Plans for Updates, Implementing Customer Requests

Personally I feel they're pushing us to the "Feature requests part" so that it keeps any negative / request posts off this forum which anyone can view, everything requested seems to fall on deaf ears, I've already said my piece on here about range etc but again just ignored. I agree some of these ideas you've mentioned aren't ground breaking technology, and shouldn't be too difficult to implement considering what they have already made in this device.

I'll be interested to see if you get a reply or will it typically be ignored and brushed under the carpet. even a reply saying "we are working on this and that but its proving difficult to iron out bugs etc" would keep a lot of people happy just to know that it hasn't been forgotten about and there is still support

Indeed.

Personally, I suspect some of the requests will likely be incorporated into future updates, as quite simply, the competition is offering these at a price point which is reducing, so if Garmin wish to keep selling the R50 to the public, then they simply need to compete.

The issue to hand is us current owners have no idea on what future upgrades may look like, and would honestly just like to have an idea on what Garmin's plans are, but as the OP said, we get very little feedback, which to be fair is Garmin's rights as we aren't contractually entitled to anything, but its not great PR.

You may be on to something... would just like to know what's in the works like we used to get.  Truth be told, I like the system with its extreme ease of use, but I've gotten to the point where I'm wondering about other products just for the practice options... and I don't really like having to use Awesome golf on my ipad, which interprets the data differently than the R50... and I don't want to invest in a gaming computer and GSPro software subscriptions since I'm already invested in this... but I think about it... because we aren't getting what we used to get.

I hope this ruffles feathers a little... I'm being polite about it... but it just doesn't seem like we get the support we used to.

I sold my R50 recently due to a combination of factors;

• Frustration due to the lack of engagement from the company with users, combined with slow update frequency that often hasn’t included even the most basic of user requests/suggestions.

• I personally found that the impact video replays were pretty useless/time consuming to review, and there’s no way to collate that information. I feel like an impact location graphic would be far more useful, and have no faith that Garmin can/would implement that.

• Cost - Given the price of some of the new competitors, and the lack of development of the r50 so far, it was really hard for me to say it represented value for money.

I’ve since ordered the Square Omni. I’m still waiting for delivery so haven’t tested it, but early reviews look positive. It’ll give me everything that I liked about the r50, along with ball impact location, and crucially I feel optimistic that they’ll continue to push the potential of the unit - something I couldn’t say about Garmin. And I still had £1400 left over!

I’d had dozens of Garmin products over the years for running, swimming, cycling and golf, and this is the first one I’ve regretted buying. Hopefully they can come good with the r50, but they need to up their game, especially with the increased competition.

bmcg80 said:

along with ball impact location

We recently had the opportunity to test the new Omni Square for two days. Based on our experience, it is definitely not better than the R50. We encountered several misreads, including instances where the device detected right spin when the shot clearly had left spin. Spinrate measurements were also inconsistent and not particularly accurate, similar to what we've seen with the R50. Additionally, the shown impact location was incorrect more often than it was correct. It's possible that future software updates could improve these issues for the Omni. However, launch monitors positioned in front of the player and relying on forward-facing cameras will never be able to determine impact location with complete accuracy. For precise clubface impact data, an overhead-mounted system is required. That's how it works and very possible the reason why Garmin is not adding this for the R50. So buying the Omni for impact location you will be disappointed for sure.

Your experience with the impact location is interesting, in all the videos I’ve managed to find online the impact location has been found to be accurate. While a lot of reviewers maybe have a financial interest in giving positive reviews, I’ve always found Joe Lagowski to be fair and impartial, and he’s only had good things to say.

And while I wouldn’t claim that the Omni is better than the R50, I feel like the data it’s producing is as good as the R50. Most Importantly, I feel Square are proactive in pushing updates and bug fixes, unlike Garmin thus far.

I really hope that Garmin changes their approach to the device, as it has so much potential. I just couldn’t wait any longer for that potential to be realised.