The Connect IQ Store is getting worse by the day by a few developers who dump a shitload of *** watch faces

Okay, maybe you're disappointed with Garmin, but I still want to give it a try.

Let us know when you found the way to contact them, where they actually get it.

Spam the executives. Some help desk in India isn’t going to be able to do anything. 

www.garmin.com/.../

I spent two hours installing apps and watch faces yesterday. They were literally all rubbish and I've deleted every single one. At this point, I don't care, because I still use my FR245, but if I had spent 1000 USD on a new Fenix, and gave the IQ Store a shot, I'd be really disappointed.

In my view, there are two issues, besides abuse:

1. Lack of useful functionality.
2. Poor UX and aesthetics.

As most programmers are likely to be geeks who like sports, not artists, this is what you would expect. Garmin should curate more and invest in apps and watch faces to raise the bar. Most of their own apps also suck, but they have made a couple of pleasing watchfaces, amidst many very ugly ones.

Removing the Connect IQ Store all together would be a wise decision. 

STB said:

In my view, there are two issues, besides abuse:

1. Lack of useful functionality.
2. Poor UX and aesthetics.

This is nothing new, people have been complaining about this for years. (I mean normal people, not devs like me who hang out in the Connect IQ forums.)

The other complaint I've seen over the years is that the store is fully of hobbyist junk as opposed to slick apps from the big corporations.

Personally, I'm a dev who cares about UX and aesthetics, but I am absolutely aware those are not my biggest strengths. I also think there are several inherent limitations in CIQ which prevent certain types of apps from being as user-friendly or as useful as possible.

STB said:

As most programmers are likely to be geeks

On the nerdy geek side of things, Connect IQ as a platform is extremely disappointing. Monkey C was outdated the day it was released. (You can find reddit posts from 2015 bemoaning the lack of modern features / design in Monkey C).

Garmin devices in general are disappointing too - most of us stick with them because it's what we're used to, it's what our peer group uses (e.g. "serious" runners), or there aren't any real alternatives (Apple Watch is a great smartwatch, but there's certain ways it will never be like Garmin, because Garmin does several things in ways that just aren't cool anymore.)

Personally I just want:

- the ability to start, stop and lap my activities with a single physical button press for each action (garmin 5-button watches provide this ability where apple watch does not  - ofc the vast majority of ppl do *not* want a watch with 5 buttons)

- the ability to glance at my watch and instantly see activity stats without waiting for the display to light up. Since Garmin has mostly switched to AMOLED, which doesn't have this ability, I guess I'll be ride or die with my older Garmin MIP watch until I finally decide to jump ship.

My overall point is that CIQ is a flawed niche within the flawed niche that is Garmin.

STB said:

Removing the Connect IQ Store all together would be a wise decision. 

Like many other Garmin features, it's just another marketing checkbox and opportunity for Garmin to say "we have this feature too!"

I could go on and on about all the Garmin features which sound amazing on paper, but are actually terrible in practice.

Nice reply!

Garmin seems to greatly undervalue the Connect IQ apps value and the community value that developers (at least the good ones who are not spamming and trying to game the system) create, or are taking it for granted after a few years have past.  The spamming really escalated noticeably in Dec 2023.  Even after lots of people have complained, not just only on this forum, the complaints are falling on deaf ears.  

What I don't get is that no one wants or is likely to pay for the junk watchfaces, so there is virtually no money to be made from them, so why do the spammers still continue or seem to increase their rate of spamming?  

Yes, it’s frustrating… that’s why it’s kind of hopeless to earn something (and I’m constantly thinking is it worth to create anything, though I like it), because of the ”junk” and your created watchfaces gets lost in the jungle. Hopefully this will change at some point.

I stopped development for others due to the fact that Garmin gives a *** about what crap goes into the Connect IQ store. Its not worth my time to maintain and create new stuff that gets burried under these spammer watchfaces. Now I only create new watchfaces for my own use. I dont think this will ever change unless Garmin no longer exists….