Garmin launches monthly subscription for extra features on its watches
The move marks a dramatic departure for a company that has until now resisted the subscription trend that has overtaken much of the technology and fitness industry. And it marks a major change for users, who will now have to pay $6.99, or the same in pounds, for access to all of their devices' features.
The new premium plan is called Connect+, and Garmin says that it will offer 'even more personalised insights to its customers, with new features to help users elevate their health and fitness knowledge'. Some of the new tools are based around AI, and others include training tools and new badges within the app.
All of the features currently offered on the Garmin Connect platform will remain free, the company promised. Users will also be able to trial the new tools for 30 days for free, before being asked to pay for them.
'Customers worldwide love using Garmin Connect to track, analyse and share their health and fitness activities,' Susan Lyman, Garmin's vice president of consumer sales and marketing, said.
'We are excited to provide even more personalised data and enriched features with the addition of Garmin Connect+. You can now learn even more about yourself, take on new challenges, train confidently and stay even more connected.'
The new tools include AI features that have been branded as 'Active Intelligence' and offer personalised insights based on health data that has been collected by the device. It will initially be launched in beta, and Garmin said it had been engineered to 'help keep users' data secure'.
It will also include new performance dashboards for seeing changes over time, more detailed live tracking for followers, more detailed training guidance and new social features.
Garmin joins other platforms such as fitness tracker Whoop and active social network Strava in offering extra features for a monthly subscription. Until now, Garmin had resisted doing so, a stance that had been applauded by users who pay something of a premium for the company's devices.
Both Whoop and Strava have also explicitly embraced AI tools for exercise, too.
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