Forerunner 230, 235, and 630

Garmin announced a collection of new Forerunners today, the 230, 235, and 630, which are expected to hit stores sometime around the end of the month. We also recently released a beta version of the 1.2.0 Connect IQ SDK, and the full release of this SDK version is also expected around the end of the month.

It's not unreasonable to expect these new Forerunners to support the 1.2.0 SDK. In fact, they will, but not immediately:

Upon initial release, the Forerunner 230, 235, and 630 will only support the 1.1.4 SDK. This means:
- 1.1.4 SDK apps will work fine
- 1.2.0 SDK apps should work as long as no new 1.2.0 SDK features are used
- 1.2.0 SDK apps that use new features will probably crash on these devices
Within approximately one month of release, the devices will be upgraded to support the 1.2.0 SDK
- Everything built on either 1.1.4 or 1.2.0 will work absolutely perfectly! ;)

So, what options do developers have if they wish to support the 230, 235, and 630?

Move to the 1.2.0 SDK and make good use of the 'has' operator to perform checks on 1.2.0 features
Move to the 1.2.0 SDK, but avoid using 1.2.0 features until 1.2.0 support is added to these devices
Move to the 1.2.0 SDK, but delay supporting these new devices until 1.2.0 is supported
Stay on the 1.1.4 SDK until support for 1.2.0 is added to these devices

We'd like to see everyone using the new SDK and support these new devices as early as possible, so the first option is recommended. This should allow your apps to run on all devices now and provide you with a smooth transition later.

This is an unusual situation, and we understand that it's not ideal for developers or folks that use our devices. We're working closely with the device team to minimize the delay in getting these new Forerunners to the latest SDK release.

Please respond here with any questions you have!

sis651 over 9 years ago

Tried some tags like fr230, fr630 but they didn't compiled. :)

Former Member over 9 years ago

The 1.1.x compilers will not recognize the 230, 235 or 630 devices. That being said, you can use a 1.2.x compiler to build an app for a device that is running 1.1.x. All of the symbols that existed in 1.1.x still exist in 1.2.x. The key here is that you cannot use any symbol that was added in 1.2.x but if you are trying to build for a device that is running a 1.1.x virtual machine then you can't use those symbols anyways.

mappicus over 9 years ago

The 1.1.x compilers will not recognize the 230, 235 or 630 devices. That being said, you can use a 1.2.x compiler to build an app for a device that is running 1.1.x. All of the symbols that existed in 1.1.x still exist in 1.2.x. The key here is that you cannot use any symbol that was added in 1.2.x but if you are trying to build for a device that is running a 1.1.x virtual machine then you can't use those symbols anyways.

OK excellent, I'll give that a try.

Nikeow over 9 years ago

if (Attn has :playTone && Sys.getDeviceSettings().tonesOn) 	{	Attn.playTone (Attn.TONE_START);					}

Is the above the correct way to check for Tones support on these FR630/235 devices?

The API documentation does not show that these devices supports Tones (it still lists Epix / F3 / 920 as supporting tones only), but in looking at the manual it states that it supports Tones.

Can I get some clarification?

Kyle.ConnectIQ over 9 years ago

They do support tones. We need to update the API to document this. Thanks for catching this.

Nikeow over 9 years ago

at the same time - do clarify the difference between the START vs the ENTER key