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New to Garmin ecosystem. Some initial thoughts from a UX person.

Ruben
over 5 years ago

Just purchased 645M on Amazon ( great deal! ), and my first impression of Garmin ecosystem .... what A MESS. ( but the watch is pretty awesome ).

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Some thoughts for the Garmin people if they are even listening.

1) Initial ( straight out of the box ) pairing watch with google pixel 3 ( android ) went ok, but I had to restart the watch to connect to my 2.4GH wifi ( actually I am not even sure if it actually did ) After picking my wifi on the app the settings were suppose to be uploaded to the watch. But it was just saying "connecting" and never did anything. Not the greatest initial impression.

2) Two apps to control one watch? Connect and Connect IQ? Why not one and keep everything under one roof? Menus seem so disorganized, not grouped together in a logical way. Why not keeping menu clean with 5-6 items the most, and then branch out? 16 menu items is insane. Also, if Connect IQ is an app store.. name it a store or something that resembles a place for downloading apps. Having a common word in the title is confusing as to what app does what. Could you tell just by looking at the title what app does what? Hmm..

3) Connect IQ - trying to download a new watch face / apps. Clicked multiple times on "install" and nothing happened. No errors, no messages - just screen reloads and doesn't do anything. It just keeps showing button "Install". Very inconsistent experience across the board. Also, the UI.. sigh. 

4) This morning I was told I cant update one watch face because my system was outdated. From the initial read I was hoping that the watch will update automatically via WIFI. But no.. I had to download a 3rd software "Garmin Express" to upload a new system to the watch. I dont understand Garmin's obsession with a new software for every function? The worst part about it was that Connect App was showing "no updates", yet, Connect IQ was saying "you need to update the system" in order to update this watch face.

5) Downloaded Garmin Express, only to be prompted AGAIN to reconnect to WIFI ( for whatever reason? ).

Overall we have 3 apps to control ONE watch. And they don't work well together, and they UX/UI seems to be from the mid 80s.

Having Garmin leading the outdoor / fitness watch group, I would expect much smoother and less complicated experience. I have no biases here, no prior experience with Garmins whatsoever. Those are just my initial thoughts as a new users. 

I am looking forward using this watch, and as a decent tech person I know that, ultimately, I will be ok going through the JUNGLE of menus, options, interfaces and disjointed apps - but there is no way in *** I would suggest any non-tech person to hop to this ecosystem.

I wanted to love my new toy, but the software experience is so bad. All those issues after owning the watch for less than 12 hours. I am little afraid to see what is waiting for me in the next 12-24.. :/

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    If today I had the choice to return the watch ,I do it without thinking 2 times . Amazon have the 30 days to return but i don't buy mine in the Amazon. I bought mine 3 weeks ago and if regrets kill, I'm a dead man .

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    You don't need to use all of the various apps. I manage my FR645 with only Garmin Connect Mobile (GCM) on my Android device. If you attempt to add a watch face or add a data field through GCM it will prompt you to download ConnectIQ, but you can bypass that and take the action with him GCM.
    I've also never used Express to update firmware, it has occurred directly on the watch.
    That said, I will not disagree that the UI can e quite the struggle.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Can't agree more. I'm a full stack developer and by far, not only Garmin apps are very buggy, but their design is at least -very- questionable and over complicated, at least compared to the UX on the watch itself which is remarkable IMHO given the size of the screen and the limited amount of user input.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I would agree that Garmin could improve the UI experience, particularly to help people who are new to the platform. However after a few days (or perhaps weeks) navigating through it becomes second nature, although that shouldn't be an excuse. While the vast majority of things can be done through Garmin Connect Mobile, there are times when it is necessary/better to use Connect IQ app or Garmin Express.

    In terms though as a fitness device, then Garmin has the watch and integrated ecosystem that suits my needs, and is also used by my family who run marathons etc. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    The watch design was the first order for garmin.   Garmin express was the exclusive way to exchange data.  Hard wire direct connect.

    Things have shifted in the world where the watch isn't the core of the design, the ecosystem is paramount, this is a fundamental shift for garmin.  They are in progress.

    So express is legacy

    GCM and Garmin IQ are addon attempt to have core ecosystem and a core watch at the same time.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I do agree. I love the watch. It works flawless for half a year now. Never experienced any of the problems that are described at this forum. Yet... The software, I cannot get used to that. Somehow it does not seem logical for me. And also, logon to the website and you have another environment again.