What you need to know
- The Garmin November 2025 update brings Health Status, a Venu 4 launch feature, to many more watches.
- Health Status signals potential signs of stress and illness in your body, based on trends in your health data.
- The update mostly focuses on Edge cycling computers, with new tools like real-time weather overlays and smart fueling alerts.
- Garmin Connect Plus subscribers will now see "3D topographic maps to see activity routes, courses and trails" in the Connect app.
Garmin's Q4 2025 update has fewer new smartwatch features than its last major update, but it brings the Venu 4's signature feature to multiple generations of watches, making it easier for Garmin users to parse their health data for useful insights.
The Venu 4 introduced Health Status, a widget that takes 3–4 weeks of your resting heart rate, HRV, Pulse Ox, respiration, and skin temperature data and creates a baseline range for your body. It then warns you whenever your stats fall out of that range, signalling that you may be ill, sleeping poorly, overtraining, or experiencing other lifestyle impacts.
The November 2025 update brings Health Status to dozens of watches, but only the most recent, advanced Garmin watches will show the Health Status widget on the watch itself; anyone with an older model can only check these stats in the mobile Connect app.
- Health Status on watch and in app: Garmin Fenix 8 (Pro), Enduro 3, Tactix 8, Quatix 8, D2 Mach 2 / Air X15, Venu X1, Vivoactive 6, Forerunner 570 / 970
- Health Status in app only: Venu 3, Vivoactive 5, Forerunner 255/ 955/ 165/ 265/ 965, Fenix 7 (Pro), Tactix 7, Quatix 7, Epix (Gen 2), Enduro 2, Instinct E/ 3
The first group, like the Venu 4, will show how your previous night's sleep data falls within your typical stats, with "outliers" highlighted. You'll need to be comfortable wearing your watch at night — or wear the Index Sleep Monitor — to receive these stats.
Garmin's November update page also claims these newer models, along with the Venu 4, will receive "enhanced notification control," but doesn't share details; I've asked a Garmin rep for more details and will update this post when I hear back.
Otherwise, this update ports new features from the Edge 850 and 550 cycling computers to the Edge MTB, 1050, 1040, 840, and 540.
You'll be able to see real-time weather and wind data overlaid over your GPS map location, how much time you spent in specific gears, ride power targets based on your real-time stamina and wind conditions, and how your stats compare against other cyclists via GroupRide. You'll also receive prompts to refuel or rehydrate based on the difficulty of your ride.
As for Garmin Connect Plus, the app will soon add 3D topographic maps as a subscription perk, both for past activities and upcoming GPX courses or Garmin Trails. "These maps can help users understand the terrain they are covering during an activity," Garmin explains.
Edge bike computers aside, this quarterly feature update is much lighter than the August 2025 update, which added key features like running tolerance, Garmin Triathlon Coach, daily suggested track workouts, Evening Reports, and several Edge cycling features like timing gates.
Still, that update completely bypassed older Garmin watch models, and Health Status has a much broader appeal than most of those fitness tricks. I only wish that the Venu 4's still-exclusive Garmin Fitness Coach had been released to a wider range of watches with this update.
