Garmin just copied one of Strava’s best features and it might actually be better

Garmin appears to be expanding its social sharing tools with a new feature that will feel instantly familiar to Strava users.

The update introduces transparent activity overlays in the Garmin Connect app.

The feature lets you layer workout stats such as heart rate, distance and pace directly onto images or videos, creating more visually engaging share cards for social media.

While Garmin watches have offered activity-sharing options for years, this new design addition is a clear attempt by the running watch giant to encourage people to share their activities directly from the Connect app rather than on Strava.

The new system adds flexibility, including multiple aspect ratios and a transparent overlay option that can be placed over photos or videos in apps like Instagram.

A familiar idea, with a different execution

The concept itself isn’t new: Strava has long offered similar tools, letting you overlay stats on route maps or export ready-made images for social feeds.

What Garmin is doing differently here is giving users more control over how those overlays are used.

The transparent export option, in particular, allows for more creative editing outside the app, making it easier to integrate workout data into Stories or short-form video content.

To use it, you open an activity in Garmin Connect, tap the share option, choose a format (e.g. 1:1, 4:5, 9:16), then apply a transparent stats overlay that can be exported and layered over photos or videos.

Where sharing gets competitive

Garmin and Strava have been locking horns for the last year, the latter pushing back over the former's request to make the source of athletes' data visible on the platform.

And even though Strava eventually dropped the case, it also made sure it didn't quite deliver what Garmin wanted.

The new transparent overlay from the smartwatch company feels like a jab at Strava, albeit a subtler one.

That said, the move might not have anything to do with Strava, after all, as Garmin's been busy beefing up its Connect app for a while now.

Admittedly, the company have been focusing on the paywalled Connect+ a lot more, but that doesn't mean it has forgotten about the free version of the app.

For athletes, the main thing to note is that now you have multiple options to achieve the same chick look on social media; whether you prefer Strava's or Garmin's take, it's up to you.

[via Gadgets&Wearables]