Garmin: “Let me just raise the price of those $1,000 watches for you without adding many meaningful features.“
Garmin: “Oops, your $800 watch is two years old. No new features for you. Sorry!” (not sorry).
Garmin: “Thank you for your loyalty and multiple super-expensive purchases over the years. Can we have more money from you for a monthly subscription, please? Pretty please?“
Yes, folks, it’s finally happened. Garmin has taken the first steps to piss off huge numbers of people by charging a subscription for new premium features. We all know this will only end one way, and that way is South. Garmin will progressively increase the number of new and modified features behind the new paywall.
That said, the change doesn’t sound too bad as of today. Everything you’ve currently got for free stays free. The new Garmin Connect+ adds new stuff or, at least, existing stuff that has been re-imagined and reconfigured. Let’s dig into the details, starting with an overview.
Warning: Rules banning swearing have been removed for comments below. Fill your boots. Vent your anger. Share your rage. Pretend you’re going to switch to Coros.
What’s New – Overview
The new features in Connect+ include Garmin Active Intelligence, which provides daily, post-workout, and end-of-day summaries. Next is the Live Activity View, which allows us to follow indoor workouts on the Garmin Connect app, but only if you have a Garmin watch/bike computer.
Then, the new Customizable Performance Dashboards will expand on the tile-based changes to the dashboard we had in 2024, and we can create detailed charts and performance-based views but only on the desktop version of Garmin Connect. Finally, some feature-padding with additional Training Guidance: Premium users get extra articles and videos for training support.
Here’s an overview to focus the mind on what you miss out on.
Features
Free Garmin Connect
Premium Garmin Connect+
Details of every tracked activity
✅
✅
Health stats
✅
✅
Performance metrics
✅
✅
Garmin Coach training plans
✅
✅
Exclusive coaching guidance for Garmin Coach training plans
❌
✅
Challenges/badges
✅
✅
Exclusive badge challenges
❌
✅
Animated exercises and workout database
✅
✅
Build and download courses for rides and runs
✅
✅
LiveTrack
✅
✅
LiveTrack2 enhancements
❌
✅
Active Intelligence
❌
✅
Performance dashboard
❌
✅
Live activity
❌
✅
That will be $6.99/mo or $69.99/year. #Bargain.
Oh. $6.99 a month…I thought that was $6.99 a year #NotABargain.
You can sign up at garmin.com (link) or in the settings on the Connect App after you update to the latest version, though the app update didn’t work for me. One quirk I noticed is that you have no choice but to give Garmin your address and phone number, which they appear to intend to store, rather than simply using it for payment authentication.
AI Insights – these arrive periodically throughout the day. Garmin must assume you will regularly check back. I think not. If you dismiss one, another does not appear. If you flag the Insight as uninteresting, it’s still there 30 minutes later.
My welcome to AI insights was the knowledge that I was halfway through my daily steps. Yep, the AI is so clever to realise that I did a high-end multi-sport PR performance 4 days ago. I own a top-end triathlon watch and a top-end cycling computer, and now I’m interested in steps. LOL. C’mon Garmin, get on the program; you’re meant to train the AI model before releasing it to me to train it for you. Oh, wait a minute, does that sound like your expectation of customer testing of new Garmin software releases? I think so.
Enable This first
Rate The Insight – Otherwise they will remain poor
Live activities – To be fair, this is a much-requested feature, although perhaps not according to the demographic of the people who read this blog. For anyone who predominantly exercises in conjunction with their phone, recording and viewing workouts on the Phone is a definite nice-to-have. Unfortunately, much of this demographic would prefer to buy a Garmin heart rate monitor and then have the Connect app do the recording. That’s impossible; you still need a Garmin watch to initiate the feature. Why? A: Garmin sells watches; it’s their job.
Many gym goers should be pleased by the additions to Connect+. They can edit and follow sets much more easily via Connect+ using a new Live Edit feature, and exercise animations are available on the app in a much larger format than those on the watch.
Turning to the Live Track Enhancements, these shouldn’t be a paid-for feature. It’s great to have a personalised Live Track Profile Page and to be able to invite people to follow you by SMS, but that should be part of the free service. That’s just my 2c.
