Garmin Developer Summit 2018

Adam, Mike and I attended the second annual Garmin Developer Summit at Garmin International in Olathe, Kansas. It was our second year attending the event and you can read more about last year’s experience here. Also checkout our recap video below:

At this year’s conference we were excited to share our new Connect IQ App that helps coach swimmers through structured workouts. The Garmin Developer Summit was a great opportunity to explore the Connect IQ ecosystem and meet with the team behind the platform’s vision and creation.
Related: How to Use the Garmin MySwimPro App

Garmin continues to invest in an infrastructure that will allow developers to create amazing experiences for athletes. Today, there are over 8 million Connect IQ capable devices and over 4,000 apps on the platform. These apps have been downloaded over 54 million times.

We’re excited to launch the @MySwimPro Connect IQ app at the @Garmin #CIQSummit18 😎
Read all about it on @wareable https://t.co/ErEd3jRqVz pic.twitter.com/PvyKg4Jttv

— MySwimPro (@MySwimPro) April 19, 2018

The event kicked off with an introduction by Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble. He shared the company’s strategic vision and commitment to growing the wearable technology division at Garmin.

Big week at the @Garmin #CIQSummit18 🙌
“New IQ apps incoming from @MySwimPro and @Yelp“https://t.co/ErEd3k92k9

— MySwimPro (@MySwimPro) April 18, 2018

Ray Maker – one of the most influential content producers in endurance sports, delivered the keynote address again this week. Ray’s site dcrainmaker averages over 4 million views per month and you can checkout the video of his presentation below.

Announcements

Garmin announced several big updates, most notably: Connect IQ 3.0 – the largest update to the IQ platform since its launch. Below are three major updates:

Music

– In CIQ v3.0, we have opened the audio/music APIs so any third party can create and upload an audio or a music app to the CIQ app store. iHeartRadio & Deezer are the first of hopefully many providers to create experiences. The audio/music API allows a user to download up to 500MB of music on their wearable from their music account (initially iHeartRadio and Deezer) and to play music directly from the wearable without a phone.

Maps

– CIQ v3.0 allows developers to integrate Garmin’s onboard maps into their apps. The developer can present the map to the user, overlay routes or points, and have UI elements on top of the map.

Messaging

– For select developers, we are opening the potential for their CIQ apps to get actionable notifications. These developers will be able to push content from their service to a specific device using Garmin’s new push notification service.

2018 Developer Summit App Winners

The nominees were chosen by looking over the best reviewed apps that were launched in 2017, and selected by a committee from Garmin.

• Best Watch Face – My Watch (Benjamin.serant) The best Connect IQ watch faces transcend being a time piece to delivering scorecards of self. This watch face gives users a smorgasbord of options to see, from moon phases to heart rate charts.
• Best Wearable Fitness App – Wikiloc Trails of the World (Wikiloc) Wikiloc is a community of outdoor enthusiasts exploring and sharing more than 8,000,000 great outdoor trails for hiking, cycling and many other activities. Wikiloc App for Garmin ConnectIQ wonderfully covers the simple need of sending a trail from Wikiloc to your Garmin GPS in an easy way.
• Best Wearable Smart App – Sun & Moon Times (gasteropod) The KISS principal put into action, the Sun & Moon Times widget displays sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, moon phase, and other information with a simple and straightforward user interface.
• Best Edge™ App – What’s My FTP? (Baron Biosystems) Xert continues to impress us with their innovative use of data analytics on our Garmin Edge computers to deliver new value to our customers. “What’s my FTP?” offers a unique and interesting way to calculate and show FTP on-the-fly during your workout.
• Best Game – Classic Tetris Game (Crazy Dane) The classic game for your Garmin, perfect for passing some time on your timepiece.

Congratulations to the award winners!

The inaugural Garmin Developer Summit was a great opportunity to explore the Connect IQ ecosystem and meet with the team behind the platform’s vision and creation.

It’s clear that Garmin is investing in the infrastructure that will allow us and other developers to create compelling experiences for athletes. It’s an exciting time for MySwimPro, and we’re excited to share what’s next!