Garmin’s Connect+ marks a strategic shift with potential to cause a rift

In late March 2025, Garmin introduced Connect+, a new subscription-based service offering an expanded suite of premium features and personalized insights across its ecosystem of wearable devices. It is presently priced at US$6.99 per month, with all current Garmin Connect users receiving a free trial period. Bringing a new, core subscription product to the market marks a strategic evolution for Garmin, as it aims to expand beyond its core hardware sales business and explore new revenue streams. Garmin’s transition follows a clear industry trend, where vendors seek to connect closely with users while tapping into high-profitability opportunities, which have already been embraced, for example, by tech giants such as Apple and Xiaomi.

While Connect+ aligns Garmin with the broader industry trend toward combined hardware-and-services ecosystems, execution will be essential for Garmin to succeed. Although the new product targets compelling opportunities, it also exposes the vendor to significant risks, particularly managing expectations toward its exceptionally loyal customer base, which it has built through decades of hardware excellence and consistent marketing messaging.

Subscriptions: a lucrative but complex growth avenue

With device markets reaching saturation and hardware margins tightening, vendors are increasingly exploring adding software layers to sustain growth. Software opportunities can take many shapes—from unique service products to connectivity subscriptions to internet services to native app stores. Some device vendors have built subscriptions into the core part of their offering, such as smart ring vendor Oura.

Garmin’s greatest challenge will be to effectively and diplomatically communicate to its users what its future vision is, between service-add-on products and what comes alongside the physical smartwatch. The initial reception from Garmin fans highlights that the lack of clear boundaries between free and paid features, as well as the future vision of the products, can lead to rapidly shifting consumer expectations and a potential erosion of trust. Garmin’s introduction of Connect+ is emblematic of the delicate balance vendors must strike—one that hinges on thoughtful product strategy, transparent communication and a deep understanding of user priorities.

Three critical points for vendors to communicate and signal when introducing service products 

1. Are the features truly differentiated from the complementary services and are they worth paying for?

The success of any subscription model hinges on whether the paid offering delivers clear and compelling value beyond what is already available for free. In Garmin’s case, the line between “premium” and “standard” remains murky. For example, questions remain around whether the new AI-generated insights and added analytics in Connect+ genuinely enhance the user experience or simply repackage existing capabilities. In performance-oriented markets, accuracy and clarity often matter more than novelty.

Without a clear differentiator and appeal, the product itself is unlikely to drive a strong uptake. Consequently, it can cause concerns among users that currently free features might eventually be moved behind a paywall to increase the appeal of the subscription. This is in no way saying that this is Garmin’s plan or strategy, however, it is a tactic that has been used on other activity platforms that many Garmin users have used in the past. Such a strategy may deliver short-term revenue gains, but it risks undermining trust and credibility.

2. Could a paywall trigger community backlash?

Garmin’s competitive edge lies not only in its hardware or analytics but in its keen sense of community, fostered through activity sharing, challenges and social engagement. Introducing barriers to these interactions could unintentionally dampen user participation and dilute one of Garmin’s differentiators, exemplified in the initial version of Connect+ by selected challenge badges only being available to subscribers.

The industry has seen similar missteps in the past. Fitbit’s removal of community features drew widespread criticism and was followed by a sharp decline in user engagement and shipments, though other market forces played a massive role. Garmin must be careful not to repeat this pattern by fencing off social tools in pursuit of monetization.

3. How will Connect+ impact Garmin’s position in a crowded market?

By adding a subscription service, Garmin steps more directly into the space dominated by sports tracking applications, such as Strava, which has long monetized training insights and social features. Many users will likely be unwilling to pay for multiple overlapping services, implying that Garmin must increasingly position itself against both wearable band makers as well as subscription products to differentiate its complete proposition.

Simultaneously, the competitive landscape is intensifying. With Apple, Samsung, Polar, Suunto, Amazfit and even Xiaomi targeting fitness and outdoor enthusiasts, brand loyalty is no longer a guarantee. Some vendors will unquestionably push value-for-money and low-cost products, making brand differentiation and the value proposition critical. Finding a compelling complete value proposition will be important.

The path forward

Trust and confidence toward a vendor are painstakingly built over decades, with consistency over time being perhaps the most important input. Missteps can quickly erode if users feel alienated or commoditized. Garmin must offer transparency around future feature changes, communicate the roadmap/vision clearly and maintain core community features as freely accessible to retain goodwill.

Investors and analysts will be watching closely over the coming quarters. Metrics like Connect+ adoption rates and cross-sell segment will be important early success indicators.

The subscription era holds great promise for the industry and vendors cannot afford to fall behind. However, delivering consistent messaging with sustained value without compromising one's core strength will only become more important to stand out from the crowd.