Garmin adds AI and a subscription tier to its app

TL;DR: They lied to us, plain and simple. The temptation of Make Line Go Up was enough to make Garmin abandon their promise of no subscriptions and no paywalls.
Nobody outside of the idiots in the boardroom wants this, especially the AI garbage. It's disgusting that $1100 for a Fenix 8 isn't already enough for these greedy assholes. Original features are "free for now," but I guarantee you this will change when nobody signs up and MBA dipshits start leaning on everybody to force users to provide recurring revenue by moving previously free functionality into the subscription tier. This is not a prediction or an "if," it is an inevitability and a "when," unless we nip this in the bud right now.
I am on my second Garmin watch, a Fenix 6. Previously I had a 5x. My wife has a Lily. These will be our last ever Garmin devices, and I'll be sure to let them know it. It's getting to the point where no smartwatch maker can be trusted, unsurprisingly, and honestly the alleged benefits they provide are probably no longer worth it in the long run. Before smartwatches were a thing I amassed quite a selection of normal watches, which I will probably just go back to using when my current watch inevitably cacks it, or the software becomes so borked that it's useless.
Edit: In fact, just now I did let them know it. I also cancelled my inReach subscription and let them know it there as well, and deleted my Connect account (and pulled my watch faces off of their marketplace) and also let them know it there too. When I do something I mean it. I suggest you all do the same; the only ear these companies have is located in their coin purses.
- Moving previously free features of a product you've already paid for should be considered theft legally. Hopefully enough people in the EU complain about it for them to do something about it.
  
  The problem with that is this is software. We've seen this before. If the EU complains they'll stop doing it... only in the EU. They'll continue the fuckery in the US because it's legal here.
  
  If you read the announcement from them you will see that they are not moving previously free features to paid, all of the previously free features are still free, they are adding some new paid features.
- Hopefully things like PineTime, Bangle.js, and the return of Pebble can shake up the market. There's always neat DIY hacks like the SensorWatch too that can still make the space fun even if the major players get enshittified.
  
  I'd be fine with my OG Pebble, honestly. The only functions I really need and genuinely use are custom watch faces to change things up now and again, and notifications going to my phone.
  I got my first Garmin after Pebble evaporated because it was quite rugged, had a similar color screen, and most importantly a long battery life. It has built in mapping functionality which I thought I'd use, but I really don't. I have zero interest in the tracking features, health and otherwise, and leave all of that turned off. I personally can't understand why everyone is so obsessed with that all the time, nor anyone in their right mind would trust sending any of that kind of data to a third party for any reason.
  
  HealthyPi will be a too option too. Much more fitness focused than pinetime or banglejs
  
  If gadget bridge paired with a fully featured local analysis tool, I would love that and probably put them on my FOSS donation list too.
- I also just deleted my Connect account. I have had it with these greedy American corporations. To anyone looking for an alternative, I highly recommend checking out Gadgetbridge, it still lets you use your watch with almost all the same features, only the data never leaves your phone.
  
  Any advice for getting it to actually work with a Garmin watch? I just tried it with my Fenix 6 (solar) and it doesn't detect the watch at all. In fact, even selecting "show unsupported devices" reveals that my watch's bluetooth MAC address isn't even seen by my phone. (Yes, I unpaired it and removed Connect from my phone. I also resorted to factory resetting my watch. No dice.)
  At the moment I'm using it unconnected because it still shows the time and so forth with the watch face I want. But without any kind of connectivity there's really no point to not just putting this thing back in its box for good and grabbing one of my numerous dumb watches.
  
  Gadgetbridge
  Is this in the google app store? I can't find it.
- Thank you! I'm in a similar boat having picked up a replacement Venu a few months ago and this will absolutely be my last Garmin device. My Strava account was nuked some time ago when I couldn't fire up the app without "Subscribe!" popups. My body is ready for open health tracking.
- I'm not putting down my fenix 6 anytime soon. If they're half as smart and don't want to kill their business, they'll take that AI shit out or keep the free tier worth it.
  
