CES 2026: Garmin Tackles Nutrition with New Food-Tracking Tool at Las Vegas Event

At the CES 2026 technology convention held in the culinary hub of Las Vegas, Garmin made headlines with an unusual unveil. Rather than debuting a new fitness device, the company introduced a feature for their Connect app—food and calorie tracking. Utilizing advanced AI image recognition coupled with an extensive food database, this addition allows users to meticulously record their nutritional intake directly within the app, further enabling integration with Garmin's wearable devices.

The functionality echoes the capabilities of popular nutrition apps like MyFitnessPal, Noom, and LifeSum, but Garmin's ambition is to create a superior all-in-one nutrition tracker that syncs seamlessly with fitness goals. For those already using Garmin to log exercise data, this enhancement promises a more nuanced calculation of calorie expenditure, personalized using personal metrics such as height, weight, and gender.

A Unique Launch Venue

Revealing this health-focused tool at CES, set amidst Las Vegas's tempting abundance of indulgent foods, seemed almost provocatively ironic. During the presentation, Garmin chose the renowned Yardbird restaurant, famous for its rich southern delicacies, to demonstrate the app's features. The environment, filled with calorie-laden delights, humorously pointed to the challenges of calorie monitoring, even with a high step count each day.

AI-Driven Food Logging

Leveraging AI, the app enables users to identify and log meals using the camera. At a media lunch, it efficiently recognized items like grilled salmon and corn, although quantification accuracy was an issue, as the app struggled with precisely evaluating amounts—an industry-wide hurdle still being addressed.

Users can also manually input meal components for frequent meals, making ongoing nutrition logging more intuitive. Compatible Garmin watches facilitate monitoring calorie intake without requiring phone access, with voice command functionality enhancing usability.

Availability and Subscription Details

Current Garmin Connect+ users, for a monthly fee, can access this feature alongside the app's existing Active Intelligence system, which includes AI-driven workout analytics. This integration introduces comprehensive dietary insights, complementing existing fitness data. Subscribers receive regular reports detailing caloric trends and deviations, empowering informed adjustments to health strategies.