Connect +

4480375 said:

It should also be noted that Garmin took away the ability to customize the dashboard on the Connect web when they updated it to mirror your app, now they have given back the ability to fully customize your dashboard with the data you want and the way you want to see it with Connect+. They have taken have already taken away a feature that was once free and put it behind the paywall.

This is also pretty hilarious in view of the narrative from certain people who pushed back on the forum controversy when Connect website's home page was changed last year and people complained they wanted their customized dashboard back:

1) all change is good

2) if you don't like this change, something is wrong with you (all change is good) - "you fail to adapt" (actual quote from someone who didn't realize I personally didn't care all that much about the change as I barely use the Connect website, but I recognized that others do care)

3) the customizable dashboards may have been good for a tiny minority of people, but obviously they can't have been *that* good because Garmin got rid of them (and all change is good). Garmin was actually really smart to get rid of the dashboards since nobody was using them!

4) the new Connect home page is so much better (all change is good)

Yeah obviously I'm exaggerating but the point is that some people automatically defended Garmin's decision and reasoned that because Garmin got rid of the dashboards, therefore they were basically useless, unneeded or unused by most users. If anyone said they liked the dashboards, they were mocked, criticized, or minimized.

Now that Garmin is bringing back a customizable dashboard in a different form (and charging users money for it), what will the new narrative be?

- Innovative new feature from Garmin!

- Unparalleled customizability!

- Garmin finally listens to users!

This kind of like when a big company (or its fanboys) mocks users, the general public or journalists, for asking for a feature that they claim is worthless or unwanted, before turning around and unveiling that feature as if it's the best thing in the world, except this is worse since it's a feature Garmin used to have for free but removed, then reintroduced for a fee.

e.g. ancient history now but:

- Steve Jobs / Apple (2008): "nobody reads anymore". Also Steve Jobs / Apple (2010): "now introducing iBooks"

- the original iphone didn't even have copy/paste. today nobody can imagine a smartphone without it. Even in 2025, journalists looking back say that copy/paste was unnecessary back then. But somehow we can't live without it now (hmmm)

But ofc to make a better analogy with what Garmin is currently doing, it would be more like:

- if iPhone launched with copy/paste, maintained that feature for years, then suddenly removed it

- when users complain that they miss copy/paste, they get trolled with "nobody needs copy/paste", "you fail to adapt", "Apple knows best", etc.

- a year later, iPhone introduces Paste+, for the low price of $99/year. (It's def not the same old copy/paste from before)

It's almost as if Garmin actually saw enough value in the customizable dashboards to take them away and sell them back to users for an annual fee. Literally the opposite of the previous narrative that the dashboards were worthless.

Garmin's move to charge for a "new" customizable dashboard actually validates the complaints of people who liked the "old" customizable dashboards imo.

Doubt any of the "all change is good" / "defend Garmin at all costs" posters will come back and be like "whoops my bad" tho.

Next step- Fenix plus subscription for only 0.99/ months, it will give you possibility to see current time:-)

Here is one consumers take on Connect+ which I only just learned about. To be clear. I use free stuff and I pay for stuff - that isn’t an issue.

After a 18 months of using my Apple Watch Ultra connected to my sensors I’m (really) glad to be back to Garmin using the Edge 1050.

BUT the landscape for me today is different. I rely on the Watch for running, swimming, phone, music, payments etc. I have a Wahoo Kickr that I have used with Zwift and a few other apps.  

On return to Connect I find 1) No Apple Health integration and 2) No support for Withings scales - which my wife and I have used since 2012.

Software, and the various vendors scramble to get my retirement cash, is a complete mess.

One solution stood out as addressing all of my needs, including wanting more in depth analytics, and that is Training Peaks Premium. It integrates with everything I need and provides a Zwift alternative - all for 119 English Pounds - which I signed up for a few days ago. I’m happy to look around again in a year’s time.

I love this post. I was told when the Connect update came out and I hated it that I needed to adapt, it was new, clean and more relevant. Was actually told I must be old at one point because only old people hated the app. I got downvoted when I suggested that the lack of customization and the limitations of it made it ripe for a premium paid version in the future.

When I suggested that the Web version was a disaster after the update and has lost a great deal of usability I was told just to search the menu and the data was still there but it wasn't, not in a way that could see it before and I got downvoted again. The dashboards were valuable to those who used them and while certainly the numbers were far smaller than those who use the app they would not have kept the website if it wasn't being used by a large number of people. 

As you said I was just told to accept that change was good. Garmin diehards said there was no way that Garmin would ever have users pay for features, that day would never come because Garmin doesn't do that. They do for many of their services, it was only a matter of time before it came to the watches. I loved my Garmin watches for many years but when you can see issues staring you in the face the should be acknowledged. The signs were there if users looked at the changes being made logically.

This really goes to show that whoever is making decisions at Garmin these days has absolutely no understanding of their core demographic. Most of us pay more than we think is reasonable for hardware because there is an understanding that we will have access to ALL the features Garmin has to offer (eventually) I endured being essentially a beta tester for a year while they sorted out the bugs on my FR955. My patience was predicated on the belief that Garmin was working hard to “hold up their end of the deal”. So, with the eminent FR975 about to drop, not only do they expect me to be a beta user, but they expect me to pay extra for features.

On the + side, I’m glad they made this dumb move before I invested in the FR975. Never even considered buying anything other than a Garmin before this announcement. Hard to believe they could see this as anything but a betrayal to their customer base. Just awful business sense. 

Same… Very disappointed.

Agreed. I’ll be looking elsewhere.

I feel your pain… good thing I have time to return mine. It was buggy the whole time me having it anyways. Even after all the updates.

Devices costing over €1,000 declared obsolete after just a year for new features, software riddled with bugs and malfunctions, and now they expect you to spend more money after spending a significant amount of money... this is what happens when a company has to be accountable to its investors and not its customers.

It's a shame that a brand that was once synonymous with maximum quality and caring for its customers has become simply greed.

This is the opinion of a user who purchased their first Garmin, the Dakota 20 model (which is still perfect). After dozens of devices, I currently have the Epix Pro, which after a year is already "obsolete" according to Garmin; and an Edge 130+ that, after the latest update, can no longer navigate.