Garmin Forerunner 45 Review: Classic GPS Watch Gets a Fresh Face
Our Verdict
For fitness newbies, the $200 Forerunner 45 has many of Garmin'southward elevation-notch fitness-tracking features in a fresh package. However, the $200 Samsung Galaxy Sentry Agile and the $199 Apple Lookout man Serial iii offer a meliorate smartwatch experience. The $349 Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is the best GPS spotter for more advanced athletes.
For
- Free Garmin Coach preparation programs
- Accurate GPS-tracking
- Menstrual cycle-tracking
- Circular display with 5-push navigation
Confronting
- Limited features for the price
- Slow GPS signal
- No interchangeable bands
Tom'due south Guide Verdict
For fitness newbies, the $200 Forerunner 45 has many of Garmin'south top-notch fettle-tracking features in a fresh package. Even so, the $200 Samsung Galaxy Watch Active and the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 offer a better smartwatch experience. The $349 Garmin Precursor 245 Music is the all-time GPS scout for more than advanced athletes.
Pros
- +
Gratis Garmin Autobus training programs
- +
Authentic GPS-tracking
- +
Menstrual cycle-tracking
- +
Round display with 5-button navigation
Cons
- -
Limited features for the price
- -
Deadening GPS point
- -
No interchangeable bands
If yous're a pace past being a "couch-to-5k" runner, chances are yous don't want to spend a fortune on a sports watch, simply want something that tin can accurately track your step, heart rate, and distance. Just similar its predecessor, the Precursor 35, the Garmin Forerunner 45 ($199) delivers the basics at an affordable price, only at present with a much more attractive pattern and a color brandish. It has an engaging digital presentation focused as much on wellness—such every bit female flow tracking—as speed and endurance, and likewise features some traditional smartwatch functionality, too.
While other $200 smartwatches offering a more well-rounded experience for fettle generalists, read our Garmin Precursor 45 review to run across why it's one of the best sports watches and the all-time Garmin lookout man for the developing runner who wants to combine a smartwatch with the benefits of a training device and fitness tracker.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Price and availability
The Garmin Forerunner 45 costs $199, and is bachelor in two sizes and several strap colors. The larger Garmin 45 has a 42mm case, and comes in black or a Lava Blood-red strap. The smaller Garmin 45S has a 39mm case, and is bachelor with a blackness, white or Iris-colored strap.
There is no difference in toll between the 45 and the 45S, nor are at that place whatever differences in toll if you choose a dissimilar color. However, dissimilar some of Garmin's more expensive sports watches, you cannot easily replace the Precursor 45'southward strap.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Design
The first thing I noticed about the Forerunner 45 is its fresh face. The newest sentinel sports a round display, which fixes one of our biggest bug with the onetime, square Precursor 35. That device looked like a 1980s wrist-computer: a slightly rounded square with ginormous bezels surrounding its grayscale screen.
The Forerunner 45 nevertheless has bezels on the thicker side, just the round display and colorful screen go a long way toward making this spotter feel more like an all-twenty-four hours device than one exclusively for working out. I too appreciate that it comes in two sizes, a 39-millimeter case and a 42mm model. Both watches are $200. I tested the larger version, which wasn't supersized on my smaller wrist, but I would prefer the 39mm 45S for everyday clothing.
Garmin Forerunner 45 specs
Size: 1.65 x 1.65 10 0.45 inches
Weight: 1.28 ounces
GPS: Aye
Heart rate monitor: Yes
Water resistance: Yes
Smartphone notifications: Aye
Battery life (GPS): 12-14 hours
My simply issue with the Forerunner 45 is its plasticky ring, which ofttimes felt uncomfortable to wear while sleeping. Its silicone band, available in imperial, black, white, or ruby, lacks a certain "business concern-casual crossover" entreatment that has go familiar in the athletic smartwatch industry. Plus, yous tin't swap out the strap for another, classier option. It feels more "athlete" than "fashionista." If you want something yous can habiliment out on the town, the Garmin Venu, while pricier, will be more to your liking.
However, if you're looking for something that's a step upwardly from "but a fitness smartwatch" but a pace below "hyper-engaged athletic device," the Forerunner 45 hits that marking.
Like the rest of the watches in the Precursor lineup, the 45 uses push button-based navigation, three on the left and two on the correct, instead of a touch screen, to make it easier to use while running. The v buttons are clearly labeled so you don't take to fumble effectually trying to notice the right one with sweaty fingers on the go. A finish-start push button on the top correct of the case launches a workout and also stops it. You'll have to toggle up and down using the buttons on the left of the case, and a push on the top left turns on the watch's backlight for easier viewing in the early morn or evening.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Fitness features
The Forerunner 45 is a solid fettle companion, but it's non as fully featured (or equally fast) every bit its more expensive siblings, the 245 and the 945. The Precursor 245 Music took just seconds to lock onto a GPS signal when my colleague Mike Prospero launched a run, but the Forerunner 45, which we tested in both LA and Washington, DC, took between 15 and thirty seconds every fourth dimension nosotros started a workout.
