Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Garmin has released an official Google Maps for its smartwatches that offers turn-by-turn navigation when your smartwatch is connected to an Android phone.
- The app can show the next three turns and notify users of upcoming turns with a gentle vibration.
- The app is compatible with over 90 Garmin smartwatch models and is available for free on the Connect IQ store.
Garmin users have long had to rely on third-party apps like Maps Nav to get turn-by-turn navigation from Google Maps on their smartwatches. That workaround is no longer necessary, as an official solution is finally here.
Garmin’s Connect IQ store now offers a Google Maps app compatible with a wide range of Garmin smartwatches, including several Venu, Forerunner, Vivoactive, and Fenix models. Unlike the Google Maps app for Wear OS, Garmin’s Google Maps app offers limited functionality, offering basic turn-by-turn navigation after you set your destination on your connected Android phone.
Garmin says the app can show the next three turns with a tap, eliminating the need to pull out your phone for directions. It also gently vibrates to notify you of an upcoming turn to avoid distractions. The company adds that your smartwatch will continue to record your walking, running, or biking data while you’re using Google Maps for navigation, and you can sync the activity data from Garmin Connect to other health and fitness apps via Health Connect.
The Google Maps app currently only works with Android phones, and there’s no official word on iOS compatibility yet. If you’d like to try it out, you can download it for free from the Connect IQ store. The app supports over 90 Garmin smartwatch models, and you can check the Compatible Devices list on the listing to see if your smartwatch is included.
