Garmin Forerunner 245 Music GPS Running Smartwatch, with music and running and training features, White Band

Firstly I am not a member of any review programme and purchased this with my own cash. I have also waited 6 months to give a review after a decent amount of ownership.I moved from Fitbit to Garmin after a number of years of frustrating Fitbit ownership. Their software and hardware is so buggy. I had the app on both Android and iOS and it was awful. Not to mention devices that wouldn’t connect, GPS totally inaccurate, and numerous product replacements due to them dying and strap failures. In contrast my Garmin software has been completely stable and the device is built like a tank. Literally I have repaired the car whilst wearing my Forerunner 245 (covered it in oil and grease plus bashed about) with not a mark on it! Obviously I washed it down afterwards but it still looked like I had taken it out the box on day one. My Fitbit would have been scratched to pieces had I done the same, I once tapped it against a wooden door frame and it scratched the screen.So my 245 I use mainly for running and as a heart rate device while cycling. I say as a heart rate device because I put it into heart rate broadcast mode while cycling and it pairs with my Garmin Edge 830 bike GPS device (the Edge does the tracking/activity recording). The pairing works without fault every time and the battery lasts well too. I believe it is ANT+ in this mode so may well connect with other devices as a HR receiver.Modes on the 245 are: Run, walk, trail run, bike, breath work, pool swim, cardio, bike indoor, walk indoor, treadmill, row indoor, other, virtual run, track run, indoor track, strength, yoga, pilates, elliptical & stair stepper. You can also make your own activity if it is not one listed by default.The 245 does not have Garmin pay but don’t let that worry you as it is useless in the UK (just like Fitbit pay) with only Santander supporting it. If you really must pay by watch then Apple and Android watches are better for payments.iPhone notifications work brilliantly albeit with iPhone you can’t reply to messages. This is Apples restriction and not Garmin. You can however answer and end calls from the watch. I believe if paired to Android then you get pre defined text responses too. You can see all of a text message on the watch as well as clear the notification from your phone. My diary also syncs nicely to my watch with calendar and system notifications working just as well as texts, and stuff from all other phone apps. You can configure what notifications you receive and also put the watch into ‘do not disturb’ mode.As for health tracking it does loads of stuff: pulse oxygen, heart rate, stress, respiration, body battery, active minutes, sleep and more. They all seem to be pretty accurate with loads of metrics to play around with on the Connect phone app.The battery in the 245 comfortably lasts a week and that is with usually 3 x 5K runs, 1 x 10K run and a four hour bike ride in HR broadcast mode. Compare that to the Apple Watch that barely lasts a day! I never suffer battery anxiety and can easily go away for a few days minus the charging lead.GPS is fantastic and really accurate considering this is a watch. I have also used the Komoot app with it and the arrow direction guidance was very accurate meaning that I did not get lost at all on my run. You can also use the device to save your parking location and navigate back with an arrow. On the subject of finding things if you lose your phone you can make it play a sound at full volume. If your phone is on silent the 245 will show Bluetooth signal strength to guide you to where your phone is hiding. You can also do it in reverse from your phone if you have lost your 245.For offline music storage you need the 245M. The 245 will control playback from your phone only. It works very well with the following features: play/pause, skip forward/back, volume up/down, track title.Other features are available in the Garmin Connect App Store such as Starbucks card, watch faces, compass, data fields etc. There are loads of extra apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields.If you need a Garmin with on screen maps then you will need a Fenix device. If your primary focus is golf you need a Approach device. If you are a swimmer a Swim or Descent model. If you are a cyclist and runner like me then the Forerunner range is excellent.Don’t let the lack of touch screen put you off. It is so easy to use and I don’t miss a touch device at all. There are no accidental screen activations while exercising with this thing (especially in water), but if having a touch screen is important to you then you might like the Venu or Vevoactive range. The screen is backlit (configurable to work when raised, during darkness etc.) and the screen is very clear in full sun. It might not be as pixel perfect as an AMOLED screen but it is very clear, very battery friendly and always on.I could go on about the many features of this watch. I suppose it is important to add that the straps are watch industry standard so any of the correct width will fit (not stuck with Garmin only), it is waterproof to 5ATM, charges with a short proprietary to USB-A cable, and the Garmin standard UK warranty is 2 years from date of purchase.In summary I highly recommend Garmin products especially this Forerunner 245. All the Garmin stuff I have works a treat, is way more stable/accurate than Fitbit, and the battery life blows Apple Watch out of the water.

