Yay more shit that nobody asked for.
this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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A parallel comment to my rant yesterday, I see the pushback has already begun in Garmin's reviews against this nonsense. All of the recent reviews of their Android app are now overwhelmingly complaints about the subscription addition, and I suspect iOS is the same. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to blow Garmin up over this on any platform you can get your grubby hands on.
I know posting this here is probably more like spitting on a forest fire; I'm sure the seven or eight nerds here on Lemmy dedicated enough to care have already put Garmin on blast for this (myself included), but it never hurts to make sure.
What's crazy is I'm on the fence about a beeline moto because they have subscription for basic shit like traffic, thinking Garmin would be better.
Welp.
Garmin is at the top of the game for health tracking and fitness bar none but if your looking to monitor traffic a different type of smart watch would suit you better.
I loathe saying this but a pixel watch with Gmaps might be your best bet. Someone else could offer an open source option though perhaps.
I agree to leave a review on the Appstores. However Garmin can censor the negative reviews if they want. So i recommend in addition to that leaving comments on social media, review webpages, videos where Garmin can't delete the comments.
Of all the ais gemini is the worst lol
JFC, is nothing safe?
I was just talking about dumping Fitbit as Google destroys it and jumping to Garmin...
Me too. What now?
What now?
Some options:
- Gadget Bridge allows connecting most devices fully locally
- PineTime simple, but cheap and free of corporate nonsense
- RePebble (coming later this year) - I just learned and it in this thread, but it looks promising.
Maybe the problem is you
Easy fix:
Buy a fitness/smart watch - an older one is fine, why go excessive
Download GadgetBridge from F-Droid/Droidify and then use that instead of a proprietary app which is just harvesting your data and telemetry at every chance:
I wish that was the case, but it absolutely doesn't even come close.
Not even Garmin can resist the temptation?
Oof, better hold out hope for Repebble I guess
Ooh. Thanks. Today I learned about RePebble. If it doesn't deliver, there's still also Gadget Bridge (connect most devices fully locally) and PineTime (another spiritual successor to the Pebble).
For all those clammering to sell and throw away, stick on the shelf, I will keep, buy, or what have you all your Garmin watches so long as they aren't trashed and are relatively newer models.
Yes I am serious. PM me so we can discuss further if your done with Garmin.
I will never understand the fitness metrics craze...I don't want my health maintenance to be more systematized than observing two or three core principles and letting the rest sort itself out
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.
They haven't paywalled anything that I have seen. This is a paid tier.
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