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| Garmin smartwatches and Garmin Connect are set to get new features. |
If you’ve ever wished your Garmin watch could do more than just track your run and instead help you nail your nutrition, a major update might be on the horizon. New evidence suggests Garmin is developing a native food tracking system within Garmin Connect, potentially transforming it from a fitness hub into a comprehensive health and nutrition coach.
The discovery comes from a deep dive into the code of the upcoming Garmin Connect app, version 5.20. Through an APK teardown, the team at Gadgets & Wearables uncovered compelling references to a built-in food logging feature—a first for Garmin’s ecosystem.
This represents a significant shift. Currently, Garmin Connect brilliantly integrates data from third-party apps like MyFitnessPal to show your remaining calories. However, the actual act of logging meals has always happened outside the app. This new finding points to Garmin bringing that core functionality in-house.
So, how would it work? The code suggests a visually intuitive approach: users may be able to simply photograph their meals. The APK strings indicate options to “Save as a meal” and reference limitations on the number of photos, hinting at potential storage caps or daily log limits.
As reported in the detailed analysis by Gadgets & Wearables, several key questions remain. The biggest is whether this will be a premium perk for Garmin Connect+ subscribers or available to all users. Furthermore, it’s unclear if Garmin will employ AI-powered food recognition to estimate calories and macronutrients from the photos, a technology already used in apps like Lose It! and MyFitnessPal.
But the ambitions appear to go beyond simple logging. The analysis also points to personalized food and drink intake recommendations. Imagine your Garmin device, already aware of your marathon training plan, suggesting optimal carb-loading meals in the days leading up to race day. This synergy between advanced training metrics and tailored nutrition advice could be a powerhouse feature for dedicated athletes seeking every possible edge.
For the fitness community, this potential move makes strategic sense. By closing the loop between exertion and intake entirely within its own walled garden, Garmin could offer an unmatched, seamless experience. It would keep users engaged within the Garmin ecosystem, providing more value to Connect+ and making its wearable devices even stickier.
While Garmin has not officially commented on these findings—features in APK teardowns are never guaranteed—the evidence is compelling. If launched, a native food logging system with photo recognition and smart recommendations would mark one of the most significant software updates to the Garmin platform in years, directly challenging holistic health platforms like Apple Health and Google Fit.
We’ll be watching for any official announcement from Garmin as version 5.20 of Connect nears its public release.