Upgrade your Garmin: Forerunner 45 and 245 are here!

Garmin just released the new Forerunner 45 and 245 to refresh two of their most popular watches, the Forerunner 35 and 235. Like their older counterparts, the new models are easy to use and unfussy, but with a few new features and improvements to existing ones.

FORERUNNER 45, $200

Garmin designed the brand new Forerunner 45 to replace the aging Forerunner 35—and the update is exactly what the running watch needed.

The Garmin Forerunner 35 is a classic, no-fuss GPS running watch, and the 45 doesn’t mess with that basic setup. The new timepiece is lightweight, easy to use and comfortable to wear. It’s the ideal watch for runners who want GPS tracking without a confusing interface or cumbersome hardware.

Garmin also makes the new 45 in two sizes: small and large. The small comes with a slightly smaller face and shorter strap, while the larger bumps up the face dimensions and fits larger wrists. But the software and functions are all identical.

The battery in the Forerunner 45 will last up to a week in smartwatch mode and track 13 hours in GPS mode. The 45 also features an accurate wrist-based optical heart rate monitor, and more precise GPS tracking.

Some of our favorite added features include inactivity alerts, and automatically adjusted goals based on the previous day's activity. It also provides an estimate of VO2 max—the amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise—and a number called “Body Battery” that estimates your energy reserves based on your heart rate, stress and activity that day.

Pair the watch with your phone and the Garmin Connect app to track, store, and view data. You'll also get text and call notifications through the watch (though you can turn those off).

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FORERUNNER 245, $300

The Garmin Forerunner 235 has been one of the most popular GPS watches on the market for years. And it’s at the top for good reason: It’s packed with intuitive features, it’s comfortable to wear and easy to use. But after nearly four years of continuous production, it’s also time for an upgrade. Meet the new Garmin Forerunner 245.

The Forerunner 245 picks up where the 235 left off. It’s still an easy-to-use GPS running watch with enough features to satisfy most runners. Garmin makes the 245 in two versions: the Forerunner 245 and the Forerunner 245 Music, which adds a Wi-Fi connection and space for up to 500 songs.

 The watch features a soft, interchangeable silicone band that can be easily snapped on and off so you can swap out colors. 

The 245 is integrated with Bluetooth connectivity, so it will upload your workouts directly to Garmin Connect or Strava without plugging it in. Garmin says the Forerunner 245 battery will get you up to a week of juice in smartwatch mode alone, and it’ll give you 24 hours in GPS mode. The battery life drops if you’re running with music, though, ticking down to about six hours when you’re listening to tunes and using GPS tracking.

With the update, Garmin boosted the training power of its most popular watch to move it closer to more expensive watches, like the Forerunner 645 Music.

One of the biggest additions to the Forerunner 245 is the use of Garmin’s Running Awareness Feature. The new safety feature lets you share you location with pre-chosen contacts in case you get hurt or lost on a run.

More new features:

• Garmin Coach. The training plan feature lets you pick your race goal, and it will send you personalized workouts to help you get there.
• Metronome. Want to hit 180 steps per minute? Set the metronome to that pace.
• Pool swimming. The 235 didn’t have a pool activity function, but the 245 will let you log those laps for more accurate records.
• Anaerobic training effect, training status, training load. These training metrics help estimate how hard your workout was and how you should be recovering. These are just estimates by Garmin, but they give you a general idea of your training and recovery.
• Galileo support. Galileo is the European global satellite navigation system.
• Wi-Fi and music. Only available on the Forerunner 245 Music.

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