Products · Product
Garmin devices
Raised as a usability problem by 34 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 24 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Touchscreen is hard to use in turbulence and needs a steady handUnreviewed
20092026- Touch interfaces are hard to use in sunny conditions compared to physical buttons2025-01-27
- Touchscreens are hard to operate accurately in turbulence, and pilots must master complex menus beforehand2022-08-17
- Touchscreen is hard to use in turbulence and needs a steady hand2018-03-30
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 37 complaints
- Customizing watch faces through the Garmin app is terrible and default faces are ugly2026-09-09
- Unclear how to interact with the UI; basic actions require experimentation2026-08-13
- Hard to operate while riding; buttons and touch screen are confusing2026-05-02
- UI is so hard to navigate that the owner wears a different watch2026-01-07
- Small interface and map zoom levels are always wrong, making navigation clunky2025-10-12
- Easy to do weird things by accident and unclear what's happening2025-09-08
- Interface is not touch, refreshes very slowly, and is hard to use2025-09-08
- Software feels clunky to use2025-09-07
- Installing and using third-party watch apps is a nightmare for developers and users2025-09-07
- Watch cannot display texts or WhatsApp messages in the user's native language2025-09-07
- Requires memorizing many button presses and holds to operate2025-08-14
- Five buttons have inconsistent, overloaded functions that users must memorize2025-01-28
- Bluetooth sync fails and GPS locks slowly on the older watch2025-01-28
- Stopping a workout while swimming is confusing; touchscreen fails when wet and button presses are unclear2025-01-28
- Touch interfaces are hard to use in sunny conditions compared to physical buttons2025-01-27
- Button-driven watch menus feel kludgy and arcane to navigate2025-01-27
- Starting a pool lap measurement takes a long multi-button sequence instead of one click2025-01-27
- User finds the watch interface non-intuitive after owning two models2025-01-22
- Sleeves and cuffs trigger false screen taps when wearing gloves2025-01-21
- Modal dialogue covers map and locks screen in rain, can't dismiss it2025-01-21
- Navigation tells cyclists to exit roundabouts wrongly, forcing a U-turn and rejoin2025-01-21
- Buttons are hard to operate while wearing thick gloves2025-01-21
- Declining the satellite search prompt silently disables satellite search, and re-enabling it requires digging through several config menus2025-01-02
- Zooming and panning the map requires repeated mode-switching through held buttons, too cumbersome to use while riding2024-11-03
- Slow syncing, unreliable wrist-raise backlight, and no notifications when Bluetooth drops2023-06-29
- Watch UX feels cluttered and hard to use; tapping tiny buttons on small touchscreen is painful2022-11-03
- Touchscreens are hard to operate accurately in turbulence, and pilots must master complex menus beforehand2022-08-17
- Reducing volume takes four presses across three buttons, and a wrong press forces starting over2021-07-14
- Watch freezes unresponsive for minutes and won't sync without internet2019-10-28
- Pilots find the built-in controls clunky, so they control the unit from an iPad instead2019-06-17
- UI responds so slowly and buttons feel spongy, forcing users to look at the watch2018-07-03
- Touchscreen is hard to use in turbulence and needs a steady hand2018-03-30
- Typing an address is laggy, so letters take a while to appear2018-02-21
- Touchscreen nearly unusable in rain, forcing stops to change modes2018-01-28
- Tapping to select a point recenters the map, fighting with drag panning2016-05-25
- Other GPS units required confusing menus to enter addresses or find points of interest2012-08-23
- Has to stab the screen repeatedly and often registers the wrong button2009-12-01