It’s a reversal from Garmin’s previous stance toward paywalls, but at least existing features and data remain free.
  • Pogogunner@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ve bought Garmin devices explicitly because they didn’t do these things, and promised not to do these things. Since I know they’re not going to retract this decision, I am going to look into trying to get my purchases refunded.

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    TL;DR: They lied to us, plain and simple. The temptation of Make Line Go Up was enough to make Garmin abandon their promise of no subscriptions and no paywalls.

    Nobody outside of the idiots in the boardroom wants this, especially the AI garbage. It’s disgusting that $1100 for a Fenix 8 isn’t already enough for these greedy assholes. Original features are “free for now,” but I guarantee you this will change when nobody signs up and MBA dipshits start leaning on everybody to force users to provide recurring revenue by moving previously free functionality into the subscription tier. This is not a prediction or an “if,” it is an inevitability and a “when,” unless we nip this in the bud right now.

    I am on my second Garmin watch, a Fenix 6. Previously I had a 5x. My wife has a Lily. These will be our last ever Garmin devices, and I’ll be sure to let them know it. It’s getting to the point where no smartwatch maker can be trusted, unsurprisingly, and honestly the alleged benefits they provide are probably no longer worth it in the long run. Before smartwatches were a thing I amassed quite a selection of normal watches, which I will probably just go back to using when my current watch inevitably cacks it, or the software becomes so borked that it’s useless.

    Edit: In fact, just now I did let them know it. I also cancelled my inReach subscription and let them know it there as well, and deleted my Connect account (and pulled my watch faces off of their marketplace) and also let them know it there too. When I do something I mean it. I suggest you all do the same; the only ear these companies have is located in their coin purses.

  • dmtalon@infosec.pubEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Well, that truly sucks and could lead to me swapping to another brand if it adds ads to upgrade in my connect app.

    I paid a lot of freaking money for my watch and included services.

    INFACT I am going to email them my opinion on this and warn them I will absolutely leave in one Garmin recorded heartbeat

    Edit: I submitted the below response here: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/. Not sure that’s the best place but that’s where I did it.

    *This is what I just sent them from their contact page

    I switched to Garmin fitness watches in 2013

    910xt followed by 920xt, Fenix 3HR, Fenix 5X, Fenix 6X, and now own possibly my last Garmin the Fenix 8X amoled.

    I just saw a story about a subscription tier for connect.

    1. total crap that nobody is asking for
    2. If I have to see or dismiss an ad for connect plus in my app that will be the beginning of the end of our relationship
    3. I’m about 90% sure, regardless of ads it will be anyway because it will be hard to convince me that the next set of new watches won’t be directly impacted by a subscription tier. At least one feature the watch(s) would have gotten will be pushed into the pay tier.*

    This is EXTREMELY disappointing