Garmin wants you to pay for AI features and enhanced software updates – is it worth it?

The main reason I always have a Garmin watch on my wrist is due to the comprehensive ecosystem powered by Garmin Connect. While the service will continue to provide a free, personalized experience via its phone app and website, Garmin recently launched another option, called Garmin Connect Plus, for those who want more from their devices, and it is, understandably, rubbing the community the wrong way. More later.

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Garmin Connect Plus is an optional subscription service for $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually. There’s a free 30-day trial to test the service, which includes new tools like Active Intelligence, powered by AI, designed to give you insights personalized to your daily health and activity data collected by various Garmin devices. The more you use it, the more it will be tailored to you and your goals.

Garmin Connect Plus also includes a new performance dashboard with customizable graphs and charts, live activity functionality where you can view indoor activity data from your watch streamed to your smartphone, additional coaching guidance when following a Garmin Run or Cycling Coach program, and enhanced social features that include exclusive Connect Plus badge challenges.

Since I use Garmin watches daily, I will try Connect Plus with the free 30-day trial. The monthly fee is the same as one Starbucks latte a month, so I may continue paying for the service. However, Garmin must convince me that even a reasonable monthly fee is worth it. I rarely participate in challenges, so the enhanced social aspects are not a factor in my decision.

In fact, the announcement of the paywalled service has sparked a bit of discourse across the Garmin community, with thousands of users upset about having to spend more on top of their smartwatch investments. Some models, like the Garmin Enduro 2, retail for $1,100. Though optional, having to pay more to access the latest software features is clearly rubbing customers the wrong way.

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I recently added a Wahoo bike trainer to my setup, making it the perfect opportunity to test Garmin’s indoor live activity tracking. I’ll also put its capabilities to the test with my Hydrow for rowing and other indoor workouts, as well as bodyweight exercises. Having previously found success with Garmin’s half-marathon training plans, I’m particularly interested in evaluating the coaching guidance included with Garmin Connect Plus.

One reason I like the Garmin Connect website is the ability to dive into all the data collected by the watches, especially for tracking performance trends. The new dashboards will be one of the first things I test as I find this type of data motivating and useful for inspiring me to continue with activities. But the biggest question for me to answer is whether or not the additional cost is worth it or not. Stay tuned.