New Garmin Training Features (2026): Nutrition Tracking, Lifestyle Logging, and More | WIRED

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I’ve been reviewing Garmin watches for well over a decade now, and the company has never made that big a deal about software updates. Now we get an update every few months. What's changed in the past few years? The competition has.

For a long time, Garmin needed only to keep an eye on what a few other fitness trackers were up to. Now it has Apple, Samsung, and a whole host of other smartwatch brands offering premium outdoor features like satellite communications and more.

It’s no longer enough to be great at capturing accurate GPS running and cycling routes or filling your watch screen with detailed maps. Garmin decided it was time to step up its update game. The likes of the Apple Watch Ultra-esque Venu X1 ($700), Fenix 8 Pro ($1,889), and Forerunner 970 ($750) were among the watches to receive a pretty significant software boost.

I’ve been spending a few weeks getting to know those new features to see if Garmin has added value to some of its best watches.

Jump To:

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- Nutrition Tracking

- Garmin Fitness Coach

- Gear Tracking

- Lifestyle Logging

- Sleep Alignment

- WhatsApp Lands

- Sports Scores

Nutrition Tracking

Garmin introduced nutrition tracking to its Connect platform at the start of the year, though unfortunately it's behind the paywalled Connect+ subscription. That means you can now log your food, as well as see a breakdown of macronutrients both on and off compatible Garmin watches. Nutrition tracking is a complex feature, and Garmin’s approach to it proves there’s still some work to be done.

Photograph: Michael Sawh

Food logging can be done in a few ways. You can search for items in a provided database, scan barcodes from packaging, or use your camera and AI-based analysis to determine what you’re about to eat.

I tested this feature during a holiday and experienced some of the inconsistencies with the food identification. For simpler items like eggs, fruit, and cheese, the camera-based logging worked well. As soon as meals became more complex, lighting to take photos wasn’t bright enough, or the AI analysis had limitations seeing what was exactly in a salad. It started to become more frustrating. This logged data should also feed into Garmin’s Active intelligence feature to offer insights and make recommendations based on your intake and even timing of meals. However, my personalized insights remained focused on telling me about my training and sleep trends.

The information is at least nicely presented on the watch. You have the added ability to log food there as well, with most recent items displayed to make that easier to do. But trying to type on the watch keyboard wasn’t a great experience. It’s an OK start for a feature that has some familiar shortcomings, but it doesn't make that Connect+ subscription any more appealing.

Rating: 6/10

Garmin Fitness Coach

After leading with running and then adding cycling and strength training plans, Garmin now includes a general fitness training plan to its free Coach training platform. Like other Coach plans, you pick the days you want to work out and decide whether those workouts include gym equipment or just bodyweight movements

Photograph: Michael Sawh

I opted for a bodyweight-based plan and picked the duration of the plan. Once created, the app syncs the plan over to the watch. Workouts included familiar exercises like mountain climbers or hip raises. If you don’t know what a mountain climber is, Garmin provides animations to demonstrate what it is and how to correctly perform the movement.

Coach has quickly become one of the biggest strengths of Garmin’s Connect ecosystem. Adding a more general fitness element now means that more people can put the adaptable and personalized training plans to good use.

Rating: 8/10

Gear Tracking

This is a feature for those that want a better idea of when it might be time to retire a pair of running shoes or even keep track of how much time you’ve spent on your surfboard. Strava has gear tracking, but Garmin takes things further by letting you track equipment that covers everything from bikes to rackets. It even lets you keep track of multiple pieces of kit you regularly use together.

Photograph: Michael Sawh

You can add items to your gear library from the Connect app, and you have the option to attach imagery. Before you start a workout on the watch, you can make sure the gear you’re in or on is assigned before you get moving. There’s also an opportunity to add gear post-workout.

I test a lot of running shoes, so this is one I found very handy to keep track of my mileage. If you have a big shoe rotation or switch between a few different bike setups, I think you’re going to appreciate how Garmin has enhanced its gear tracking support.

Rating: 8/10

Lifestyle Logging

I tested a lifestyle logging feature on Sony smartwatches many years ago, and I can’t