Distance+ Data Field

Hi I have a fr255 which supports courses and navigation but I am only getting the elapsed distance in the settings. Is this a bug?

When you are in the Settings in Connect IQ app or Gamin Express and you click on the Measure field (that has "Elapsed distance" as default value), then you should get a drop down with values like: Elapsed distance, Remaining distance, Total distance, Elapsed distance %, Remaining Distance %. Like in the picture in the 1st post in this thread. Don't you see those other values when you click on Measure? This setting is independent from what type of activity (free / course / navigation) you'll start LATER, after you save the settings, so this can't be the reason.

Another user already asked for courses and navigation and I added support for them. So when you start a course or navigation you should see the relevant value. I don't often use courses or navigation so if you find that it behaves strangely then let me know and I'll fix it.

I thnk I see whats happening. The Fr255 doesnt support seperate navigation data fields  and doesnt support the distanceToDestination  on  activity.info. Wierd as it has the same capabilties as the instinct 2 which does support this.

You're right; developer.garmin.com/.../Info.html It's the Garmin policy to have less features on cheaper devices. 

Yeah, in the past, midrange watches like FR2XX didn't have navigation at all. (The FR235, which was current when CIQ was first released, didn't have navigation).

Apparently, FR245 had navigation and native navigation data fields, but not the Connect IQ navigation fields. (This situation is so baffling you have to wonder whether it's not entirely on purpose.)

FR255 has navigation but neither native nor CIQ navigation data fields.

Similarly FR165 has a baro and compass, but not the related glances.

Super annoying approach to market segmentation. I can understand segmenting by features (which is what they did in the past). The more recent approach is apparently to segment by features and sometimes have different levels of support for the same features, but it's not really mentioned on the spec sheet.

Obviously they can do what they want as far as market segmentation goes, but I think their approach is unnecessarily complicated and obscure. (People will buy an FR165 then express surprise that it has a compass but no compass glance.)

To be fair, any time any of us complains that some feature is missing from a lower end or midrange watch that’s available in a more expensive watch, it kinda validates Garmin’s approach (assuming that enough people would actually decide to buy the more expensive watch to get that feature).

What’s harder to swallow is that sometimes the more expensive watch in a given line has less features than a less expensive watch in a different line. e.g. the more expensive “lifestyle” watches like the Venu series may have lack certain running-specific features found in the cheapest Forerunner.

Or a feature may be removed in the latest iteration of a given model (like how Vivoactive 4 had a baro, but Vivoactive 5 does not). Google/Fitbit has pulled the same trick.

Overall, I think Garmin has way too many models, and their segmentation is far too confusing, but I guess it’s working for them.