Creating Wearable Flutter Apps For Garmin Devices

Introduction

Flutter cannot run natively on Garmin wearables. Garmin watch apps are written in Monkey C and delivered through Garmin Connect IQ, while Flutter shines for mobile development on iOS and Android. To create a wearable experience that leverages Flutter you build a companion mobile app in Flutter and bridge it to Garmin’s native SDKs. This tutorial shows how to structure that architecture, what tooling you need, and practical code patterns for communication and testing.

Setup And Tooling

Required tools and accounts:

• Flutter SDK (for the companion mobile app).

• Android Studio/Xcode for native integration and signing.

• Garmin Connect IQ SDK and Connect IQ Simulator for device app development and testing.

• Garmin Developer account to register apps and access the Connect IQ store.

Install the Connect IQ SDK and the Connect IQ plugin for Eclipse or use the Simulator from Garmin. For the mobile side, you’ll use the official Garmin Mobile SDKs (Android/iOS) to communicate with the device; those SDKs are native (Java/Kotlin and Objective‑C/Swift), so you will call them via Flutter platform channels.

Permissions: request Bluetooth, Location, and Background Execution permissions on Android and appropriate CoreBluetooth permissions on iOS. Also confirm the mobile SDK license and distribution requirements from Garmin.

App Architecture And Data Flow

Pattern: split responsibilities.

• Device App (Connect IQ, Monkey C): handles on‑device UI, sensors, and low‑latency interactions.

• Mobile Companion (Flutter): performs heavier UI, cloud sync, persistent storage, and acts as the bridge to send data or configuration to the device app.

Communication options:

• Use the Garmin Mobile SDK from the companion to send AppMessages or file transfers to the Connect IQ app on the watch.

• Implement a small REST or WebSocket sync in Flutter for cloud features and push results back to the device via the companion.

Recommended flow:

1. User configures settings in Flutter UI.

2. Flutter sends configuration to native code via MethodChannel.

3. Native code uses Garmin Mobile SDK to push the data to the Connect IQ app.

4. Device app receives and applies configuration.

Keep messages small and idempotent to preserve battery and avoid pairing issues. Persist unsent items and retry with exponential backoff when connectivity resumes.

UI And Interaction Patterns

Design the mobile UI as the control center: device app installation, app settings, activity sync, and diagnostic logs. Provide clear pairing and permission flows because blocked permissions are the most common failure.

Use Flutter to present previews of watch layouts, toggle features, and visualize sensor data received from the device. For real‑time telemetry, use a stream-based approach from the native side into Flutter.

Sample MethodChannel call (Dart) to send a config message to native code:

import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
final _channel = MethodChannel('com.example.garmin/bridge');

Future<void> sendConfig(Map<String, dynamic> config) async {
  await _channel.invokeMethod('sendConfigToGarmin', config);
}

And a simple EventChannel stream for receiving device events:

final _events = EventChannel('com.example.garmin/events');
Stream<dynamic> get deviceEvents => _events.receiveBroadcastStream();

On the native side, implement the corresponding handlers to call the Garmin Mobile SDK APIs for connecting, sending messages, and receiving callbacks.

Build, Test, And Deploy

Testing:

• Use the Connect IQ Simulator to test the device-side app behavior without a physical device.

• On mobile, test the platform channel integration in debug builds and validate permission flows.

• Test pairing and reconnection scenarios with physical devices; emulators cannot fully simulate Bluetooth.

Packaging:

• Bundle native Garmin SDK frameworks/libraries in your Android and iOS projects. For Android use Gradle modules; for iOS include the frameworks and update Info.plist for permissions.

• Sign and provision both mobile and device-side artifacts per Garmin’s and platform stores’ requirements.

Deployment:

• Upload the Connect IQ app to the Garmin Connect IQ store via your developer portal.

• Publish the Flutter mobile app to Google Play and/or the App Store. Provide clear instructions in the mobile app to install/pair the device app and to open Garmin Connect to complete installations if needed.

Operational considerations: monitor battery impact, minimize frequent wakeups, and keep payloads small. Respect data privacy and follow Garmin’s policies when handling sensor and health data.

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Conclusion

Creating Garmin wearable experiences with Flutter means building a solid companion app that mediates between the cloud, the user, and the Connect IQ device. Use the Connect IQ SDK for on‑device logic, Garmin Mobile SDK on the native side, and Flutter for rich mobile development and UI. Implement platform channels for communication, test exhaustively with the simulator and real hardware, and design for low power and constrained UX on the watch.