Opinion: Users are right to be cautious—but Garmin's history with subscriptions gives me hope.
When Garmin announced its new Connect+ subscription service last week, the reaction from its community was swift and visceral.
The Garmin subreddit and social media lit up with concerns about paywalls, data access, and the possibility that a long-trusted platform was about to follow the path of so many others.
While Garmin stated in its initial release that Connect+ is an optional add-on, not a replacement or restriction of existing services, the backlash reflects a deeper unease. After all, companies often trot out many of these sentiments when announcing subscriptions or controversial changes, only to retract them later.
Yet, the brand’s previous disclosure about a Connect subscription—long before last week’s reveal—makes this a fascinating case and reaction.
At last September’s Garmin Health Summit, PULSE by Wareable spoke exclusively to Garmin’s Vice President of Fitness, Joe Schrick, about the company’s subscription philosophy:
“If you look at the way Garmin charges for subscriptions, and we actually do have a lot of different ones, we have them based on adding something or doing something with the data, rather than just holding the data.
“Activity data, health data, all that type of stuff—all that data is gonna be free for people. That’s just how that’s how we are, right? It’s your data—here you go.
“But if we’re working on the data and doing things with the data, that’s when we get into subscriptions. So, with something like our golf subscription, that’s there because we’re providing a service for downloading greens or new access to all of the animated golf courses. Or we have an inReach service, outdoor maps, or added features for marine or aviation—there are subscriptions everywhere.”
“Our feeling about Connect is that what you see there now remains free. Again, it’s: ‘This is yours, here’s what you have’. Add things on top of that? That’s a different story. But what we have on Connect remains free.”
He spoke candidly and clearly about the difference between itself and other brands. And, even with the launch of Connect+, the Garmin philosophy outlined by Schrick remains intact.
For years, Garmin has offered paid subscriptions for services like Schrick describes—all of which provide distinct, added functionality. Connect+ follows that mold—at least in spirit, if not yet in features and true value to the user.
Rather than restricting access to personal health or activity data, it introduces new features for those who want them. And given that Connect has rarely, if ever, been a platform that has ever received regular new features, it doesn’t feel like something free is going away.
Why users are panicking
Yet, the skepticism from Garmin’s fanbase isn’t unfounded. You only need to scour one of the hundreds of Reddit rants from the past few days to see that plenty have chosen Garmin precisely because of Connect’s lack of fitness/activity subscriptions.
These are people who have likely seen the inordinate rise of SaaS models and rejected them, possibly ignoring top options like Whoop (which packages hardware and software into a single subscription) and Oura (which effectively has a mandatory monthly subscription) because of it.
By choosing Garmin, I suspect these users believed they were aligning themselves philosophically with a brand that wouldn’t pull up the drawbridge.
It’s fair to seek that out, too, given that rivals in the industry have been playing fast and loose with subscription value for years. Fitbit’s Premium subscription is the most notable example of non-paid subscribers no longer receiving features that had previously been rolled out for free. However, it’s not the only culprit.
This fear is at the heart of user complaints. Understandably, it’s also a particularly sore spot for users who have shelled out close to $1,000 for their watch (though it also seems to be lost in the furor that many hardcore users will have also spent a fraction of that on their device).
In truth, we won’t truly know whether Garmin has abandoned non-paying Connect users for a few years—but, again, it’s not as though the platform was receiving consistent upgrades in its current form, anyway.
Subscriptions aren’t always the enemy
Another thing that often gets lost in the pile-on of subscriptions is that not all are inherently bad. In some cases, they provide tangible value, ensuring companies have the resources to maintain and improve their services.
When I’ve spoken to brands about subscriptions over the last few years, I’ve rarely concluded that it’s a cynical play to drain more from loyal members. Oura, for example, credits its monthly subscription to fostering its long-term development, helping fund innovative features, and reducing reliance on hardware sales.
And you only need to look at Samsung’s subscription-free Galaxy Ring or the rising number of Oura app clones to see that claim in action. The ‘free’ alternatives often pale in comparison (in features and true value) because they lack innovative, subscription-backed features.
Wareable co-founder James Stables summed this up well in an op-ed last year discussing the real value of subscription models, saying:
“The prevailing wisdom around additional cost fails to understand the true cost of great wearables: it’s the software and algorithms that create brilliant and accurate insights, not the hardware.
“It’s in the extensive algorithmic development, continuous clinical and human trials, and validated scientific development – the cost of which eclipses the hardware many times over.
“The model that makes sense – and enables wearables companies to continue to add features and improvements to their devices – is a subscription-based one.”
The state of Connect+
For Garmin, a company already known for its premium hardware, this model could lead to enhanced, more polished software without compromising core functionality. Perhaps it pushes the brand into areas it wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
Is it doing that in version 1.0 of Connect+? Probably not. In my brief time with the upgraded app, I’ve found the AI insights (if they genuinely harness much AI, that is) more valuable than those cooked up by Strava or others, but there’s not much else there to separate Connect+ from the core experience.
Yet, if Garmin starts to chuck in extras from its range of subscriptions, such as Outdoor Maps+ or a more advanced future version of inReach, the value increases exponentially. And it’s probably good that it has room to begin offering the best bits from its many sub-sectors, as Apple has with its ‘One’ subscription.
The key distinction is transparency. Users tend to accept subscriptions when they offer clear, added value without taking away what was once free. Garmin has a history of balancing this, and Connect+ will test whether they can maintain that balance.
The trust test
For now, Garmin users are justified in keeping a close eye on the situation—but, at least in my opinion, there’s no reason yet to pledge loyalty to other sports watch brands (who, let’s be honest, are likely watching this fallout closely to assess their own future subscription plans).
Schrick’s assertion that core health and activity data will always remain free stands as a clear benchmark. If Garmin maintains that stance, Connect+ will remain a choice for those who want the extras rather than a necessity to make their device work as it once did.
If that changes, users will remember.
Ultimately, the Connect+ rollout isn’t just a product launch; it’s a test of trust. Garmin has built a loyal base by providing reliable devices and a solid platform without semi-required fees.
Whether that trust holds depends on their ability to keep their word. And if they do, Connect+ might prove to be what Garmin claims it is: an option for those who want more, not a slippery slope.
