Garmin releases new paid-for version of Connect to rival Strava, but promises free version 'is not going away'

Tech giant Garmin has released a new paid-for version of its popular Connect app, called Connect+. Featuring AI insights, training advice, challenges and a new and expanded Livetrack function, it will cost £69.99 / $69.99 on an annual plan and £6.99 / $6.99 if you choose to pay monthly.

This puts it roughly in line with Strava, which costs £54.99 / $79.99 annually or £8.99 / $7.99 monthly.

While Garmin Connect is a widely used platform already, many use it to link their Garmin devices to the Strava app and little more. It looks like Garmin has had enough of simply acting as a conduit and wants to be viewed as a standalone app by more users. Interested users can benefit from a 30-day free trial to see if it works for them.

All the current free features on the long-running Garmin Connect app will remain in place for those who don't wish to pay, the company says. These include the ability to create and save your own routes – something that only those with a premium account can do in Strava. "The Garmin Connect app is a free, personalized experience, and that’s not going away," a Garmin spokesperson said.

Here are those new paid-for Garmin features in a bit more detail:

- AI insights - will become increasingly tailored to the user and their goals the more they use the app, and will be based on health and activity data.

- Training advice - a user following one of Garmin's training plans (and using a compatible device) will benefit from extra guidance, including videos and educational content.

- Expanded LiveTrack features - while Garmin Connect already features live tracking capability, in the paid for version of the app you can select exactly who sees it, as well as creating your own LiveTrack webpage. Closely linked to this is also Live Activity, which allows user data such as heart rate and pace data to be viewed in real time in the app while doing an indoor workout using a watch.

- Performance dashboard - users will be able to customise the data they are seeing here and choose timeframes to best track their progress.

- Badge challenges - while numerous challenges to collect badges are already available in the free app, premium users will have access to exclusive challenges on top of these.

The Connect+ app is available now.