 3 – green, zone 4 – yellow, zone 5 – red)

    Body battery: <= 25 – red, <= 50 – yellow, <= 75 – green, <= 100 – blue

    Stress: <= 25 – blue, <= 50 – green, <= 75 – yellow, <= 100 – red

    SpO2: <= 92.5 – red, <= 95.0 – yellow, <= 97.5 – green, <= 100.0 blue

    Elevation, Pressure, Temperature: lowest 25% – blue, lower medium 25% – green, upper medium 25% – yellow, highest 25% – red

  • On devices with AMOLED or LCD display, the graph always defaults to line style in AOD mode because of battery drain and burn-in protection considerations.

Rails version 2.20.0

What’s new

Body weight

Shows body weight according to Garmin User Profile.

Sun bar

When selected for one of the rails it shows daylight, golden and blue hours (and a mark for sunrise/sunset) in a 2 hour window.

If the ‘Sun bar + times’ option is selected, it will override the data fields above or below the rail with golden/blue/twilight hours.

Countdown timer

To conserve space, now it shows only the part that is significant in comparison with the remaining countdown time. So it will show only the number of remaining days if it is larger than zero, otherwise it will show hours:minutes.

Rails version 2.18.0

NOTE: This post describes combined new features of releases 2.18.0 and 2.17.0, since they were made in quick succession.

What’s new

  • 6 new data points (stress, body battery, respiration rate, time to recovery, VO2Max (running + cycling)*
  • Battery in days added if battery info is displayed in data fields Opt 1 – Opt 4*
  • Location fallback to Garmin weather if not available from activity**
  • Oversize HR and seconds / Oversize data options now also available on AMOLED/LCD devices
  • 2 more custom colors
  • 2 additional data fields (Opt 5 between Opt 1 and Opt 2 and Opt 6 between Opt 3 and Opt 4)
  • Top icons text hidden when the icon color is the same as the background color
  • ‘Feels like’ can be selected for all data fields
  • ‘Chance of rain’ renamed to ‘Precipitation’. If it is selected for Opt 1 – Opt 4, precipitation volume [mm] will be appended if available
  • More data options for ‘Right data’ and ‘When seconds off, show’ fields

Important notes

(*) The highly anticipated new data is only available on some devices and may require firmware update from Garmin before it starts working. So it may happen that it will not be displayed on your watch yet (you will see “–” instead).

To check if your device is compatible, go to the watch menu System / About / SW versions and look for “Connect IQ System 5” or “API level” higher than 3.3.0.

It has been tested OK on Garmin’s simulator and on a real Venu, so hopefully it should be working on your watch too, as soon as the update to System 5 arrives.

Connect IQ System 5 has rolled out on a number of devices with more coming:

Now AvailablePublic Beta AvailableComing Soon
Forerunner® 245 Series
Forerunner® 745
Forerunner® 945
Forerunner® 945 LTE
Venu® Series
Venu® 2 Series
Venu® 2 Plus Series
Vivoactive 4 Series		Edge® 530
Edge® 830
Edge® 1030
Edge® 1030 Plus		epixTM (gen 2)
fēnix® 5 Plus Series
fēnix® 6 Series
fēnix® 7 Series
Instinct® 2 Series
MARQ® Series
quatix® 6
tactix® 6
Venu® Sq Series

(**) This is only available on devices running Connect IQ 3.2.x and supporting Garmin weather

Gradient version 2.3.0

  • New data options added for fields 3-10, 13-16:

    • Stress
    • Body Battery
    • Respiration
    • Time to Recovery

  • NOTE:

    • These are only available on devices running Connect IQ ‘System 5’, API Level 3.3.x or higher
    • You can check the Connect IQ version on your watch by going to the watch menu ‘System -> About -> SW Versions’

  • According to Garmin’s documentation, these devices are expected to support the new features:

