Latest news with #Connect+
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) Launches Revolutionary Hands-Free Kayak Fishing Trolling Motor
Garmin saw a price movement of 24% over the last quarter, coinciding with the launch of the Force® Current, a trolling motor designed for kayak fishing. This innovative product, alongside the introduction of other new gadgets like the quatix® 8 smartwatch and the FAA Data Comm expansion, may have added weight to the company's broader market performance. The quarter also brought shareholder approval for a cash dividend and strong sales growth, reinforcing investor confidence. While market uncertainties prevailed, Garmin's strategic steps appeared to align well with broader market optimism, supported by solid earnings and consistent product innovation. Buy, Hold or Sell Garmin? View our complete analysis and fair value estimate and you decide. We've found 16 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. The recent 24% share price movement for Garmin coincided with several product launches, such as the Force® Current trolling motor and the quatix® 8 smartwatch. These innovations have potential to boost revenue through increased demand in new and existing markets. As Garmin continues to expand services like Connect+, the revenue from subscription services may complement product sales, enhancing overall earnings. Garmin's focus on expanding its international presence with new aviation products could mitigate some trade risks, aligning with growth in EMEA and APAC regions. The longer-term five-year total return for investors was substantial at 148.46%, reflecting consistent growth and dividend contributions. Over the past year, Garmin's shares outperformed the US Consumer Durables industry, which grew by just 4.2%. This relative strength, along with strong sales growth, likely contributed to investor confidence and supported the share price increase. The earnings forecast, predicting a rise to US$1.9 billion by 2028, reinforces the potential for growth, although challenges in trading and expenses could pose risks to margins. With the current share price at US$187.14, close to the consensus price target of US$198.44, the market participants appear to think the company may be fairly valued, suggesting a 5.7% potential upside. However, the valuation should be personally evaluated against individual expectations. Examine Garmin's earnings growth report to understand how analysts expect it to perform. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NYSE:GRMN. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
Stuff.tv
23-06-2025
- Stuff.tv
Samsung Galaxy Watch owners may have to pay extra for health features soon
If you've got a Samsung smartphone, a Galaxy Watch is the perfect companion. And, like most smartwatches, they're great for fitness tracking, counting plenty of metrics. Or at least that's what they used to do. Samsung has seemingly decided it doesn't quite make enough money off Galaxy Watch owners yet. Samsung confirmed it is now 'exploring' the idea of locking some of its Galaxy Watch health features behind a paywall, with a new premium subscription tier for the Samsung Health app. This was confirmed during an interview with CNET, in what may or may not have been a slip up. While Samsung hasn't officially launched anything yet, let's not pretend we don't see where this is going. The idea is that new Galaxy Watches will come with all the advanced coaching tools unlocked – lucky you if you're planning to buy fresh. Everyone else will have to shell out extra. Garmin did the exact same thing with its Connect+ service, and the backlash was biblical. You'd think companies might learn from that sort of community outrage, but clearly there's something intoxicating about recurring revenue that angers users. What started as a premium feature or two quickly became a pattern where existing users found their once-free features getting gradually sealed behind a subscription. It's the old slow-boil tactic. While Samsung may decide not to move forwards with this subscription, I sadly don't think that'll be the case. I can see them drip feeding a few enticing metrics dressed up as 'AI coaching' or 'personalised insights' for extra. Even though they're the same graphs you got for free last year with your Galaxy Watch. There are plenty of fitness trackers with subscriptions, Whoop is a prime example. But there, you're not shelling out for the hardware first. And, crucially, you know this is the case going into it – you're not getting the rug pulled. We'll let you know what Samsung decides to do.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
More Future Garmin Watch Features Will Be Locked Behind The Connect+ Paywall
Garmin Instinct 3 watch In a recent earnings call, Garmin confirmed it plans to begin placing more features behind its Connect+ subscription paywall. As part of a Q+A section of Garmin's Q1 2025 earnings call, Garmin CEO Clifton Pemble hinted, unsurprisingly, more future features will only be accessible to Connect+ subscribers. 'We still have a strong commitment to develop Garmin Connect and our devices with broad features that are available to everyone. But certain ones we will likely reserve for our premium offerings,' Pemble said, while reaffirming the official line 'we're not taking any features away.' A recording of the call has been posted on YouTube. He also claimed Garmin Connect+ had received a 'positive' reception, which isn't the impression you might come away with following at look at online communities like Reddit. Users have accused Garmin of greed, others have intimated they may stop using the brand's watches in future as a result. Garmin Connect+ is not going anywhere, though, based on the company's wording. 'It's a long-term thing for us, a very important part of our fitness segment going forwards,' Pemble said during the earnings call. At present Garmin Connect+ is not a hugely substantive service. It provides AI-generated summaries of your progress, alongside a few additional features such as live tracking of your activities, so other people can follow along remotely. The big question is what could be planned for future integration into Connect+. Garmin has already debuted ECG readings as a standard feature in its watches, but it could potentially expand its coaching options into a paid service. One problem for Garmin is its free Garmin Coach and Suggested Workouts platforms are already excellent. You can effectively get marathon coaching without paying anything extra. There is scope for building it up into a more direct competitor to Runna, one of the hottest fitness platforms of the moment, though. While both can help get you fitter, a not-insignificant portion of the Runna user base likely already owns a Garmin watch. This expansion of training could involve more varied training, tied to a more appealing training interface and likely more prominent use of AI. Garmin Connect+ costs $6.99 a month, significantly less than the $19.99 a month Runna charges. Strava recently acquired Runna for an undisclosed sum, but claims there are no imminent plans to fold the platform into Strava's own.
