Running

Subscription Model Weakness – No strong recurring revenue like Apple or Fitbit. Relies solely on hardware sales from new customers and 3-5 yearly consumer upgrade cycles.

Yikes. Obviously, this author can't be blamed for Garmin's recent announcement. But holy shit is it some awkward timing.

For me, like one commenter under that article, the lack of subscription is precisely why I liked Garmin. I want to buy a product and be able to use it for as long as it lasts, without needing to have an ongoing cost. This is especially true when the product I bought is hundreds of dollars.

As you said in you other comment OP this list of "what is wrong with Garmin" is basically a list of things that appeal to me and why I choose garmin over the other wank.

I don't want 5g LTE bollocks, I don't want all these "smartwatch" features or deeper integration with a phone. I'm super disappointed about their move towards subscription models.

I want a reliable watch that is good for tracking the sports I do, which it does. I like having buttons and not touchscreen wankery (I know some have touchscreens and I purposefully avoid those models).

Honestly this article is a load of shit, why are people so insistent on everything being identical, more diverse options in every space not just watches is a good thing in my opinion. Not everything has to conform and be a cookie cutter of each other.

I bought mine for tracking GPS routes and pretty much no other feature.