Your Garmin watch is one step closer to being able to track your skin temperature, which would be big news for health tracking – particularly for women.
In early February, one Garmin user noticed a new section referring to wrist temperature in the sleep tracking section of the Garmin Connect app. It looked as though this information would be presented alongside statistics like blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and respiration.
Now, as the anonymous author of the5krunner reports, it appears this code has been updated to show trends and messages that will be displayed while the app is calculating a baseline.
Skin temperature can be affected by various factors, including environmental temperature and physical exertion, so taking a measurement at night when conditions are likely to be consistent over time makes a lot of sense. Tracking trends rather than putting emphasis on spot measurements also seems like a good idea; skin temperature can be a useful proxy for core temperature, but isn't the same, so spotting deviations from the norm will be more useful than individual readings.
Increased body temperature could be a sign that you are ill, or that your body is recovering from intense exercise. For women, it can also be a sign of ovulation, which means the skin temperature sensor might work together with Garmin's existing period tracker for more accurate predictions of menstrual cycle phases.
Feel the heat
What's not clear yet is whether skin temperature measurement will require a watch with a new sensor. Existing Garmin watches do have a temperature sensor, but this is intended to support the barometer and doesn't sit against your skin.
So which watch might support it? If I had to guess, my money would be on the Garmin Lily 2. It's now over two years since Garmin released this neat little fitness tracker marketed specifically at women, and improved cycle tracking seems like a natural addition. There hasn't been any sign yet that the company is planning a second-gen version, but 2023 is still young.
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