Connect +

First change I've seen (more restrictive) in live track: the maximum zoom to get closer to the map is now much smaller.

This is so stupid. Can't believe they're insulting us like this

Since the forum doesn't allow me to write a huge response I've split it into 2 parts. Yes I have used ChatGPT

Part 1: You Played Yourself, Garmin – Connect+ Is the Dumbest Thing You’ve Ever Done (Part 1)

Let’s not sugarcoat it:
Connect+ is an insult.
Not just a bad idea—a greedy, tone-deaf, betrayal of the very users who built this brand.

I paid over $1,000 for a Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar. I didn’t expect gimmicks. I expected long-term flagship support, no subscriptions, no nonsense.

Instead, I get a subscription for features that cost you basically nothing to make or maintain. And yes, we see right through it.


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Performance Dashboard?
Already exists. You just gave it a facelift and called it premium.

Live Activity?
It’s mirrored data from watch to phone. This is not a cloud service. It’s local, and you already built it.

Social Features?
You locked badge frames behind a paywall. $6.99/month for profile flair?
That’s not premium. That’s desperate.

Active Intelligence?
Beta AI on existing health metrics. Not revolutionary. Not essential. Not worth a subscription.


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Even if you walk this back, the trust is already broken. You revealed what you’re willing to do to monetize loyalty—and it’s ugly.

Part 2: Garmin, You Forgot Who Built This Brand (Part 2)

Fenix 6: Abandoned.
Fenix 7: Ignored.
Fenix 8: Paywalled UI and new features.

No major updates. No love for your previous flagship users. This isn’t about capability—it’s about planned obsolescence and squeezing more money.


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You forgot who we are.

We’re not casuals. We’re the ultra runners, hikers, triathletes, endurance athletes, climbers, SAR, military, backcountry skiers—the people who built Garmin through word of mouth, not billboards.

Garmin didn’t grow through ads. It grew because we recommended it—over and over again—because it offered:

No subscriptions

Real durability

Long battery life

Offline maps

Serious data


We are the reason Garmin leads this space.

But now? You’re acting like Apple.

You’re trying to copy a subscription model we never asked for.
Except you don’t have their polish, their ecosystem, or their tech lock-in.
You’re selling “features” behind paywalls while COROS, Polar, and Suunto are out there pushing updates and giving full-featured watches with no BS.


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You’re not competing with Apple. You’re competing with Suunto, COROS, and Polar—and you’re blowing it.

If you think the cult is going to stay loyal while you gut what made Garmin special, you’ve lost the plot.

Even if you roll this back, the audacity alone has done damage. You’ve lost trust.
Do better—or prepare to lose the very base that made you a giant.

Part 3: I'm Already Eyeing the Exit – And I'm Not Alone

Look—I’m not some casual stepping into this blind.
I’ve been deep in the Garmin ecosystem for years. I bought the Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar. I loved this device. Still do—without the Connect+ crap, it's damn near perfect.

I don’t baby it. It survives everything.

I never think about battery. It just lasts.

Maps, GPS, music—it’s all there.
It’s a tank, and it earns respect.


But here’s the thing: that goodwill has a limit. And Garmin is testing it.


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I’m already deep into the Pixel ecosystem. I’ve got the phone. I’ve got the buds.
And now? I’m looking at the Pixel Watch—not because I think it’s more durable or has better battery.
But because Google respects the ecosystem.

Feature drops happen. Updates are consistent.
Even if the Pixel Watch isn’t as rugged, I know where I stand with it.
If something is behind a paywall, it’s clear. And it’s priced fairly.
The rest? Just works with my phone—no friction, no guessing, no games.

And Google’s improving. Fast.
Training features? Coming.
Health data? Expanding.
WatchOS-style evolution? I see it happening.


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So Garmin—here’s your wake-up call.

People like me, who were once the heart of your customer base, are now thinking about leaving.
Not because your hardware failed—but because your decisions did.
You’re not competing with Apple.
And if you’re not careful, you’re not going to be competing with COROS, Suunto, or Polar either.

You’ll be competing with regret.

Dear Garmin.  I appreciate your attempt to diversify however, the idea of a paid subscription for these watches is completely wide of the mark.  

Most people are locked into an ecosystem for most of their non-fitness things and in a lot of cases this is Apple.

The Garmin fitness products differentiate themselves by the very capable, detailed hardware with very granular metrics and excellent battery life and, often most importantly, the lack of subscription.

It is possible to justify (just) the very expensive price of the hardware if it is a long term one-off investment.  If the choice is a very expensive and there is an ongoing financial commitment you are reducing the value of the hardware not increasing it.  The decision to purchase becomes much harder and people look elsewhere.

As soon as anyone looks away from quality one-off investments and towards subscriptions, that subscription needs to tie in with everything else and again that means (for many) Apple. 

Factor in that Garmin’s portal and UI development is many years behind Apple’s that decision becomes easier again.

All of this is a real shame.  I love my Garmin watch (Epix Pro).  I love the data I get from it.  I can justify the price as it’s a one-and-done.  If Connect+ becomes the approach for Garmin then unfortunately Garmin just becomes another bill and noone likes bills (“oh cool! I just got my Gas bill” said no-one ever).  If this becomes the approach, I know that I will end up switching back to the Apple watch (even though it is far less capable).

Poor decision Garmin.  Please rethink before you kill your own business.

I'm just so disappointed with the absolutely blatant money grab here. I'm not enough of a serious athlete that any of the "new features" have value for me.

But badges. So many badges. Just fake paid badges that devalue all the work to earn the real ones. 

I'm new to this. I just started running at age 47. I've worked my butt off to get to level 4. Now I don't even feel like going for my planned 5k run today to get the Weekend 5K badge.

I know that's silly and would only punish me, not the decision-makers at Garmin. And I know it's silly for a middle-aged person to be so motivated by badges. But that's why they exist, right.l? They are a real motivation. And now all that work feels worthless and I know I could just sign up for the free trial and get a bunch of garbage points and be halfway to level 5 by the end of the month. 

At the very, very least, please let us hide the garbage paid badges from the list of challenges. I don't want them taunting me every time I look at my progress, which I do a lot. It makes me angry every time I look at the app.

I've been planning to buy a Garmin scale to fully switch over from Fitbit into the Garmin ecosystem,  but I'm out. This is such pure greed. My first Garmin will likely be my last. 

I've been reading the posts since Connect+ became available. It truely amazes me that anyone with any experience with Garmin products are signup for even the free trail. Their software is always full of bugs when released. I doubt they do any QA/Testing. Anyone who signs-up for Beta Testing is just asking for their device to have problems. Why has it taken over a year to fix the simple problems on the existing Connect (mobile and web)? Answer IMHO is that is tagged to go away soon after it is stripped of anything useful. All you have to do is look at other sites that have a subscription service....what does the free version consist of?

I use the challenge badges as motovation, but if they degrade I don't really need them. What I care about is the data I get from my watch and edge devices. If they decide to degrade those presentations in the free app, then I'm gone.

BTW I already pay a yearly subscription for Tacx, which is even more than Connect+, and that may have to be stopped this year depending on how thing progress with Connect. I hate to ride on Zwift, etc, so maybe I'll just do Indoor course on my edge during bad weather and Winter. We will see....

Welcome to corporate greed