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March 30, 2025
The sporting goods manufacturer Garmin positions its smartwatches and fitness trackers as comprehensive companions for active individuals. The associated app, Garmin Connect, offers a variety of functions for analyzing training data and planning future activities. Now, Garmin has announced the integration of new features based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the app. However, these new features will not be freely accessible to all users but will be offered exclusively as part of the paid "Garmin Connect Plus" subscription.
Although Garmin has not yet fully disclosed the exact details of the new AI features, some information can be gleaned from various sources. The AI integration is intended to offer users personalized training plans, optimized recovery times, and predicted race times. By analyzing collected data such as heart rate, sleep data, and training load, the AI is supposed to provide individual recommendations for improving fitness and avoiding overtraining. Personalization is paramount and aims to increase training efficiency.
For users who already own a Garmin smartwatch or fitness tracker, the introduction of Garmin Connect Plus represents a change in the app's functionality. Previously free features will remain accessible, but the new AI-based features will only be available to Connect Plus subscribers. This raises the question of how the functionality of the free version will change in the future and whether further features might also disappear behind the paywall.
With the introduction of Garmin Connect Plus, Garmin is pursuing a clear strategy: the monetization of its own software and services. While hardware (smartwatches and fitness trackers) remains the core of the business model, the expansion of software subscriptions is intended to create an additional revenue stream. This trend can also be observed with other manufacturers of wearables, who are increasingly relying on subscription models to offer additional features and services.
The introduction of Garmin Connect Plus has already sparked discussion within the user community. Critics complain about the shift of features behind a paywall, especially since the hardware itself already represents a considerable expense. It remains to be seen how the acceptance of Garmin Connect Plus will develop in practice and whether the added value of the AI features can convince users to subscribe. The development of the wearables market and the increasing integration of AI functions will certainly bring further exciting developments in the future.
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