It was just a matter of time. Garmin announced today that it launches Garmin Connect Plus, a distinctive layer for its application that add visions operating in Amnesty International and a few other expanded features. The current and new Garmin users will be able to subscribe to a 30 -day free experience and then choose between a monthly subscription of $ 6.99 or $ 69.99. However, all current health data and features will remain free.
“The development of a distinct layer allows us to expand our investments on the Garmin Connect platform, both in terms of features that have an additional cost to provide them and also in expanding our engineering teams to build these features and spokesperson for Garmin,” says Garmin spokeswoman Natalie Miller.
Artificial intelligence is the large addition to Connect Plus. The feature, which is called “active intelligence”, will appear as a pilot and claim that it provides “visions and personal suggestions” based on your health and activity data. Over time, visions and goals are supposed to become more customized for the individual user.
The Connect Plus also adds a new performance information panel that allows users to compare graphs and allocated graphs over a period of time to visualize progress. The subscribers will also be able to display the measure of direct activity on a smartphone for the training that started in the hour. Livetrack will also be expanded so that you can notify the specific contacts when the activity and a profile designated for the followers begins. People who use the Garmin trainer plans for operation and cycling will also receive additional guidances from Garmin coaches. Finally, there will be exclusive badges and frames for user applications.
Whether this is enough value to lure loyal Garmin users is another question – especially since Garmin was honest in the past no Paywalling features. In 2022, I asked Phil McClendon, the Garmin project at Venu 2 Plus, about the company’s philosophy regarding subscriptions. At that time, Maclondon He said freedom“We do not charge you with the ability to access your data, and this is something we will continue to do and we feel very strong.” McClendon is no longer in Garmin, technically, this is still true because all current features and data will remain free. However, in the years that followed that conversation, Garmin has sometimes diluted his letters regarding Paywalls. At a 2023 press conference for The Venu 3, Garmin Leadership indicated that the company has strong contributions outside of fitness tracking, but it refused to say that he would do so never It is a subscription.
Among the fans, the lack of a subscription (outside the features of maps or LTE connection) was always Described as a plus. Especially since Garmin watches, on average, are more expensive than competition. It is difficult to say how fans will interact because many will remain free, but in general, submitting subscriptions is a blossom suggestion. OURA, for example, saw a tremendous reverse reaction when she submitted a subscription with the Gen 3 episode.
In both cases, Garmin faced increasing competition in the past years. Apple and Samsung launched their off -air smarter smart watches, while Coros appeared as another famous brand among athletes with long battery life and advanced GPS. At the same time, the wearable devices section of Garmin does not suffer completely. Recently The expectations for the four -quarter profits exceededReporting a significant increase of 31 percent in sales of fitness tracking and the highest level in stocks.
