Food logging can be done in a few ways. You can search for items in a provided database, scan barcodes from packaging, or use your camera and AI-based analysis to determine what you’re about to eat.

I tested this feature during a holiday and experienced some of the inconsistencies with the food identification. For simpler items like eggs, fruit, and cheese, the camera-based logging worked well. As soon as meals became more complex, lighting to take photos wasn’t bright enough, or the AI analysis had limitations seeing what was exactly in a salad. It started to become more frustrating. This logged data should also feed into Garmin’s Active intelligence feature to offer insights and make recommendations based on your intake and even timing of meals. However, my personalized insights remained focused on telling me about my training and sleep trends.

The information is at least nicely presented on the watch. You have the added ability to log food there as well, with most recent items displayed to make that easier to do. But trying to type on the watch keyboard wasn’t a great experience. It’s an OK start for a feature that has some familiar shortcomings, but it doesn’t make that Connect+ subscription any more appealing.

Rating: 6/10

Garmin Fitness Coach

After leading with running and then adding cycling and strength training plans, Garmin now includes a general fitness training plan to its free Coach training platform. Like other Coach plans, you pick the days you want to work out and decide whether those workouts include gym equipment or just bodyweight movements

Photograph: Michael Sawh

I opted for a bodyweight-based plan and picked the duration of the plan. Once created, the app syncs the plan over to the watch. Workouts included familiar exercises like mountain climbers or hip raises. If you don’t know what a mountain climber is, Garmin provides animations to demonstrate what it is and how to correctly perform the movement.