When Garmin Connect+ launched earlier this year Garmin stressed that all the existing features available in its app would remain free to users.
Given that the features you do get with Garmin Connect+ have thus far underwhelmed, it wasn’t a great hardship to skip the subscription entirely.
However, the fear Garmin users had was that future features would end up locked behind the Garmin Connect+ paywall, and that fear may have just been confirmed by Garmin’s CEO.
Speaking during Garmin’s Q1 2025 earnings call CEO Cliff Pemble spoke about Connect+ and the features it might get in the future, saying, “certain ones, we will likely reserve for premium offerings.".
While Garmin Connect+ certainly does need some new features to make it worth the outlay, if it becomes a requirement to get the most from a watch then that’s bad news for Garmin users who have already spent a lot of money on a watch.
The response to Garmin Connect+
Pemble’s also spoke about how Garmin Connect+ had been received by Garmin users, saying that the response “had been positive”, which is a surprise to me.
Notwithstanding the fact that introducing a paid subscription rarely, if ever, goes down well, Garmin users seemed particularly outraged by the arrival of Connect+.
This is partly down to the fact the best Garmin watches like the Garmin Fenix 8 cost more than $1,000, meaning the idea of paying an extra $6.99 a month to unlock features is galling.
Even if you opt for a cheaper model like the Garmin Forerunner 165, part of the appeal of using a Garmin in the past has been that you don’t have to pay more once you’ve bought the watch.
Furthermore, Garmin Connect+ hasn’t drawn very positive reviews from those who have used it. The AI-based Active Intelligence feature in particular is yet to provide any useful insights, in my experience.
The outlook for Garmin Connect+
Once Garmin Connect+ was introduced it was inevitable that future features would end up behind its paywall, and if the service is to be a success it does need some more useful features than it currently has.
Subscription services are only likely to become more common with the best sports watches, unfortunately. However so far Suunto and Coros haven’t introduced one to use with their devices.
The core experience of tracking and analyzing your training will remain free across the board I would expect, and it's still an excellent experience with Garmin.
However, if we read the tea leaves, it's likely that when interesting new Garmin features launch in the future, some are likely to cost you.
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