But in one case you lot get going, the 45 tracks your distance, stride, eye rate, heart rate zone, calories burned and more, though you tin see only 3 metrics on-screen at a fourth dimension. (Other smartwatches, such as the Series 3, permit you view many more at a glance.) You'll have to whorl using the down push button to see the remainder, but I about never did.
I also liked the addition of Garmin Omnibus, a new on-device workout program that lets you enter your electric current conditioning schedule and footstep per mile to pick a running programme that volition increase your endurance and speed. Unlike other similarly priced smartwatches, like the $200 Galaxy Watch Active and the Apple tree Watch Serial iii, Garmin allows you to create custom workout plans in its app and sync them to the sentinel. This is where Garmin's emphasis on fitness separates the Precursor from the pack.
On runs, the device did a more than acceptable task of tracking my steps and heart rate, and provided a gentle, buzzing alert when I reached a preparation or running milestone. If yous use i of the training regimens suggested by Garmin Connect, the watch will alert you when you've reached goals set for the training session. Another great characteristic, especially for runners-in-grooming like me, is the tracking of mile-splits aslope overall fourth dimension.
If you take your phone with you on your runs, you can use safety features such as incident detection, which sends your real-time location to selected emergency contacts. It's a novel enhancement.
Garmin'due south, gratis, adaptive training plans are also very helpful for novice runners, which complements your road miles with non-running 24-hour interval workouts that include cycling, elliptical machines, yoga, and other cardio. The training programs are similar to Nike or Under Armour's run trainers. At that place are a plethora of formats to choose from based on the length of the run for which you're preparing or the type of fitness you're seeking.
However, the data provided by the Forerunner 45 makes these training plans truly personal. For instance, based on my speed and centre rate during a mile dart on the first twenty-four hours, the app made numerous adjustments for goals, style, and per-run length of my 10k training. I was impressed past the spotter's ability to determine my strengths and and then suit its capabilities accordingly.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Garmin app
Garmin offers a lot of health and fitness features in its Garmin Connect smartphone app for iOS and Android. But figuring out what those features are, enabling them and so syncing them to the sentry is a process. For instance, if you desire to enable period-tracking, you accept to tap on the More card on the bottom navigation bar, then select Wellness Stats, then roll downwardly to Menstrual Wheel. I would've never found it had I not asked a Garmin product director where to access this new feature.
Still, once I fix the new period-tracking setting, I was impressed with the level of personalization and particular Garmin enables. That extends across the app — you can create grooming plans based on your current running speed and goals, view incredibly detailed functioning insights and set up up incident detection and assistance so your emergency contacts volition know if y'all've been in an accident. Once you know where to await, Garmin'southward app opens up a world of possibilities.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Bombardment life
Garmin says the Forerunner 45 tin final thirteen hours with GPS and heart rate activated, which ways it won't die in the centre of a race.
I used the watch as a, well, watch, and found that I was able to squeeze about four days of battery life on a single accuse. That included daily workouts — a mix of indoor cycling and outdoor running ranging from thirty-45 minutes — wearing the watch to bed to runway my sleep, checking notifications from my phone and other basic activities.
The $200 Fitbit Versa two also offers four-twenty-four hour period bombardment life, though it lacks onboard GPS. The Samsung Galaxy Lookout man Active ii ($249) lasts near two and a half days on a charge, while the Apple tree Watch is all the same chugging along at 24 hours (the aforementioned as it's been since launch). Even so, when using GPS, both Samsung's and Apple'southward smartwatches have drastically shorter battery life than the Forerunner 45.
Garmin Forerunner 45: Verdict
The Garmin Precursor 45 is a vast improvement over the outdated Forerunner 35. Born heart rate, GPS, a colorful screen and iv-solar day battery life with advanced conditioning tracking, all for $200, is solid value.
Notwithstanding, if you're not a dedicated runner or cyclist, then the Forerunner 45'southward lack of music storage, contactless payments, and apps, which can be found in the Samsung Galaxy Sentinel Active ii and the Apple Watch Series 3, both of which price the same every bit the Precursor 45. But neither of those take the endurance or training plans of the Forerunner 45.
Samsung and Apple win when it comes to a more than well-rounded smartwatch experience, simply if sophisticated fettle-tracking is your highest priority, the Garmin Precursor 45 is worth a expect.
Credit: Tom's Guide
- All-time sports sentinel: Reviews of GPS watches for running
- Garmin Forerunner 235 vs. Vivoactive 3
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/garmin-forerunner-45,review-6451.html
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