Training Guidance has also been added, but this appears for now to be a content library of videos and articles rather than changes to the existing coaching and workout recommendations. This hardly seems worth paying for by anyone possessing a hand and the ability to use Google. Still, I guess it’s handy (pun intended) to have access to a library of curated training resources in one place.
Premium Badges and Challenges will annoy many people who love following Garmin challenges. There are communities built around Badge Accumulation, which gets quite competitive! The more affluent, more competitive amongst you can now buy access to badges that others cannot; it seems you also have access to badges outside of your default region, whereas others do not. Inclusive? I think not. It’s just a fact that this will disproportionately exclude minorities from community-like events. That said, some older badges were only available based on ownership of Tacx and certain watches, and a few people are already bemoaning this restriction. Even worse, subscribers get a multiplier effect applied to their badge point meaning you get disproportionate rewards just because you paid.
Basically I moved the tiles around and changed the default timespan on each.
But this is a plain old dashboard, right? It’s not a ‘performance’ dashboard by a long chalk. What’s new here, and why must I pay for it? These are very, very, very (did I say VERY?) basic charts, most of which you can get on thousands of apps for free. It’s all the same-old, same-old reporting and analysis. Where can I get genuine insights, exceptions and knowledge from my data with this tool? (Perhaps in the AI bit, but not here).
Thoughts
Garmin AI is a brilliant name, I must say. Apple went for AI=Apple Intelligence and Garmin for AI=Active Intelligence. It’s a clever play on letters and words in both cases. Still, unfortunately, in both cases, the meaning of Garmin and Apple’s “AI” brand will, for sure, be diluted by the universal acceptance of 8 billion people that AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. #Shrug #Marketing #CommonSense.
This stuff seems worthless to me. Sorry, I’ll rephrase that. Mostly worthless.
Over on some of the Whoop forums, various band owners bemoan Whoop Coach’s AI insights. But I can tell you it’s way better than what Garmin has done here. Garmin pushes periodic, pre-canned exceptions and correlations at you when it wants to. Whoop, for example, integrates conversational AI that sits on top of your data and its extensive sports science knowledge – you ask for, and get, pertinent and intelligent responses tailored to you – Whoop released that 18 months ago. Yikes Garmin. You’re WAY behind the curve.
The paid-for badges and challenges are a pathetic and non-inclusive part of the feature. I would have no issue if new badges/challenges were available to all, not done this way.
“Live track enhancements” should be renamed “Slightly Improved Live Track Features, Plugging Essential Missing Gaps.”
The new “Training Guidance” section should be renamed “YouTube and a bit of Googling.”
And that’s about it.
Final Thought
Pants.
Correction: Expensive pants. Plus, there are nice features for strength training and AI that might be good in a year or so.
Q: Do you think the community (Reddit) will love this? I suspect not.
Q: Do you think most of the sports media will love this? I suspect so.
Thankfully, I have no links to Garmin and can say what I think.
Rant Over: If you would like a more sober and intelligent assessment, try this post I wrote today, speculating on the likely motivations behind each new area that has found itself behind the paywall. For example, this could signal a move to provide Peloton-like video services or the company itself.
They will. These AI generated insights will almost certainly be delivered directly to the watch as well (this can be done even more 5G is available on the watch as they can pull it through via Bluetooth)
More detailed insights around sleep, meal times, workouts times etc might be pretty compelling to me personally.
pulling via 5g and bluetooth are not necessarily comparable.
5g requires there to be the appropriate FEATURE in the cloud, not just the data that drives the feature.
These performance dashboards are just the previous custom dashboards that they just removed during the connect revamp? They are already moving features into their paywall, in the future they will probably have everything maybe except for raw data into the subscription.
maybe, i think it will be more nuanced in that the new stuff will predominantly go behind a paywall and if you buy a new watch you might get 3/6 months free access to that.
The only thing i need from Garmin Connect is the platform suggesting all your past similar courses for comparison of the results…
I heard that it is available with some others vendors.