  Capitulation leads to these corporations refusing to change and believing they can weather out the complaints and still come out the other side profitably without changing their behavior.
  I can live with a dumb watch until they announce they're walking this back.
- They haven't paywalled anything that I have seen. This is a paid tier.
- I love my 5X but I will be fucked if I buy another watch if this happpens.
  
  Not true and none of their features or use has changed. Simply don't get the paid feature. Everything works as it should. This is massively overblown. Everyone's pushing AI this and that because it's the hot thing right now.

Ugh, and so the enshittification begins...
- It really sucks, they've been spared from noticeable enshitification so far but I guess the line didn't go up enough anymore...

- The green mile. A great movie for those wondering.

I've bought Garmin devices explicitly because they didn't do these things, and promised not to do these things. Since I know they're not going to retract this decision, I am going to look into trying to get my purchases refunded.
- This is taking it to heart for sure. Nothing wrong with your POV but it's opinion and their tech has no comparison currently. Literally zero has changed. They added a paid tier and done what every company on the planet is doing. Trying to land grab AI because it's the latest and greatest.

Oh, for fuck's sake. We just bought our first Garmin watches two months ago. I felt uneasy about our new relationship with yet another american corporation, but we loved the watches and the app... And now what?
- Don't worry nothing has changed at all, this is a paid tier same as any other land grabbing company on the planet for new tech.
  Nothing compares to their battery life and feature set for health data as a whole. Garmin seems to have tbe most comprehensive health data coverage of all smart watches.
  They are a stand up company anytime I ever needed support which has been many times for family as well.
  
  Don't worry nothing has changed at all…
  Yet

Well, that truly sucks and could lead to me swapping to another brand if it adds ads to upgrade in my connect app.
I paid a lot of freaking money for my watch and included services.
INFACT I am going to email them my opinion on this and warn them I will absolutely leave in one Garmin recorded heartbeat
Edit: I submitted the below response here: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/. Not sure that's the best place but that's where I did it.
*This is what I just sent them from their contact page
I switched to Garmin fitness watches in 2013
910xt followed by 920xt, Fenix 3HR, Fenix 5X, Fenix 6X, and now own possibly my last Garmin the Fenix 8X amoled.
I just saw a story about a subscription tier for connect.
total crap that nobody is asking for
If I have to see or dismiss an ad for connect plus in my app that will be the beginning of the end of our relationship
I'm about 90% sure, regardless of ads it will be anyway because it will be hard to convince me that the next set of new watches won't be directly impacted by a subscription tier. At least one feature the watch(s) would have gotten will be pushed into the pay tier.*
This is EXTREMELY disappointing
- I also submitted feedback there. Probably amounts to nothing but you never know.
  
  If 100k people do it could, but ya low expectations for sure
  My suggestion is post what you did everywhere people with Garmin watches will see it, encourage others to submit feedback
  
  Garmin feedback is taken seriously. You likely will get a response if you added contact info.
  Their customer service are top notch. I've gotten new watches, bands and free shipping to and from for different issues.
  This change is no different than any other company on the planet. Land grabbing for AI. It's a paid tier. None of their free or core feature sets have changed at all.

For fuckkkksss sake. Ill keep my garmin watch until it works but never buying another one. I was so happy to find a watch that had everything i needed. Actually huge shame...

Yay more shit that nobody asked for.

Oh no, good thing gadgetbridge exists
- AFAIK gadgetbridge is not even close to a replacement WRT functionality? Last I checked it only supported basic data import, has that changed?
  
  It depends of how well supported a specific model is
  
  My Forerunner 165 is well supported, nearly the same as the official app.
- I just tried it with my Fenix 6 and it does not appear to work at all despite being listed as partially supported. My watch can't even be discovered by the app, even after factory resetting it and removing all of the Garmin apps from my phone.
  That's a shame. I'll go back to wearing my mechanical watch for a while, I think.

I'm using a Garmin watch with Gadget Bridge from f-droid. Works well even though I don't like the app's look that much.
- Sorry, what does that achieve please?
  
