Garmin is jumping into the fitness subscription game with a new AI-powered service designed to deliver smarter, more personalized insights to people who own its devices.
The new service, called Garmin Connect Plus, is designed to give you more tailored, actionable insights using AI, plus extras like expert training tips and expanded LiveTrack features. Existing features and data in its Garmin Connect app will remain free, the company announced Thursday.
Throughout the day, Garmin Connect Plus will give you insights and suggestions based on your health and activity data, along with customizable graphs and charts spanning various time periods to give a broader view of progress. The company promises these insights will become increasingly personalized over time.
Meanwhile, the Live Activity feature, which lets you see real-time heart rate and pace data, will be shareable with family and friends once an activity is started. The service also promises more educational content and videos from trainers and social media, as well as new ways to earn exclusive badges for completing challenges.
Garmin's latest effort is part of a larger trend in the tech space to integrate AI for more tailored user experiences. Wearable tech companies like Whoop, Strava and Oura already use AI to provide tailored training, summaries for user activities. In the Oura Ring's case, AI chatbot can help users interpret collected data. Samsung and Google have similarly experimented with AI-driven insights.
Garmin Connect Plus will cost $7 a month (or $70 a year), with a 30-day free trial available.
From hardware to services
David McQueen, a director at market intelligence firm ABI Research, said AI integration in wearables remains limited to a handful of companies, especially those offering premium devices -- for now.
"I'm sure many other players will be looking to add AI to their wearable lineups and push it down the price tiers to provide a wider ecosystem that can track and deliver more accurate and personalized services," he said.
Garmin's move into subscription services is also notable, especially as paid plans have typically been associated with smart rings, the Oura Ring, in particular.
"I have yet to see such services creep into other wearable device types," he said.
At the same time, however, he noted that business models for smart rings are expected to diversify, with some manufacturers exploring ways to offer basic app features without requiring a subscription, in an effort to boost adoption and grow their ecosystems.