A place for runners.
It was interesting to me to see how much of what you're paying for actually isn't the much-discussed AI slop. Which honestly just reinforces my prior belief that charging a subscription fee on top of the high price they ask for their hardware is absurd and ripping off their most dedicated customers.
Yeah, this move effectively ensures that my next watch / fitness tracker will not be a Garmin. Which sucks because I really enjoy my FR945.
Send them feedback, and next round buy a different watch if it sticks around.
I've been here since 2013 (910xt) and own a 51mm F8 AMOLED now. I'll be considering competitors products now when it's update time.
I left Navionics last year (Garmin owned marine navigation app they doubled the annual subscription for).
Yup. Prior to this, I never would have even considered the competition. I've still got a year or more of life left on my Forerunner 935, I think, but once it eventually dies, if Garmin is still doing this subscription thing, it'll be the first time I take a serious look at Polar, Wahoo, and Coros.
What's your opinion on Suunto running watches? They're on my radar as a Garmin replacement also because they're from Europe, but from the (very cursory) research I've done, they might be more difficult to use without having a Windows system.
Truth is, I don't have an opinion yet. I've never looked seriously at the competition because Garmin has always been so good I haven't needed to.
They seem to be in the mix along with some budget competitors like Amazfit. Coros is likely what I'd look at hard. I know a few people using them.
Disabled the Connect apps and moved to gadgetbridge myself. It's open source but not nearly as comprehensive at this point. Honestly though, I can live with it for now.
I'm not going to participate in Garmin's shenanigans and no longer will I be trusting them with my data.