This month, John Deere introduced the new 4640 universal display. The 4640 display incorporates the easy-to-use layout of the 4600 Command Center and the portability of the GreenStar 2630. With the release of the new 4640 display, John Deere has moved to a subscription based activation system which is different from the previous approach of a one-time activation purchase. Now activations for the 4640 are offered in four different configurations shown below:
1-year Autotrac Subscription $850
5-year Autotrac Subscription $4000
1-year Premium Subscription $1700 (Autotrac, Swath Control, Documentation)
5-year Premium Subscription $8000 (Autotrac, Swath Control, Documentation)
The 5-year subscription option is only available at the point of purchase of the new 4640 display. If you choose to go with a one-year subscription, you will not have the option to purchase the five-year subscription down the road.
This price comparison graphic illustrates a customer’s cost of entry for a 4640 Universal Display and a 1-year subscription compared to a similarly activated GS3 2630 display.
The entry price for the 4640 is approximately 1/2 of the GS3 2630. Over the course of 5 years, a customer who purchased a 4640 display and a 5-year subscription will spend less money than the customer who purchased a GS3 2630 with activations. Also, in 5 years, there’s certain to be updated technology that will be better suited for the 4640 than the legacy 2630 display.
Why the change to subscription-based activations? Subscription-based precision ag offerings provide the following benefits:
- Lower cost of entry to get started with display and subscriptions
- Ability to try new applications for a year without having to commit to a permanent software license
- Ability to match the cost of use with the revenue generated in the same fiscal year
- Flexibility in selecting the level and duration of subscription that best fits the needs of the business without the expense of a one-time software license purchase
As previously mentioned, the 4640 display is portable, much like the GreenStar 3 2630 display. One of the things that the 4640 display is capable of over the 2630 display is that the 4640 can be used in conjunction with a Gen 4 extend monitor. This allows you to run the 4640 display with double the screen space.
The 4640 display also has enhanced data capturing abilities making section control and coverage maps more accurate. Setting on/off times is made much easier with the 4640 display. Simply select skip or overlap and enter the distance and speed. The new operating system on the 4640 functions like a smart phone with swipe and touch integration.
At this time the 4640 display has a few limitations, but John Deere will correct these with upcoming software updates that wwill make the 4640 display even more versatile. Some of the current limitations of the 4640 display are: RowSense in combines, Vision and RowSense in sprayers, Coverage map and A/B line sharing, and Machine sync. Also, the 4640 display is also not fully compatible with the John Deere Rate Controller 2000 at this time.
Here’s a video from Deere on the features of the new 4640 display.
by Conrad Meyer, Cuba City, WI
Sloan Support is written by the product support team at Sloan Implement, a 20 location John Deere dealer in Illinois and Wisconsin. Learn more at www.sloans.com
Sloan Support 
So all your current activations on the 2630 get tossed out the window and you start all over if you want to upgrade displays?
You can keep the 2630 to use in another machine, or you can trade it in towards the purchase of the 4640 upgrade. We still have demand for the original display, “brown box”, if it has an autotrac activation loaded on it. I think having a display with a permanent activation will be valuable as Deere goes down the path of subscriptions.
I agree with you totally on this. This is just like when the new 2630 came out, we had to upgrade from 2600 to 2630 or else we wouldn’t be able to transfer our autotrac over. Basically 2630 screens are obsolete now in my mind. How long till John Deere says that “we can no longer repair 2630 displays” and then you are out your activation fee. John Deere better make it transferable to the new 4640’s or why would anyone want to buy an overpriced 2630 display with activations on it.
Cheaper initially but over say 10 years or more the 2630 is considerably cheaper right?
I have the same thoughts in my mind.
I could be wrong but I do not believe that there will be a successor for the 2630 display – as it stands today.
In some extend there is already a successor of it – the Gen.4 4600 display.
What it means for me that the classical move around displays will be slowly disappear from the machines and we will see more fixed displays instead.
Worth every cent they charge, soon pays for itself