I see that Garmin has a new dive watch version of the Fenix. Since our 5X is good to 100 meters, I wonder if we'll be able to install any of the dive apps? I do a lot of snorkeling and shallow water diving and it would be handy to have some of those features!
Yeah, the depth gauge is sort-of like the barometer but with a MUCH greater pressure rating (one atmosphere for every 33 feet of depth, to be precise.)
This is a rather cool addition to the Fenix line; I'm more than a bit disappointed that it uses ZHL as the algo however, as while it's quite conservative it's also a very old algorithm -- there is much better available nowdays with better proved performance (in not bending you), especially for technical diving (and since the watch will do multiple gases, this would otherwise be quite useful.)
I don't do much diving these days but it used to be quite a passion, and while the $999 price tag looks expensive for a fitness watch it is definitely NOT for a decent dive computer, ESPECIALLY one that does mixed gas. In fact, if you like the dive computer capabilities of this device you're basically getting a Fenix 5x for free with its purchase (in comparison to the other products on the market.)
This in turn means Garmin potentially has a market-devastating device here that could literally put a number of competitors out of business. Just about the only thing it doesn't appear to do is fixed-pO2 (for those with rebreathers)
While I was using my F3 in 2016, there was a very interesting CIQ data field developed by a guy called Miguel, proposing a depth gauge, based on pressure recorded by barometer while diving. this was working quite well, at least for my usage (snorkeling). Garmin decided to kick out this kind of development for safety reasons ( and probably legal reasons also).
Really interesting ! 1) I did not know at all this app, which is provided thru a payment (2 versions from 15 to 20 USD) 2) I did not know that it was possible to install an app directly with copy/paste 3) it seems to do the job very well
before paying for this app, as I know Garmin terms & conditions does not permit such feature for safety & legal reasons (from an official statement in CIQ forum), how can we make sure Garmin will not disable software capabilities used by such SW ?
With the release of the Descent Mk1, this position may change in the future, but as of today, Connect IQ has no API that provides access to any dive specific functionality available on the Descent (in fact, Connect IQ apps will not operate while in a diving activity). Since apps like Dive IQ use the barometer, it falls under the "not designed for this purpose" category. As stated in the linked thread, we don't prevent developers from using sensors in ways for which they were not designed, but we won't host these types of apps on our app store for safety reasons.
Thanks for this clarification and official message. I did not remember the last sentence about hability for devs to continue on their own out of Garmin store.
So finally very good news as Dive IQ seems really efficient, at least for what I’m looking for (mainly snorkeling)
Note that according to Garmin's docs the Fenix 5X and other Fenix watches except the new MK1 aren't designed for diving in terms of water resistance. 100M means it's good for swimming, maybe a bit snorekeling but anything beyond that could damage the watch, so I understand why they keep diving apps, which could lead to damaging the watch, out of the store
I honestly don't think I would trust the (5X) watch for diving! Record me walking 182mph, skip a section on a ride, etc, annoying and sometimes amusing but it doesn't risk my life!