  Enables use of watch features without using the garmin connect app
- Thanks a million for this!

For the android users, just gonna put this here
https://gadgetbridge.org/
- Thank you. Installed for when I finally find my charger.
- Also, don't forget to donate if you can. Their liberapay says they're getting ~120€/week in donations. I think freeing our wearable devices is worth a whole lot more than that.
  I can understand when FOSS software needs a bit longer to cook, and let's make sure they have some incentive to keep going at it.

Just as I was saying to myself "I'm pretty happy with the Garmin I have, I don't need a new Pebble," here come Pebble's marketing department with a reason!
... What do you mean this is an announcement from Garmin?

Uch, was already willing to get rid of my garmin but this just gives me more motivation
- It’s also not trustworthy. Would you want the united states to have access to your heart rate, pulse ox, gps location, and other health stats?
  
  My main reason for wanting to get rid of it is indeed #BuyFromEU based, but tbh I'm also still using my google pixel (looking to install Graphene once I bought my appartement, don't want to risk issues with my bank app right now)
  Probably getting a withings watch soon(tm)

A parallel comment to my rant yesterday, I see the pushback has already begun in Garmin's reviews against this nonsense. All of the recent reviews of their Android app are now overwhelmingly complaints about the subscription addition, and I suspect iOS is the same. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to blow Garmin up over this on any platform you can get your grubby hands on.
I know posting this here is probably more like spitting on a forest fire; I'm sure the seven or eight nerds here on Lemmy dedicated enough to care have already put Garmin on blast for this (myself included), but it never hurts to make sure.
- What's crazy is I'm on the fence about a beeline moto because they have subscription for basic shit like traffic, thinking Garmin would be better.
  Welp.
  
  Garmin is at the top of the game for health tracking and fitness bar none but if your looking to monitor traffic a different type of smart watch would suit you better.
  I loathe saying this but a pixel watch with Gmaps might be your best bet. Someone else could offer an open source option though perhaps.
- I agree to leave a review on the Appstores. However Garmin can censor the negative reviews if they want. So i recommend in addition to that leaving comments on social media, review webpages, videos where Garmin can't delete the comments.
- Of all the ais gemini is the worst lol

Will those features be as useless as strava summeries?
- They're AI so yes

JFC, is nothing safe?
I was just talking about dumping Fitbit as Google destroys it and jumping to Garmin...
- Me too. What now?
  
  What now?
  Some options:
  Gadget Bridge allows connecting most devices fully locally
  PineTime simple, but cheap and free of corporate nonsense
  RePebble (coming later this year) - I just learned and it in this thread, but it looks promising.
- Maybe the problem is you

Garmin makes toilet paper, right?
- Don't know about tp, but they are certainly making shit now.

For anyone else wondering, you can export all your Garmin data .Use the "Export All Garmin Data Using Account Management Center" option here https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=W1TvTPW8JZ6LfJSfK512Q8 The output is json files so you can use any json editor or anything that can import json. I use a little tool called JQ https://jqlang.org/ to extract just things I need. Then I can analyze in whatever tool I want such as a spreadsheet
- There is also a Python module to pull your data.

Yikes.. Once my current Garmin watch dies I'll just switch back to a regular non-smart watch

I recall an app called endomondo doing similar. I'd bought the Pro version for lifetime only to find them move to a Premium option.
That was fine as I still had what I had paid for.... until take up wasn't good enough and slowly key features moved behind the paywall.
Im fairly certain this is the direction this is going. I wonder if there'll be a class action if so to force buy back of the hardware
- Oh yeah, Endomondo brings back memories. Let's see what's next for Garmin, though this is not a good sign. Unfortunately, there's no real alternatives out there if you consider batters life.
  
  Pebble, but neither of their upcoming revived models have the same spread of sensors shoved into them as Garmin does if that sort of thing matters to you.
  I would happily buy something just like my Fenix without the stupid pulse ox/heart rate monitor, but I understand I am in the minority there. I'd keep the GPS, compass, temperature, altimeter, and barometer functions. But then, I'm probably the sole person on Earth who would be the first to buy a phone without a goddamned selfie camera on it, either.

