It is so annoying. You’ve simply spent lots of of {dollars} on a brand new Garmin Fenix 8 or Forerunner 970, solely to seek out out you may need at hand over much more cash to get the total Garmin expertise. Earlier this yr, Garmin launched Join+, a subscription aspect to its Join companion app earlier. It stirred up its consumer base in the worst potential approach. I visited Garmin’s headquarters in Kansas not lengthy after the announcement and it was clear; Join+ is right here to remain, and there’s a workforce now devoted to bringing extra options to sit down behind that paywall.
At the moment, anybody can attempt Join+ without cost for a month earlier than deciding whether or not there’s something worthy of the $7 month-to-month subscription, or $70 yearly price. I’ve been utilizing Join+ for 5 months now, whereas testing just about each new watch Garmin has launched in that interval.
With seven core options presently out there, I’m going to let you know concerning the ones I really discovered helpful, spotlight those I didn’t, and let you know whether or not you actually want one other subscription so as to add to your month-to-month outgoings. If none of those attraction, remember to try our guides to the Greatest Health Trackers or the Greatest Smartwatches for extra.
Bounce To
AI Insights
{Photograph}: Michael Sawh
Let’s begin with Energetic Intelligence, which is essentially the most prominently featured of all Join+ options contained in the app. These are personalised coaching insights and proposals that you simply’ll spy on the prime of the house display tab. These are powered by AI, and analyze knowledge like exercise historical past and efficiency metrics captured by your Garmin system.
The concept right here is that the extra knowledge that may be analyzed, the extra personalised these insights ought to develop into. Within the first weeks of utilizing it, Energetic Intelligence’s insights have been fairly rudimentary. My final swim improved my cardio health. Nice. I may see that just by wanting on the knowledge from that logged swim.
5 months later, I’m getting a greater sense of what I believe Garmin hopes this characteristic will be. I’m now instructed that my floor contact stability throughout runs is suboptimal and I ought to contemplate some energy coaching and to work on my operating kind. Nevertheless, the app doesn’t recommend what that coaching ought to entail, or the workout routines that might assist to deal with that suboptimal GCT. Possibly that’s to return. Given that is the one Join+ characteristic tagged as a beta, I think about it may look totally different in a yr’s time.
Actual-Time Recommendation
{Photograph}: Michael Sawh
Should you’re on train tools that’s missing a show, or you do not wish to pause a exercise to have a look at your watch, Reside Actions allows you to mirror real-time metrics out of your watch to your telephone. It’s particularly helpful for energy coaching classes, to make modifying reps much less fiddly.