Garmin provides new safety feature in its fitness trackers
Garmin provides new safety feature in its fitness trackers
Garmin has added a new safety option to several of its fitness monitors with the addition of a new feature named Beacon, which was designed by Strava.
Beacon, which was unveiled earlier this year, provides several features that focus on keeping hikers, cyclists, runners and other people safer when they exercise. When these individuals leave for their workouts, they can give their real-time data location to certain friends and family members as a precaution in case something happens to them.
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Though it was once a separate Beacon app on iOS or Android, exercise enthusiasts who own certain models of Garmin trackers, such as the Edge or Forerunner, can now get the feature directly into their tracker.
Feedback sought from the Strava community
Syncing directly with Garmin’s own location monitor, LiveTrack, Beacon allows up to three contacts to check in on the user while they exercise, providing details of where they are, without those contacts needing a Strava account.
The company explains that Beacon was created based on discussion from the Strava community, expressing the need for better communication when people they care about leave for workouts. A survey of this group showed that safety was the number one feature they all wanted to see added to the app.
The feature can be found on many of Garmin’s newer Edge and Forerunner models, along with the Fenix 3.
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