Orbit for Lucid: a Garmin watch app for your Lucid (early alpha, DIY install)

doubletwist · 2026-10-26T18:37:01-0500

I got tired of pulling out my phone to check the charge or unlock the car, so I've started builing a Garmin watch app for the Lucid. It's called Orbit for Lucid, it's free and open source, and I'm sharing it in case other Garmin owners want it. It's an early alpha that I've only run on my own setup, and installing it is a do-it-yourself job (see Shortcomings).

How it works: a Garmin watch can't talk to Lucid by itself, so there's a small Android companion app. The watch talks over Bluetooth (via Garmin Connect) to the phone app, and the phone app talks to Lucid's cloud the same way Lucid's own app does. There's no Orbit server and no account with me. You log in once in the phone app, and only a refresh token is kept, encrypted on the phone. The watch never holds credentials.

What works today (on my Venu 3):

Main screen: charge as a ring and big number, cabin and outside temperature (85°/87°), padlock, plug or charging bolt, climate-on icon, and how old the car's data is.
Glance: charge and lock state in the watch carousel, without opening the app.
Lock, unlock, climate on/off at a temperature you pick (in the watch's °F or °C), and refresh. Unlock and climate ask for a confirm tap. Lock doesn't.
Wakes a sleeping car before sending a command.
Stays current: every 5 minutes, while the watch is connected, the phone fetches status and sends it to the watch, even with the app closed. It never wakes the car, and a switch in the phone app turns it off.

On the roadmap (tracked as GitHub issues, roughly in this order):

A read-only details screen: tire pressure, windows, battery health, min/max cell temperature.
Frunk and trunk open/close (with a confirm tap), on a second page of actions.
Battery preconditioning, seat and steering wheel heat, max defrost and max A/C.
AC charging current limit.
Later, if there's interest: other Garmin models, multi-vehicle accounts, and a watch face.

Shortcomings, honestly:

Unofficial. It uses Lucid's undocumented API, which can change or stop working at any time. It isn't affiliated with Lucid or Garmin, and Lucid's connectivity terms are strict about this kind of thing, so use it on your own account at your own risk. The 5 minute status check also shows up as extra requests from your account (the switch turns it off).
Narrow support: tested only with a Pixel phone, a Venu 3, and one US Lucid. Other Garmin models compile but are untested. One vehicle only. Android only, no iPhone.
No download. You build both apps yourself (Android Studio plus Garmin's free Connect IQ SDK) and sideload them. The INSTALL.md walks through it, but it isn't easy. I'd rather you could read the code than trust a binary that handles your Lucid login.
Slow and sometimes laggy. Unlock from a sleeping car took about 13 seconds in my test, but Lucid's cloud varies a lot. After a command the app keeps checking for about 105 seconds, then says "no confirmation yet" (it may still have worked).
A permanent notification on the phone, because Android needs a small service running for the watch to reach it.
Battery impact isn't measured yet. I'm running that test now and will post numbers.
Written with a lot of AI help by someone who isn't a professional programmer, and it hasn't had an outside code review. Be sensible about a button that can unlock your car.

Screenshots are attached. Code, README and the full details: https://github.com/doubletwist13/orbit-for-lucid

Testers with other Garmin watches (fenix 7, Venu 3S, Forerunner) or a second Lucid on the account would help most. Bug reports and ideas are welcome here or as GitHub issues.

SPECIAL THANKS: