Garmin is catching heat from fans after rolling out two new Pokémon-themed watch faces in a surprisingly limited way.
Released last week to mark World Sleep Day, the new additions bring a fun day-and-night theme to supported Garmin smartwatches. Users can pick from 48 different Pokémon and personalize the look with three selectable complications, giving the faces a decent amount of flexibility for people who like their watch display to feel more “theirs.”
The problem isn’t the concept. It’s the compatibility.
Despite the broad appeal of Pokémon and the customization options, Garmin has restricted these watch faces to a small slice of its lineup. For starters, they only work on watches with round displays. That alone leaves out models with different screen shapes, including Garmin’s premium Venu X1, which many would expect to be first in line for new official watch face releases.
On top of that, an AMOLED display is required. With Garmin still selling and supporting watches that use Memory in Pixel (MiP) screens, the AMOLED-only decision effectively blocks a large number of popular performance-focused models. Owners of watches like the Fenix 8 Solar, the Forerunner 255, the Forerunner 955, and the entire Fenix 7 series are currently unable to download these Pokémon watch faces.
What makes the situation more frustrating for many users is that some less expensive models do qualify. Garmin’s Venu 2 and Vivoactive 5, for example, can access the new watch faces, while higher-end and enthusiast favorites are left out. That contrast has fueled criticism across the Garmin community, with plenty of users questioning why screen technology is being used as a hard gate for a celebratory watch face release—especially when so many athletes and outdoor users deliberately choose MiP-based watches for battery life and visibility.
So far, Garmin hasn’t offered a clear explanation for the limited rollout or indicated whether support will expand to more devices later. Until then, the Pokémon watch faces remain a perk for select round, AMOLED-equipped Garmin watches rather than a fun update the wider fanbase can enjoy.
