Garmin should definitely reconsider how notifications work in iOS

I recently switched from the Apple Watch to the Garmin Fenix 7S Pro, and figuring out how notifications work has been frustrating. Even though I set some notifications to go to the scheduled summary in Notification Center. I still get them immediately, which is super annoying.

There’s a workaround where you can go to **Settings > Notifications** and uncheck “Notification Center” in the Alerts section, but honestly, it feels like a really clunky solution. It’s like Garmin didn’t think this through at all.

On top of that, changing notifications to show up on the Lock Screen aren’t ideal because messages on the Locked Screen as more urgent and they will light up your phone to grab your attention. Another thing: If you are in a hurry to unlock your phone without checking those messages on your locked screen, all those notification will be gone once you swipe up your screen. But Notifications in Notification Center will not go away unless you clear them. This is a huge difference. Notifications in the Notification Center are supposed to be more low-key and meant for checking later. But Garmin just mirrors everything from the Notification Center to the watch and completely ignoring features like the scheduled summary, which is supposed to send things at a specific time. Instead, everything shows up on the watch immediately, which is pretty distracting.

I am surprised that not a lot of people complained this…but these small but significant interaction details make me question sticking with Garmin over the Apple Watch, which handles these scenarios much more seamlessly.

 

  • Totally agree with you. As a watch and activity tracker the Garmin lines are unparalleled. But they are way behind the curve in understanding how users interact with multiple devices and systems. This is also true with the limited functionality regarding interactions with other phone apps and 3rd party devices. For example, Connect won’t read weight from Withings or Apple Health. Super annoying. 

  • I agree itt should be changed. On Android works perfectly. I just moved from Android to iOS. I would dare to say that not only Garmin should change the Garmin connect to behave like on Android, but also iOS needs major refactoring of notifications overall. Android is lights peed ahead and I hope iOS will swallow it's pride and copy better solution. I can see Android had made great improvements by copying iOS gestures and iOS by adding more customizations and app drawer. They are both coming there to both be great platforms. At the moment iOS is falling way behind on notifications domain, and maybe this might have caused some issues for Garmin development. But if others can do it, they will also figure it out, just keep.making noise to push for changes.

  • I agree itt should be changed. On Android works perfectly. I just moved from Android to iOS. I would dare to say that not only Garmin should change the Garmin connect to behave like on Android, but also iOS needs major refactoring of notifications overall. Android is lights peed ahead and I hope iOS will swallow it's pride and copy better solution. I can see Android had made great improvements by copying iOS gestures and iOS by adding more customizations and app drawer. They are both coming there to both be great platforms. At the moment iOS is falling way behind on notifications domain, and maybe this might have caused some issues for Garmin development. But if others can do it, they will also figure it out, just keep.making noise to push for changes.

  • Why are you always protecting garmin? In your world garmin have never done anything wrong. This is a big fault from garmins end. Dont try to say it will be easier for the user to not have to choose that is just bs. 

  • Just sold iPhone few days a go. It has many many issues, especially notifications, speed and usability overall. iPhone 16 pro does not compare to last year Pixel 8 regular. They have a lot work to do on Apple side. Did I mention security. OMG. When I was working in security industry for over 10 years, whenever somebody didn't want to do something or didn't know how, would hide behind "it is security issue". Apple, should start doing some actual work. Last security patch for passcode is laughing matter. I couldn't believe how they fix it. It is like sinking ship and you are using cork to plug it :)

  • I just got an iphone after using Android for years, and I am very disappointed with how Garmin manages notifications on ios. They definitely should bring the feature available on Android, which allows modifying notifications on the watch independently of the ios notification settings. 

  • Totally agree, iOS notification handling feels limited. It would be very helpful if Garmin gave us more granular control over what gets pushed and how. Hope they prioritize this in an upcoming update.

  • Totally agree too! Just got my Garmin watch yesterday and I am really dissapointed about this. Setting up notifications is a bummer and also Garmin is still not supporting images in notifications. I think on android this feature now exists for several years.. Do I really have to switch back to Android now?

  • Honestly- I would recommend you switch from Garmin. I just bought a Vivoactive 6, received it today, will return it tomorrow. Exclusively because of this issue. It's too bad because it's a nice watch, but I'm glad I figured the notification issue out within the return period.

  • I am returning the Vivoactive 6 I just purchased because it lacks a broadly available smartwatch feature - the ability to filter which apps' notifications appear on the watch when using iOS.

    This is a years-old missing feature that has been raised across the forums multiple times:

    https://forums.garmin.com/apps-software/mobile-apps-web/f/garmin-connect-mobile-ios/300065/select-which-notification-will-not-show-up-in-garmin-s-watch-but-still-exist-in-ios-notification-center

    https://forums.garmin.com/apps-software/mobile-apps-web/f/garmin-connect-mobile-ios/301051/app-notifications

    https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-255-series/371319/select-which-apps-provide-notifications-ios

    The response from Garmin is, roughly: "change the way notifications are shown on your phone, the watch copies how notifications are shown on your phone". This isn't a solution to the issue, but rather acknowledgement that the feature is missing from the Vivoactive 6 when using iOS, while it is supported when using Android.

    It's understandable and reasonable that some notifications are relevant for a phone while not being relevant on a watch, for example iOS Screen Time notifications. Beyond those, because it might not be 100% clear, I'll share how I've used this feature before on my Fitbit:

    On my watch I don't want to be notified of texts, but I do want to be notified of calls. (this is possible with Vivoactive 6)
    I don't want to be notified of emails, but I do want to be notified when my Uber arrives.
    I don't want to be notified of some marketing message from XYZ app, but I do want to be notified when my public transit app reminds me to end my trip.
    On my phone, on the other hand, I want all these messages to be quickly scrollable in my Notifications Center so I can make sure I catch anything important.

    Competitors that support this feature on iOS for at least some models:

    Fitbit (can confirm this myself)
    Withings (reported by another forum user)
    AmazFit (reported by another forum user)
    Apple (from web search)
    Huawei (from web search)

    I'm sharing this because the device's product and support teams should be aware that no matter how comfortable the device, advanced the tracking, long the battery life, etc - for some people $300 is a lot to spend on a product missing basic quality-of-life features.

    I bought this Vivoactive 6 primarily for its smart alarm, privacy focus, and overall positive reviews. For me that was enough to justify the price. But I can't deal with a watch buzzing me all day every day for the many notifications that I want to have available on my iPhone.

    I hope this gets to someone who can make a difference in this product, because I would love to buy a Garmin in the future.