Garmin’s new subscription is causing chaos: Here are the six features behind the new paywall

Garmin Connect+

To say thatGarminhas upset its users with its new subscription service would be putting it mildly. The company recently announcedGarmin Connect+, a new paid premium tier of its Connect appthat features some shiny new paywalled features, including AI-powered insights and a performance dashboard for all of thebest Garminwatches.

It hasn’t gone down well.Thousands of furious Garmin fans have taken to Reddit over the news, demanding customers take a stand.

The uproar has been so intense that you might have actually missed what the subscription entails, so if you’re at least a little bit curious or you’d happily give the free trial a go, here’s what you get from Garmin Connect Plus for $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually.

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1. Active Intelligence

(Image credit: Garmin)

Garmin Connect+ gets you AI-powered training insights. Garmin says you’ll get personalized suggestions based on health and activity data. Previews showcase friendly summaries about your sleep, battery, and more. As you’d expect from AI, the insights will reportedly get better over time. Here’s an example:

You fell 1 hour and 23 minutes short of your sleep need, but you still managed to charge your battery 57 points. You’re ready for exercise today, but balance it with rest to avoid bottoming out.

2. Performance Dashboard

(Image credit: Garmin)

Connect+ features a comprehensive view of training data, available on the website, that lets you compare your fitness and health data over time. Showcased examples include your running duration comparison, time in power zones, average pace, and distance over time.

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3. Live Activity

(Image credit: Garmin)

Your smartphone will now give you real-time heart rate, pace, reps and videos for your indoor workouts (such as strength and yoga) when paired with a compatible smartwatch.

4. Exclusive Coaching Guidance

(Image credit: Garmin)

As you use Garmin Run Coach or Garmin Cycling Coach, you’ll get expert guidance from coaches, including educational content and videos.

5. Enhanced Livetrack

(Image credit: Garmin)

Starting an activity on a compatible device will now notify your friends and family via text, and you can create a personalized LiveTrack profile page for people to follow.

This seems to have changed the existing text feature for Garmin users, and we’ve got some concerns that this might have pushed some of the existing LiveTrack features behind a paywall. We’ve reached out to Garmin to confirm.

6. Social features

(Image credit: Garmin)

Finally, social features include exclusive badges, some of them worth an increased amount of points, and badge challenges that you can use to personalize your profile.

Not a lot?

The Garmin Connect+ subscription isn’t enormously expensive, but it’s not cheap either. As you can see, you don’t get an enormous amount for your money, and Garmin hasn’t exactly been forthcoming on the details about these features – this is really all the information we have right now.

As such, it’s possible we’ll get more detailed insight about some of these features over the coming days and weeks.

On paper, Garmin Connect+ looks pretty thin, and while that’s not the main reason people are objecting to its rollout, I have to imagine that it’s a factor.

Garmin bike computer gets camera controls in new beta update

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 bike computer is receiving a new public beta update, version 25.19. This is an unusual back-to-back update, which requires users to install different firmware before proceeding with the update. The change log notes that the release brings support for camera controls.

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 is being updated with beta version 25.19. (Image source: Garmin)

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 is being updated with beta version 25.19. (Image source: Garmin)

Garmin is rolling out anew beta updateto the Edge Explore 2 GPS Bike Computer. This is the first public release in the 25.xx testing cycle, despite it being version 25.19. The previous software, version 24.20, brought a wide range of features and improvements to the product, including Garmin Share and hazards support.

Beta version 25.19 is a relatively minor update. The change log states that the Edge Explore 2 now supports camera control. The release notes also indicate that the update brings bug fixes, though Garmin has not listed these changes. As with recent updates for other models like theEdge 540andEdge 1050bike computers, this is a back-to-back update. Users must first install version 24.54, which allows the Edge Explore 2 to use MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) when transferring files between the device and a computer. After the installation is complete, the bike computer will reboot.

Once this has finished, you can proceed with the download of update version 25.19. According to a Garmin team member, this beta update has already reached at least 50% of eligible users. TheGarmin Edge Explore 2 is currently available for $269 at Amazon.

The change log for beta version 25.19 for the Garmin Edge Explore 2. (Image source: Garmin)

Source(s)

Garmin