Every three months, Garmin has made a habit of offering a software update for its products. This is an opportunity to launch new features and refine its offerings. Never before has anyone had to pay to access these additional services.
Everything changed on March 27th with the announcement of the Connect+ subscription. Like the leading smartwatch brand Oura, the American company at Garmin has succumbed to the temptation of a premium service, available by subscription. Good news or bad news, this service only offered small features, not very useful until now.
Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble is going to change things. He stated during an investor call for the company's first-quarter results that new features reserved for Connect+ customers were coming.
He took the opportunity to make a rather surprising observation: he welcomed the launch of Connect+, mentioning the very good customer reception. However, the opposite happened, with customers unhappy to see the brand pushing them to spend even more. The outrage also stemmed from the impertinence of the offer, with a generative AI function that was far from effective at providing training advice.
Cliff Pemble nevertheless wanted to reassure by indicating that no previously free features would be moved to Garmin's premium subscription service, Connect+. This means, however, that for the first time, some features on the brand's GPS sports watches will not be accessible to everyone.
Garmin's Risky Situation
Facing Garmin, the Coros brand has become a major competitor, competing both on price and on the relevance of its offering. Its latest products, including the first GPS sports watch with an AMOLED screen, the Pace Pro, come with software that is highly appreciated by customers. The interface of the watches and the application is indeed simpler and more understandable than Garmin's. The Coros Pace 3, available at 250 euros, directly competes with the Garmin Forerunner 165, the heart of the American brand's range.
Source: TechRadar
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