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Hoping Garmin doesn't go to a subscription model for its eventual Whoop competitor

acousticbiker
over 3 years ago

I would have a hard time believing Garmin hasn't been working on its own version of Whoop's offering (the software, not the hardware). Looks like Fitbit is following Whoop's lead and going with a subscription model:

https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/23/22638452/fitbit-charge-5-leak-features-premium-fitness-tracker

Given the price of the Fenix line, I really hope Garmin doesn't follow suit

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Fitbit premium is about a year old now. Personally, I think it's their last gasp attempt after being bought by Google.... I can't imagine Garmin really need the cash considering the line, so I don't see it myself but its good to raise concerns and nip any possible move in the bud!

    Edit - Nope, Premium was introduced in 2019...... Yeah, I think it's probably not going to happen whilst Polar and Suunto don't charge

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I hope they don't follow a subscription model, too, but here's why I think they won't.

    1. Being able to use the whole watch, with all its core functions and features, without a subscription, gives them a competitive edge. They're not a market leader in the smartwatch field, and yet smartwatches are a huge portion of their revenue, so they don't have the luxury of alienating customers and still turning a profit, like Apple and Google (fitbit) do.
    2. They already have lots of other products out there with subscriptions, they don't need another one. InReach is one example, map subscriptions is another. Even Birdseye has a subscription. The base software doesn't need a subscription in order for Garmin to get subscription revenue from advanced users. I'm paying Garmin like $250/year currently for other subscriptions they offer, so I would be really annoyed if they started charging me for the core watch functions, and I'd probably cancel some of my other Garmin subscriptions to make up for it.
    3. Garmin would potentially loose a lot of repeat customers if they become known as the company that gives features away for free, then takes them away and charges people to get them back. Stryd did that recently (sorta; they always explained that their features were only "free" temporarily, but a lot of people didn't understand that) and it caused a big falling out with a lot of their users who felt nickel-and-dimed on the device they already spent a small fortune on.
    4. So even if they DO end up doing a subscription, it would likely only be for features that we don't have yet, and only for features that really aren't essential to the core functionality of the watch.
    5. The market is getting over-saturated with subscription services, and in general it's really pissing consumers off. We're all getting tired of having 150 different recurring monthly charges for things. I've got no less than 10 monthly or annual subscriptions for things Garmin-related (though not necessarily Garmin directly, such as Alltrails, Strava, Stryd, Plotaroute, etc) and I'm at my breaking point, where if I have to do more I might entirely reconsider having all this stuff.