Garmin watches are getting meditation mode in the big update

Garmin has released the details of its next software update for Garmin smartwatches. It will add a handful of key features to watches from the Fenix ​​8 and Enduro 3 to the Forerunner 165 Music.

A new meditation activity is the most noticeable of the Garmin updates. Watches have featured Garmin’s Breathwork activity for years, but this new mode is more complex. It was available in the Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5, but is now being released in a wider version.

The breathing exercise uses a watch’s vibration motor to show you when to breathe. Meditation offers an (optional) audio track that serves as a complete meditation guide.

According to Garmin’s product update, this will only happen on newer watches. These are the following models:

• Garmin Fenix ​​8
• Garmin Fenix ​​E
• Garmin Enduro 3
• Garmin Forerunner 165 Music
• Garmin Forerunner 255 Music
• Garnin Forerunner 955
• Garmin Forerunner 965
• Garmin Venu 3
• Garmin Vivoactive 5

At least for now, Meditation is only available for watches that support audio streaming. If you only want to record your heart rate during a session with an app like Headspace, you’re better off setting up your own custom mode that only records such stats.

Garmin tested the mode in watches like the Fenix ​​8 back in October as part of a public beta.

Garmin update fitness features

Next, the more serious Garmin watches get lactate threshold detection. This is the point at which your body can no longer keep up with the creation of lactate in your bloodstream and is an indication of when an activity switches from aerobic to anaerobic.

This could be quite a useful condition for those who carefully manage their exercise routine, but less so for everyone else.

Fittingly, automatic lactate threshold detection is only available on higher-priced Garmin watches. These include the older generation Fenix ​​7 and Epix 2 models. The Forerunner 165 series is left out, as are the wearables Vivoactive and Venu 3.

Newer high-end watches, again omitting the Fenix ​​7 and Epix 2 families, also benefit from improvements in Workout Execution Score. By default, your result will probably be compared to that of previous attempts. The Workout Execution Score is a percentage that indicates how closely you adhered to the criteria of a guided workout.

One of the cyclists, both watches and bike computers receive automatic FTP detection. This stands for functional threshold performance and is something of an alternative for cyclists to lactate threshold. It indicates how high the load you can maintain on the bike for an hour.

Older Fenix ​​​​7 and Co models and newer counterparts have automatic FTP detection, but lower devices from the Forerunner 165/255/265 families, Vivoactive 5 and VEnu 3 do not.

Finally, this December update continues the usual leak of Garmin features. The Forerunner 265/265/955/965, Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5 all receive Garmin strength training plans seen in the Fenix ​​8 range.

This is ideal for gym fans as you can program your workouts directly into your watch.

I just pinged the 12.22 version of the software to my Garmin Enduro 3, so it’s worth checking on your own wearable to see if there’s an update pending.