Watch apps
What is a Watch app?
Build a multi-screen Garmin app with navigation, state, activities, maps, sensors, pairing, and hardware controls.
On this page
A Watch app is a full-screen Garmin Connect IQ app opened from the watch’s activity and app list. Unlike a Watch Face, it can guide someone through several screens and react to selections, state, permissions, sensors, activities, maps, pairing, and hardware commands.
Use a Watch app when the wearer needs to do something, not only glance at information. For passive home-screen information, create a Watch Face. For a small glance and detail view, create a Widget. For a value inside an existing Garmin activity, create a Data Field.
What you can design
- Pages, menus, dialogs, pickers, and confirmation screens.
- Freeform layouts or scrolling rows, with optional title and status chrome.
- Text, metrics, buttons, lists, maps, sensors, QR codes, images, shapes, icons, and hardware controls.
- Navigation, Back and dismiss actions, onboarding, and conditional visibility.
- Persisted or session state that controls values and UI behavior.
- Activity recording actions and custom FIT developer fields.
- Native, ANT+, or Bluetooth sensor profiles.
- QR or code pairing and companion communication.
- Guarded hardware commands with confirmation, acknowledgement, retries, timeout, recovery, and undo behavior.
How a Watch app works
Every app has an entry screen. Controls can open another screen, return through navigation history, change app state, request a permission, control an activity, pair a profile, or run a configured hardware command.
Preview runs the same workflow model without a connected watch. Use its scenarios and state controls to check navigation, permissions, disconnected sensors, pairing, failures, and recovery before building.
Compatibility and permissions
Watch apps require Garmin Connect IQ 3.0 or later. Bluetooth Low Energy features require Connect IQ 3.1 or later. Studio checks the selected watch and derives permissions from the features you use, including activity recording, positioning, sensors, communications, ANT, Bluetooth Low Energy, and FIT developer fields.
Some interactions adapt to the target watch. For example, a button-only model uses deliberate Select presses when a touch-and-hold confirmation is unavailable. Always review design checks and test the finished app on the exact watch.
Build and install
You can design and preview in the browser. Building and USB installation require DialStudio desktop, Garmin’s local SDK and device profile, and a signing key.
Start with Create your first Watch app, then follow build setup when you are ready to create a .prg file.