All the other things are not mandatory for amateur people, LiveTrack already here with smartphone, advance analytics are available with Runalyze, Intervals.ICU, Strava (courses comaprison are here) … but need multiple accounts.
It may not be such a problem now, but in the future?
Here’s what I see:
The watches and sensors are actually developed out.
-> new software features for the next Garmin watches will be behind the Garmin subscription.
Is there any information on how well Fitbit/Google’s subscription is working or has been accepted by buyers?
I love my FR 265.
But I’m excited for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and even more excited for Apple’s next watchOS!!!!
If they catch up on metrics and some features (mapping running shoes to running sessions) then Garmin will have a growing problem.
i think fitbit subscription does quite well,
i’m looking forward to a new AWU as well. don’t get your hopes up with things like Gear Tracking. Apple has MANY more popular fish to fry before they get to that…if ever. Apple will mostly try to meet the needs of the mass sporting market not the needs of the specialist sporting market (except via 3rd aprty apps)
Suunto, Coros and Apple gotta uncork these champagne bottles today.
My current Garmin lineup is probably my last unless they walk back on it fast and soon. What a disgrace. What a spit in our faces. Pathetic.
yeah, i think Apple will tho. this game is all about market share and this is one move to jeopardise that at the expense of shortermism for the shareholders’ benefit
Yeah.. unfortunately those companies will be shitting bricks and looking at Garmin as a market leader right now. Investors will be questioning where Coros and Suuntos AI assistant is.
I’m laughing now, because after years with Garmin, I returned my F7Pro and go for Suunto Race+Wahoo elmnt roam 2. Never ever Garmin! They are in s… IMHO and the subscriptions are the last desperate attempts at rescue.
I knew it was coming but always assumed Garmin would get their shit together first software-wise and at least offer something enticing for the big reveal.
Way to burn a brand. Feels as if trumpism might be contagious?
Feature list looks like so much ai fluff that they might see more signups if they demanded a subscription for a version of connect that is not “improved” with the fluff.
In that terrible Garmin YT video with the wiggling dude who knew he was trying to sell us a shit sandwich, they stated that everything we have right now will stay for free. Now it’s just a matter of time until they will improve and revamp all the old features and put them behind a paywall until one day, new devices can only be used to their full potential when you get a subscription. And they might start with the next generation and give you one or two years for free and if you don’t get a new device you either have to pay for renewing the subscription or you can’t access your own data anymore. “You will own nothing and you will be happy”…thank you Klaus Schwab, Blackrock and WEF…”can I have fried crickets with my tofu??”
This seems to be what a lot of Garmin customers have been asking for though. Look at the forums and I filled with people demanding that their 3-year-old devices have the latest features. The only way that that could feasibly be achieved (profitably) is via a subscription model.
Charge $600 for a basic watch with minimal features, then pay $14.99 a month to always have the full sweet of fitness and navigation features.
The forum demanded, and I feel like we’re going to get it.
” The only way that that could feasibly be achieved (profitably) is via a subscription model.” not so. apple and coros do not do that.
So it looks like the FR255 will be my last Garmin. As like many others I purchased a Garmin as it was a one off ‘nothing locked behind a pay wall’ purchase. Corporate greed once again trumps common sense.
I’m going to buck the trend of comments here and say I’m absolutely ok with what they’re doing provided the metrics stay free and the insights and adaptive plans are the stuff they’re charging for.
Many of us are can derive our own insights provided the metrics are available. The moment they start changing for access to additional metrics or worse, historical metrics is the moment I’ll lose my cool.
“providing the metrics stay free”
as said elsewhere, what will likely happen is that metrics will be ‘improved’ and then the imrpvoed version is behind the paywall
I originally had a Fitbit, and having my data paywalled after purchasing it without the paywall was infuriating. After much research I purchased a Garmin as a replacement – the main reason being their lack of a subscription and their seeming objection to one. I thought the premium price I paid would mean no subscription down the line. How foolish of me. Very fucking angry about this. I guess my next smart watch isn’t going to be a Fitbit or a Garmin now.
This is what happens when the purists that start with the original passion project, are finally outvoted by the make obscene amounts of money people, in the boardroom.