    • Captain Marvel
    • D2™ Air
    • D2™ Air X10
    • Darth Vader™
    • Descent™ Mk2 / Descent™ Mk2i
    • Descent™ Mk2 S
    • epix™ (Gen 2)
    • First Avenger
    • Forerunner® 245
    • Forerunner® 245 Music
    • Forerunner® 55
    • Forerunner® 745
    • Forerunner® 945
    • Forerunner® 945 LTE
    • fēnix® 6 / 6 Solar / 6 Dual Power
    • fēnix® 6 Pro / 6 Sapphire / 6 Pro Solar / 6 Pro Dual Power / quatix® 6
    • fēnix® 6 Pro System 5 Preview
    • fēnix® 6S / 6S Solar / 6S Dual Power
    • fēnix® 6S Pro / 6S Sapphire / 6S Pro Solar / 6S Pro Dual Power
    • fēnix® 6X Pro / 6X Sapphire / 6X Pro Solar / tactix® Delta Sapphire / Delta Solar / Delta Solar – Ballistics Edition / quatix® 6X / 6X Solar / 6X Dual Power
    • fēnix® 7
    • fēnix® 7S
    • fēnix® 7X
    • MARQ® Adventurer
    • MARQ® Athlete
    • MARQ® Aviator
    • MARQ® Captain / MARQ® Captain: American Magic Edition
    • MARQ® Commander
    • MARQ® Driver
    • MARQ® Expedition
    • MARQ® Golfer
    • Rey™
    • Venu™
    • Venu™ 2
    • Venu™ 2 Plus
    • Venu™ 2S
    • Venu™ Mercedes-Benz® Collection
    • Venu® Sq
    • Venu® Sq. Music Edition
    • vívoactive® 4
    • vívoactive® 4S

  • If your device is on the list above, but the Connect IQ version on it is below 3.3.x, or does not feature the “System 5”, you may need to wait for a firmware update from Garmin

Gradient version 2.2.0

  • This update brings more flexibility in the data configuration which allows simultaneous display of more information:

    • The top and bottom data fields now include the option to show the Active bar.

    • A configurable date option was added for the data fields 3-10.

      The date field is fully configurable using Garmin app and can display all the data that were previously possible in the fields 13-16, in any order, plus additional characters to separate the data (e.g. space, /, -, . , etc.).

      To configure the date, you need to enter any of the following letters in the ‘Date format’ setting:

      d = day number without leading zero
      D = day number with leading zero
      m = month number without leading zero
      M = month number with leading zero
      y = 2-digit year
      Y = 4-digit year
      n = day name (according to system language)
      N = month name (according to system language)
      w = ISO week number without leading zero
      W = ISO week number with leading zero
      a = AM/PM

      Any other character (e.g. – / : . []) will be displayed if it is available on the watch.

      For example, you can use the following formats:

      “n N d” → Fri Aug 24
      “n D.M” → Fri 24.08
      “d/m [W]” → 24/8 [34]
      “Y\M\D” → 2018\08\24
      “m-d-y” → 8-24-18
      “n D (w)” → Fri 28 (34)


      The highlight/line for the date field shows progress towards the end of the week, according to the ‘first day of the week’ set in Garmin Connect User Settings.

    • To make space for a long date you can set the opposite data field to “Off”.

    • This way of showing the date frees up the data fields 13-16 for other information. The available options (depending on the device) include:


      – Notifications counter
      – Active alarm counter
      – Calories
      – Active calories
      – Floors
      – Active minutes (day)
      – Active minutes (week)
      – Wrist HR (updated once a minute)
      – Wrist HR (updated once a minute or every second on gesture)
      – SpO2
      – Internal sensor temperature
      – Humidity
      – Chance of precipitation
      – Battery %
      – Solar charging %

  • Beaufort wind speed unit has been added.

  • On round watches, if one of the top or bottom data fields is set to “Off”, the icon of the opposite field is shown in the middle, not on the side as before.