There it is.
So glad I skipped out on buying one of these.
I got a used dumb tracker for $8 (looks like it's gone up since). No internet, no synching. Perfect for workouts.

I have a Fenix 5x and was looking to get a 7 or 8 but now I will just stick to my 5X. I am so tired of all the enshitifacation of every fucking thing.

Easy fix:
Buy a fitness/smart watch - an older one is fine, why go excessive
Download GadgetBridge from F-Droid/Droidify and then use that instead of a proprietary app which is just harvesting your data and telemetry at every chance:
- I wish that was the case, but it absolutely doesn't even come close.

Not even Garmin can resist the temptation?
Oof, better hold out hope for Repebble I guess
- Ooh. Thanks. Today I learned about RePebble. If it doesn't deliver, there's still also Gadget Bridge (connect most devices fully locally) and PineTime (another spiritual successor to the Pebble).

Time to search for a new brand for my next watch 😓 (when I need it)
- Pebble!
  
  Google (which purchased Fitbit, which had bought Pebble) still owns PebbleOS - https://repebble.com/
  Right in their website.
  
  Unfortunately they don't include a GPS.
- Pinetime

All existing health data and features, however, will remain free.
Perfect!

I just saw DC Rainmaker's video on this, and I'm not impressed. In any case, I've bern using my Garmin watch mainly for running, and I've been more interested in spot data than history on Connect. Still, I'm on my last Garmin watch. The hardware itself seems to last for only 18-24 months before problems start piling up, so I decided that my next watch will be Coros. I'm under no illusions that the hardware would be more reliable, but it costs half of what I've paid for my Garmin.
- I've had and seen several last for years with daily use and never had an issue. Their support has been top notch anytime I had an issue I've gotten a new watch or several bands free of charge. They even paid for the return shipping of my old device.
  
  My old FR 110 is still working. Since then:
  Vivoactive HR - 2 years in, the casing broke at one of the points where the wristband is attached. Material fatigue. Out of warranty.
  Vivoactive 3 - 2 years in, altimeter went haywire. Also, battery life decreased to one day. Just out of warranty.
  Fenix 6 - 1.5 years in, GPS got really bad. As in, drift of over 200m from route. Within warranty, so I contacted them and they sent me a replacement watch. That one is still working, and I hope it will for a long time.
  By now, I developed a certain expectation of the life of Garmin watches. I divided their price with expected lifetime, and compared that with similar data for Coros. Coros is simply better value for money.

For all those clammering to sell and throw away, stick on the shelf, I will keep, buy, or what have you all your Garmin watches so long as they aren't trashed and are relatively newer models.
Yes I am serious. PM me so we can discuss further if your done with Garmin.

Damn, I'm stuck with my TicWatch and I was missing my old Garmin... and I was planning to buy again a Garmin by Christmas but now.... shit
- No reason not to still, nothing has changed for users. This is a paid tier. This is wildly overblown as of right now. Every company on the planet is cramming AI into some trash.
  
  You are right! I was just.... Worried... A bit disgusted? Don't know... Let me go back to my sundial on the wall

Hopefully Coros watches avoid this but I’m not holding my breath. Coros makes a solid running watch for cheap and I’m hoping it stays that way. It’s got what I need and nothing else.

I will never understand the fitness metrics craze...I don't want my health maintenance to be more systematized than observing two or three core principles and letting the rest sort itself out

Garmin is being eaten alive by Apple and Samsung, it's their last grasp for some air. They refused to change their business model for a decade and it's a payback time.
- Which is odd because their stuff is really good for sensors, and has weeks of battery life vs other smartwatches that struggle to last a day.
  
  Months of battery on their new models and last gen models.
  
  They're stuck with 1990-s mentality and refuse to change, sadly.
- I would not put them in same category. Apple and Samsung make smartwatches. Garmin is offering sportwatches. If Garmin is really trying to compete with smartwatches, they are dumb.
  
  Garmin is not trying to compete, but Apple and Samsung came and took the market by storm.