And so the downward spiral of Garmin begins. Driven by $, not by vision. Same thing happened at Strava. Free Strava is now horrendous.
My next watch will likely be a Garmin. But the clock has started ticking for finding an alternative for when Connect turns into the mess that is Strava now.
I’m sad for the passionate people in garmin that have lost the battle against the money heads.
Your “non-inclusive” comment is a joke. Did you really need to tick the minorities box in this article? Anything you have to pay for is non-inclusive as you either can afford it or you cannot.
Unfortunately, I don’t have enough space in the comment field to rant nearly as much about this endeavor.
If they rolled LiveTrack2 etc in to a cellular / satellite subscription plan it would be an easier sell.
All the other features are fluff to me
They will. These AI generated insights will almost certainly be delivered directly to the watch as well (this can be done even more 5G is available on the watch as they can pull it through via Bluetooth)
More detailed insights around sleep, meal times, workouts times etc might be pretty compelling to me personally.
pulling via 5g and bluetooth are not necessarily comparable.
5g requires there to be the appropriate FEATURE in the cloud, not just the data that drives the feature.
These performance dashboards are just the previous custom dashboards that they just removed during the connect revamp? They are already moving features into their paywall, in the future they will probably have everything maybe except for raw data into the subscription.
maybe, i think it will be more nuanced in that the new stuff will predominantly go behind a paywall and if you buy a new watch you might get 3/6 months free access to that.
The only thing i need from Garmin Connect is the platform suggesting all your past similar courses for comparison of the results…
I heard that it is available with some others vendors.
All the other things are not mandatory for amateur people, LiveTrack already here with smartphone, advance analytics are available with Runalyze, Intervals.ICU, Strava (courses comaprison are here) … but need multiple accounts.
Have you heard of strava? 😉
why have a useful feature like that when you can get some exclusive new badges to go with your $800 watch?
ahahah badges
FYI some customers really loved badges, some threads start appearing on the forum 🙂
https://forums.garmin.com/beta-program/fenix-7-series/f/community-discussion/407712/new-badges-only-in-garmin-connect-with-prescription-are-you-kidding-us-garmin
It may not be such a problem now, but in the future?
Here’s what I see:
The watches and sensors are actually developed out.
-> new software features for the next Garmin watches will be behind the Garmin subscription.
Is there any information on how well Fitbit/Google’s subscription is working or has been accepted by buyers?
I love my FR 265.
But I’m excited for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and even more excited for Apple’s next watchOS!!!!
If they catch up on metrics and some features (mapping running shoes to running sessions) then Garmin will have a growing problem.
i think fitbit subscription does quite well,
i’m looking forward to a new AWU as well. don’t get your hopes up with things like Gear Tracking. Apple has MANY more popular fish to fry before they get to that…if ever. Apple will mostly try to meet the needs of the mass sporting market not the needs of the specialist sporting market (except via 3rd aprty apps)
PS: Perhaps a manufacturer like Suunto will also benefit from changing Garmin users?
Enjoy paying for a Workoutsoors and an Athlytic subscription to get the full set of Garmin functionality from that Apple Watch 😥
Suunto, Coros and Apple gotta uncork these champagne bottles today.
My current Garmin lineup is probably my last unless they walk back on it fast and soon. What a disgrace. What a spit in our faces. Pathetic.
Coros will just copy it. 🙂
yeah, i think Apple will tho. this game is all about market share and this is one move to jeopardise that at the expense of shortermism for the shareholders’ benefit
Yeah.. unfortunately those companies will be shitting bricks and looking at Garmin as a market leader right now. Investors will be questioning where Coros and Suuntos AI assistant is.
I could write 25 pages about how much this development pisses me off, but I’ll just keep it simple:
The new Live Activity feature is the only new feature I give a shit about, but I sure don’t give $70/year worth of a shit about it.
I’m laughing now, because after years with Garmin, I returned my F7Pro and go for Suunto Race+Wahoo elmnt roam 2. Never ever Garmin! They are in s… IMHO and the subscriptions are the last desperate attempts at rescue.
nice tech combo.
that said, Garmin’s financials are going very positively ATM
Goddamnit you know who’s to blame for this? The fucking Jews
Jeez. I supposed I asked for it.
