I am a many years long user of Garmin products and appreciate the quality and functionality of Garmin's devices. However, in early April, Garmin introduced the premium Connect+ program with a subscription that hides new software features of the app and web interface behind a paywall.

With this approach, Garmin has changed how they handle new software features without prior notice. In the past, very expensive watches were provided with all important new and non-hardware-dependent functions for at least a few years. Other models wouldn't necessarily, because a lot of software was hardware-locked. An example could be new algorithmic training plans only being compatible with newer devices. This was also not a perfect solution, because this policy together with no replacement batteries drove e-waste. Yet many users chose expensive models like the Fenix or Epix series specifically because of this approach and the expectation of getting all new features in the coming years. It was a unique selling point for Garmin in a world where more and more products and services are based on subscriptions.

Now, however, there is a paradigm shift regarding software innovations. In addition to very expensive hardware, a continuous subscription is now necessary to access all of Garmin's features. This is very unfair to existing customers who could not have anticipated this change.

Furthermore, I see it as a problematic development if more and more basic functions disappear behind this paywall in the future. Today's selection of features at least points in this direction. Behind this stands merely a market-driven logic, as the fact that better graphs on the web or locally BLE-based live workouts require a subscription underscores the arbitrary and unpredictable selection of features behind the paywall.

Currently, it appears that as users, we're getting the worst of all approaches: Continual hardware purchases are necessary to be able to use all new functions in principle. However, some of these functions are now being categorized into the subscription and thus require additional recurring payments. This is unacceptable for existing customers and probably not a good sales pitch for new ones.

1. I therefore demand that Garmin stop the Connect+ premium program, return to previous behavior, and make software functions freely available again to all users with compatible watches.
2. Alternatively, I demand that in the future, the software pipelines of the watches be largely unified, with no more separation of available software functions by price category or age, and that all users receive largely all innovations through the subscription. Similar to how an Office and Windows subscription works, for example.
3. As an absolute minimum, I demand an option in the settings to permanently deactivate any hints and advertisements for Connect+, so that existing users may continue using the app as it was before.