- Garmin released his new subscription service in March
- It has proved extremely unpopular with users
- Oddly enough, CEO Cliff Pemble says the answer has been positive and says the company is likely to reserve some Premium features for it in the future
Garmin claims that the answer to its Connect+ subscription service “has been positive,” but it is also suggested to a future where Premium features are reserved behind Paywall, in what is likely to be seen as another blow to loyal users.
During the recent Q1 2025 earnings call, Garmin announced a $ 1.54 billion earnings, an increase of 11% year by year and a record $ 330 million in operating income.
Of course, questions and concerns were about the impact of tariffs on Garmin’s business. However, CEO Cliff Pemble also touched on the launch of its controversial Garmin Connect+ service, with some news that users of the best Garmin devices do not want to hear.
In opening questions and answers, Pemble was asked about Garmin’s decision to launch Connect+, as it did, considering the company’s previous reservations about charging its customers for more functions.
“I think we have said for a while that we are assessing opportunities to have a premium offering on Garmin Connect,” Pemble replied. “I think the development of AI and especially around AI-based insight for our users was one of the things we thought was important to recognize the value of the investment it takes to make.”
He added that “we felt it was the right time,” and repeated previous feelings that connect+ is not a requirement for users and that the company has not removed any previous free features from users.
A positive answer?
Pemble claimed that the answer to Connect+ “has been positive,” despite widespread user war on the principle of a subscription service and specific complaints about the extremely thin offer Connect+ currently provides users.
Unfortunately, active intelligence insights are unfortunately basic, and mocking them has become something of a sport over on the Garmin Sureddit.
In transient, Pemble also fell a very quiet bomb shell. He noticed the wide range of features available to users at the moment, he said, “some, we are likely to reserve for Premium offers.” It is the clearest confirmation yet that Garmin is planning to introduce future premium features to its set -up, which will only be available for the Garmin Connect+ subscribers.
The news, of course, is a double -edged sword. Garmin is partly under fire because the Connect+ offer is not great, so it is an important part of the product to add more features to it. However, this will mean that some features are not available to users who do not pay, a fact that goes to the heart of why Garmin users seem so against a subscription service in principle.
The worst fear of the Garmin users that a growing subscription service will eventually see more and more features hidden behind a paywall is being realized quickly.
It is not such a burden if you have spent a relatively small sum on a Garmin Forerunner 55, but for those who have used the best part of $ 1,000 / £ 1,000 on a Fenix 8 hoping for Garmin’s most premium experience, it could turn out to be a bitter pill to swallow.
You can read the transcription of the earnings call or listen to a shoot on YouTube. Pembles Connect+ markings can be found from 19 minutes and 40 seconds.
