Garmin Skin (Wrist) Temperature – Coming Very Soon (with caveats)
via reader: @JohnW #Kudos
Garmin has been working on developing and extending a wrist temperature feature over the last few quarters. Originally I heard it was due to be released in April, which clearly has not happened, and then it was mysteriously pulled by some of the sources I have. However, with a new ELEVATE Gen 5 heart rate sensor obviously being added to the imminent Fenix 7 Pro and Epix 2 Pro it also seems obvious that these new watches will feature wrist temperature either at launch or soon after.
Originally I (incorrectly) assumed that this was a software-only feature, however, it isn’t. It will be available only to new watches that feature the Elevate 5 HR sensor package.
Smartwatches like Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch5 already have temperature monitoring, the technology is still in its early stages and is mainly used for menstrual cycle tracking, sleep tracking, and general health tracking. Other wearables like Whoop and Oura also have similar temperature sensors and currently better sleep algorithms than Garmin.
Opinion
While wrist temperature may seem like a useless piece of information, it plays a crucial role in various health monitoring features. For example, it is an essential input for accurate algorithms used in ovulation and cycle tracking, as well as for better-determining sleep stages and predicting the onset of illness. Therefore, it is not the temperature reading in and of itself that is significant, but rather how Garmin utilizes this information to improve its wellness features.
Example: When we fall asleep, our body temperature tends to decrease slightly, and during REM sleep, which is associated with dreaming, our body temperature regulation is less efficient. These temperature variations can be captured by wearable devices that incorporate temperature sensors.
As Garmin continues to develop its smartwatches, it is likely that wrist temperature monitoring will become a standard feature on mid- to high-end watches. For instance, any new Venu or Vivoactive models released this year will also incorporate this technology.
The inclusion of wrist temperature in the sleep stage algorithm will undoubtedly have a further impact on sleep tracking accuracy and readiness calculations.
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The Swedes, Blumenfelt and Iden, have been using the CORE body temperature sensor. I think it is a legitimate thing. The CORE thing attaches to the HRM chest strap and collects temperature data from contact with the chest.
The rub is that I’m skeptical that the wrist is an ideal location to take the readings. My prior is that like oHR it is going to be good for all day health tracking and not so good for during exercise.
I wonder if an HRM-Pro 2 would have a temperature sensor as well. Sherlocking CORE in the process?
It would be nice if Garmin body temperature sensing did not require a CIQ field for 3rd party. Kinda like running power. Which is not how it has played out.
We shall see.
https://the5krunner.com/2021/01/26/greenteg-core-review-body-temperature-sensor/
yes CORE is legit and has been accurately validated. accuracy algorithms are increased with a chest strap (I don’t know why but they are)
wrist: yes i am sceptical too. perhaps it might be a good place to record trends rather than absolute accuracy?
I’d forgotten about CORE. Actually looks really interesting. Do you still use one? Do you still need to use the sticky patches if it’s clipped to a HR strap?
Did you ever get any discount links to it? I see it’s at least come down in price a bit from $300.
Also, do you know if the standard Ant+ profile ever came out for it? Not ready to give up one of my two CIQ slots, but could incorporate it into one of my other CIQ DF’s.
I can’t imagine the Garmin solution working for workouts, being on the wrist. This really is something that is begging for inclusion in the HRM strap.
hi
i still use it from time to time
it doesn’t need sticky patches just your hrm strap
no discount links. i have no commercial relationship with the company (and never had)
the ANT+ profile didn’t come out AFAIK
remember elevate 5 will be skin temp not core temp. the value might not even be recorded as a separate filed. or if an ant profile does finally materlialise it might include skin and core temp.
If it is going to be an ANT+ native thing then maybe the wrist temp just ties into that field and you can have an external sensor for less noisy data collection.
thanks tfk. Yes, looks like the Core Temp Ant+ profile still isn’t public. Core has a link to it, but it’s inaccessible since I don’t have an early adopter ant+ account. But they do say they’ll help you get a copy of the profile.
And yes, sounds like these are two completely different metrics. Hopefully Garmin will add support in the HRM-Pro Plus Plus. Core temp seems way more interesting than skin temp.
ok, i’m on it. i’ll see what i can find out
hrmpro plus: not quite sure i understand. i think the HR signal is just a way to increase the accuracy of GreenTEG’s CORE
The Norwegians you know..
I don’t even sleep with a watch so shrug. Waiting for Garmin to develop some kind of ring, I’ll be happy to buy it for sleep monitoring only.
i’ve got something coming up for you very soon ! (not a ring tho)
Well it would have to integrate with Garmin Connect to affect training readiness and other metrics…
well
it wont do that!
Too bad 🙁 Why the hell Garmin thinks we all like sleeping with huge watches on our wrists?
Suppository, then?
for readers usually impressed with the depth of Brian’s technical knowledge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppository
eesh. I do have a story there but i will probably make my ptsd even worse if i recount it.
This interests me deeply.