New HR Recovery interface is bad

Simpler is better UI design, so fewer button presses are better than more. 

In this case, more button presses don't yield better functionality or more information, so, that's bad UI design in my opinion and according to UI design principles, hence my post.

Unless someone can make a case that pressing a button 6 times is better than pressing it once (after the information automatically appears) for the same outcome.

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I cannot agree more with you. I would actually prefer to have a one click option to "stop/save activity, and measure recover HR".  

Yep, I think that would be the best. Just suggested in the "is brilliant" -thread that with an setting option and without it. It would solve this problem and would make it great again! Even better than it was! If there would be option, then normal save would do it, if not then some "Save & RHR".

Levon said:

Plus it is a consistent time/measurement, there's no telling when the current recovery heart rate is measured (or if it is continuous).

I think that it's just showing the current HR and then the timeout (2min) comes, it will save that HR. So I don't think that the measuring has changed at all, that recovery HR screen just has more information that the measuring process is going on and you need to still wait X amount of time it to be ready.

Ah, ok, well, perhaps at some point we'll get official word from Garmin on this. In the meantime I'll keep an eye on this after my runs to see what if any numbers are changing.

Levon said:

After 2 minutes exactly, my recovery HR would pop up consistently and automatically (giving me a meaningful basis for comparison with previous runs), and I would stop my cool-down walk and start stretching.

I also miss the previous interface of recovery HR because of this reason. If you do the same routine post run it was also a measure which gave you an immediate feedback on how your form was progressing. 

I don't see any advantage in not showing the popup window.

Designing a good UI is not about having the minimum number of key presses to achieve something. It's about getting a consistent and predictable response from your software. In the 'old' interface the response to pressing the top right hand button after stopping an activity depended on whether there were more or less than two minutes after pressing the stop button. This is a particularly badly designed user interface and Garmin was right to change it. You might not like the way Garmin has fixed it and you are entirely entitled to have that opinion, but the original design was flawed and needed to be changed.

Those who say 'it doesn't matter to me because I never pause for more than two minutes' don't have a valid point either, because the design flaw still exists and they are the most likely ones to get caught in this trap in the first place if they ever do pause for more than two minutes.

Same if you give users the option to have the 'old' way or the 'new' way. You don't spend time and effort to remove a design flaw from your product only to give users the option to reinstate this flaw.

Hiding it away where it is now is an easy way out and not a good solution imho because you no longer have the consistent feedback you had earlier.

If button presses are really an issue that caused this change then it could easily have been made a label shown above the save/cancel options, then there are no button presses involved and the recovery hr isn't hidden away either.

Levon said:

Exactly, that was my point. What better reminder than something popping up on your screen automatically after a fixed time.

I'll try to explain this again.  What you're saying makes perfect sense only if you have waited the two mins after stopping or pausing your activity.  As I said earlier, there have been many times I've stop my run and hit save forgetting to wait the 2 mins for my recovery HR.  With the new interface, recovery HR is now listed as an option after I stop my run and I prefer this because it reminds me to check my recovery HR.  I thought I made this quite clear with my previous post and refuse to answer jmto when he says I didn't explain how I see this as a reminder and he makes ridiculous comments like I now need to learn to press more buttons and there isn't anything to remind me to do that or that recovery HR is even an option.  Really?  It would never end with him no matter what answer I gave.  Maybe I need a reminder to start the run activity?  A reminder to wear my watch?  I've read his replies in other threads and he argues just for the sake of arguing regardless of how reasonable your answers may be.  He wears blinders and tells everyone why they don't need something based only on what he prefers.  Anyway, having the option listed now is quite beneficial in my use case.  I'll give you an analogy (probably a poor one ) on why listing it is helpful.  Why do we make a list of items we need when we go to the market?  So we don't forget them.  We need sugar.  We go up and down the store aisles where the sugar is on the shelves, but we still make a list to remind us so we don't forget.  This is exactly how I see the new interface.  It's a reminder on my shopping list because I have the tendency to forget to wait two minutes for recovery HR.

i believe it should have a config item to be prompted for recovery HR, and a "save & recovery HR" menu item immediately below the save menu item. also, it should be tracked in GC of course... otherwise you have to carry phone or pen & paper to record it!!!!!