Garmin spent Veterans Day launching something it has never sold before: official logos. Five new watch faces carry the real insignia of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force, and they went live in the Connect IQ Store on November 11.
They cost $4.99 each in the US, and part of every sale goes to the military's Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund. How much of that $4.99, Garmin will not say.
That silence is the most interesting thing about the release, and we'll get to it. First, what you actually get.
Five faces, one formula
Each face is built the same way. The branch's official logo sits on a background in that branch's colors, and a digital clock and date run alongside three circular indicators. Per Android Authority, those three rings can show your step count, your step goal and battery percentage.
That's a simpler layout than most of Garmin's own faces, which matters: three data fields is the minimum viable smartwatch face, and it means these will look clean on a small display. No weather, no notifications, no body battery arc. The pitch is the logo.
Garmin's release frames it as expression rather than utility. The company says the faces let "veterans, active-duty service members, military families and advocates" show their service without buying a dedicated tactical watch.
Which watches can run them
Garmin's wording is "select smartwatches," which is doing a lot of work. The faces are supported across parts of the fenix, Instinct, tactix, Enduro, Venu, Vivoactive, Approach, MARQ and Forerunner families.
That is not the same as "all of them." Connect IQ faces are compiled per device, and support depends on screen type and resolution. Garmin published a device list for each of the five faces, so check yours before you pay. A MIP display and an AMOLED display do not run the same build, and older models in the Forerunner and Vivoactive lines are the likeliest to be left out.
If you're buying hardware to go with the face, the Garmin tactix 8 is the obvious pairing, since it's the line Garmin already builds around military use. The cheaper route is the Garmin Instinct 3, which is on the supported list and costs a fraction of the tactix.
The bit Garmin left out
"A portion of the proceeds supports the Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund," the release says. MWR is the network of fitness, leisure and quality-of-life programs that serves service members, their families and retirees. It is a real program and a reasonable cause.
What Garmin did not publish is the percentage. Not in the press release, not on the Connect IQ listing. Android Authority asked and got the same silence, noting Garmin "hasn't disclosed how much of each $4.99 purchase goes toward these programs."
This is not a scandal. Plenty of brands run cause-linked products with undisclosed splits, and "a portion" is legally a portion. But it does put the buyer in an odd spot. You are being asked to pay a premium over a free watch face partly on the strength of a charitable promise you can't size. If the donation were 50 cents, that's a rounding error against Garmin's revenue. If it were $2, Garmin would probably have said so.
The useful comparison is what free faces cost. Connect IQ has thousands of them, many with the same three-field layout, and Garmin's own built-in faces ship with the watch. What you're paying $4.99 for is official licensing and the branch logo. That's a legitimate thing to sell. Whether you consider the donation a bonus or the reason to buy is up to you.
Garmin has been here before
Selling licensed designs is now a small side business for Garmin. Earlier this year the company worked with The Pokemon Company on a set of Pokemon Sleep watch faces, which change pose based on your Body Battery reading. That was the same playbook: a recognizable brand, a small fee, a store that already has your payment details.
The military set is a better fit for the audience. Garmin's tactix lineup already sells stealth mode and night-vision compatibility to people who need them, and the MARQ Gen 3 collection sells titanium tool watches at $2,500 and up. A $4.99 face is the cheapest thing in that ecosystem by an order of magnitude, and it reaches the people who bought an Instinct on sale.
There's a platform angle as well. Garmin has been steadily giving third parties more access to its watches, most recently through Connect IQ 9.3, which opened the microphone and speaker to apps. A store with 4.99 add-ons and official brand partners is a store worth keeping healthy.
Where that leaves you
If you served, or you're buying for someone who did, five bucks for an official branch face is a fair deal and the donation is a nudge rather than a claim. You get the exact insignia, a clean three-field layout and a color scheme that matches the uniform.
If you want to know exactly how much of your money reaches MWR before you spend it, Garmin isn't telling, and that's the one thing about this launch worth pushing back on.
The faces are live now in the Connect IQ Store, and pricing outside the US varies by region.
Sources: Garmin newsroom release, Garmin Connect IQ collection, Android Authority, Notebookcheck, Soldier Systems Daily.