The fuck? I hope that’s an inside joke.
I knew it was coming but always assumed Garmin would get their shit together first software-wise and at least offer something enticing for the big reveal.
How wrong I was.
Way to burn a brand. Feels as if trumpism might be contagious?
Feature list looks like so much ai fluff that they might see more signups if they demanded a subscription for a version of connect that is not “improved” with the fluff.
“Badges… We don’t need no stinking badges”
It’s a good time to remove Connect and its account and just use Golden Cheetah. I might get more motivation on developing some fun plugins for that.
Hahaha, i cant activate the free trial. Error, cant activate message. Well Done Garmin, you cant even dinghuis right 😂
yes, i couldn’t do that on the app either but it worked online!
In that terrible Garmin YT video with the wiggling dude who knew he was trying to sell us a shit sandwich, they stated that everything we have right now will stay for free. Now it’s just a matter of time until they will improve and revamp all the old features and put them behind a paywall until one day, new devices can only be used to their full potential when you get a subscription. And they might start with the next generation and give you one or two years for free and if you don’t get a new device you either have to pay for renewing the subscription or you can’t access your own data anymore. “You will own nothing and you will be happy”…thank you Klaus Schwab, Blackrock and WEF…”can I have fried crickets with my tofu??”
yep, that sounds about right.
This seems to be what a lot of Garmin customers have been asking for though. Look at the forums and I filled with people demanding that their 3-year-old devices have the latest features. The only way that that could feasibly be achieved (profitably) is via a subscription model.
Charge $600 for a basic watch with minimal features, then pay $14.99 a month to always have the full sweet of fitness and navigation features.
The forum demanded, and I feel like we’re going to get it.
” The only way that that could feasibly be achieved (profitably) is via a subscription model.” not so. apple and coros do not do that.
So it looks like the FR255 will be my last Garmin. As like many others I purchased a Garmin as it was a one off ‘nothing locked behind a pay wall’ purchase. Corporate greed once again trumps common sense.
I’m going to buck the trend of comments here and say I’m absolutely ok with what they’re doing provided the metrics stay free and the insights and adaptive plans are the stuff they’re charging for.
Many of us are can derive our own insights provided the metrics are available. The moment they start changing for access to additional metrics or worse, historical metrics is the moment I’ll lose my cool.
“providing the metrics stay free”
as said elsewhere, what will likely happen is that metrics will be ‘improved’ and then the imrpvoed version is behind the paywall
I originally had a Fitbit, and having my data paywalled after purchasing it without the paywall was infuriating. After much research I purchased a Garmin as a replacement – the main reason being their lack of a subscription and their seeming objection to one. I thought the premium price I paid would mean no subscription down the line. How foolish of me. Very fucking angry about this. I guess my next smart watch isn’t going to be a Fitbit or a Garmin now.
Finally a fucking place on the internet for aussies to talk without bloody getting cunted down by the fucking pc police
Whats a fucking smart watch?? Whenever i get lost out bush i just walk towards my shadow ya dingo
LOL
This is what happens when the purists that start with the original passion project, are finally outvoted by the make obscene amounts of money people, in the boardroom.
And so the downward spiral of Garmin begins. Driven by $, not by vision. Same thing happened at Strava. Free Strava is now horrendous.
My next watch will likely be a Garmin. But the clock has started ticking for finding an alternative for when Connect turns into the mess that is Strava now.
I’m sad for the passionate people in garmin that have lost the battle against the money heads.
Your “non-inclusive” comment is a joke. Did you really need to tick the minorities box in this article? Anything you have to pay for is non-inclusive as you either can afford it or you cannot.
Glad you find it funny. always here to entertain.
It’s simply a fact I’m writing about. It will upset some people.
Sporttracks 3.1 (desktop): the past, the present, the future.
if only i could get it to work.
sports tech really was better in the good old days!
coincidentally i was looking at my log books last week. several are corrupted grrrr
bu then: look what happens when you pay a lifetime licence fee for software…you saw what happened.