Tom's Guide
08-05-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Bad news for Garmin users — future features could go behind the Connect+ paywall, according to CEO
When Garmin Connect+ launched earlier this year Garmin stressed that all the existing features available in its app would remain free to users. Given that the features you do get with Garmin Connect+ have thus far underwhelmed, it wasn't a great hardship to skip the subscription entirely. However, the fear Garmin users had was that future features would end up locked behind the Garmin Connect+ paywall, and that fear may have just been confirmed by Garmin's CEO. Speaking during Garmin's Q1 2025 earnings call CEO Cliff Pemble spoke about Connect+ and the features it might get in the future, saying, 'certain ones, we will likely reserve for premium offerings.". While Garmin Connect+ certainly does need some new features to make it worth the outlay, if it becomes a requirement to get the most from a watch then that's bad news for Garmin users who have already spent a lot of money on a watch. Pemble's also spoke about how Garmin Connect+ had been received by Garmin users, saying that the response 'had been positive', which is a surprise to me. Notwithstanding the fact that introducing a paid subscription rarely, if ever, goes down well, Garmin users seemed particularly outraged by the arrival of Connect+. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. This is partly down to the fact the best Garmin watches like the Garmin Fenix 8 cost more than $1,000, meaning the idea of paying an extra $6.99 a month to unlock features is galling. Even if you opt for a cheaper model like the Garmin Forerunner 165, part of the appeal of using a Garmin in the past has been that you don't have to pay more once you've bought the watch. Furthermore, Garmin Connect+ hasn't drawn very positive reviews from those who have used it. The AI-based Active Intelligence feature in particular is yet to provide any useful insights, in my experience. Once Garmin Connect+ was introduced it was inevitable that future features would end up behind its paywall, and if the service is to be a success it does need some more useful features than it currently has. Subscription services are only likely to become more common with the best sports watches, unfortunately. However so far Suunto and Coros haven't introduced one to use with their devices. The core experience of tracking and analyzing your training will remain free across the board I would expect, and it's still an excellent experience with Garmin. However, if we read the tea leaves, it's likely that when interesting new Garmin features launch in the future, some are likely to cost you.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Age Of Paying A Monthly Fitness Tracker Subscription Is Here
Polar Fitness Program When Fitbit brought step counting into an era of mainstream popularity in 2009-2011, it sold us on the simple fun of fitness trackers, eventually branching out into a social pastime. It's starting to look as though a new era has arrived, that of having to pay a monthly fee for fitness tracker use, or at least to get the most out of it. Garmin's Connect+ caused uproar among its fanbase when it was announced in March 2025. While Garmin was far from the first wearable maker to offer a subscription, its approach to date had often seemed the antithesis of such a move. A Garmin watch always got you more than you needed, while demanding no additional outlay beyond the cost of the wearable itself for most buyers. Now another big name in hardcore fitness wearables has done the same, Polar. Much like Garmin, Polar insists that the features watch owners currently have will remain free. But the Fitness Program subscription, which costs around $11 a month, will unlock features otherwise not available to watch users. Fitness Program has a strong focus on creating a training plan that 'adapts to your needs' and awards you with badges and 'stars' to help keep you motivated. One of the top catalysts for these newly paid-for plans is AI, as it lets a company provide at least superficially personalized feedback to users without going to the expense of hiring actual experts and coaches. And they would likely not be able to provide the instant feedback of an LLM (large language model) based AI system anyway. It's not clear whether, or how much, Polar's Fitness Program relies on AI. But there's clear scope for it to have a hand in the 'weekly personalized feedback' that makes one of the four pillars of the service. While it might be tempting to chart this back to longer-standing services like Apple Fitness+, which launched in December 2020, that is really quite a different proposition. Fitness+ is based around bespoke content, bringing the gym class experience into your home. It was apparently on the cards before Covid-19 too, but was well-timed given how many people were stuck at home in that period. Polar's new service is more like the Runna app, which provides tailored training plans based on your fitness level and goals. It claimed to have 'hundreds of thousands' of users in November 2023. Fitbit Premium, Garmin Connect+, Apple Fitness+ and Polar Fitness Program are not copies of each other. But they all address the same problem, that of a company needing to continue growth when doing so purely or largely through hardware sales has become increasingly difficult. This is one to keep an eye on in the coming months and years, to assess how much the average fitness tracker owner is pushed into paying by degrading the 'free' experience.