Firstly I am not a member of any review programme and purchased this with my own cash. I have also waited 6 months to give a review after a decent amount of ownership.I moved from Fitbit to Garmin after a number of years of frustrating Fitbit ownership. Their software and hardware is so buggy. I had the app on both Android and iOS and it was awful. Not to mention devices that wouldn’t connect, GPS totally inaccurate, and numerous product replacements due to them dying and strap failures. In contrast my Garmin software has been completely stable and the device is built like a tank. Literally I have repaired the car whilst wearing my Forerunner 245 (covered it in oil and grease plus bashed about) with not a mark on it! Obviously I washed it down afterwards but it still looked like I had taken it out the box on day one. My Fitbit would have been scratched to pieces had I done the same, I once tapped it against a wooden door frame and it scratched the screen.So my 245 I use mainly for running and as a heart rate device while cycling. I say as a heart rate device because I put it into heart rate broadcast mode while cycling and it pairs with my Garmin Edge 830 bike GPS device (the Edge does the tracking/activity recording). The pairing works without fault every time and the battery lasts well too. I believe it is ANT+ in this mode so may well connect with other devices as a HR receiver.Modes on the 245 are: Run, walk, trail run, bike, breath work, pool swim, cardio, bike indoor, walk indoor, treadmill, row indoor, other, virtual run, track run, indoor track, strength, yoga, pilates, elliptical & stair stepper. You can also make your own activity if it is not one listed by default.The 245 does not have Garmin pay but don’t let that worry you as it is useless in the UK (just like Fitbit pay) with only Santander supporting it. If you really must pay by watch then Apple and Android watches are better for payments.iPhone notifications work brilliantly albeit with iPhone you can’t reply to messages. This is Apples restriction and not Garmin. You can however answer and end calls from the watch. I believe if paired to Android then you get pre defined text responses too. You can see all of a text message on the watch as well as clear the notification from your phone. My diary also syncs nicely to my watch with calendar and system notifications working just as well as texts, and stuff from all other phone apps. You can configure what notifications you receive and also put the watch into ‘do not disturb’ mode.As for health tracking it does loads of stuff: pulse oxygen, heart rate, stress, respiration, body battery, active minutes, sleep and more. They all seem to be pretty accurate with loads of metrics to play around with on the Connect phone app.The battery in the 245 comfortably lasts a week and that is with usually 3 x 5K runs, 1 x 10K run and a four hour bike ride in HR broadcast mode. Compare that to the Apple Watch that barely lasts a day! I never suffer battery anxiety and can easily go away for a few days minus the charging lead.GPS is fantastic and really accurate considering this is a watch. I have also used the Komoot app with it and the arrow direction guidance was very accurate meaning that I did not get lost at all on my run. You can also use the device to save your parking location and navigate back with an arrow. On the subject of finding things if you lose your phone you can make it play a sound at full volume. If your phone is on silent the 245 will show Bluetooth signal strength to guide you to where your phone is hiding. You can also do it in reverse from your phone if you have lost your 245.For offline music storage you need the 245M. The 245 will control playback from your phone only. It works very well with the following features: play/pause, skip forward/back, volume up/down, track title.Other features are available in the Garmin Connect App Store such as Starbucks card, watch faces, compass, data fields etc. There are loads of extra apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields.If you need a Garmin with on screen maps then you will need a Fenix device. If your primary focus is golf you need a Approach device. If you are a swimmer a Swim or Descent model. If you are a cyclist and runner like me then the Forerunner range is excellent.Don’t let the lack of touch screen put you off. It is so easy to use and I don’t miss a touch device at all. There are no accidental screen activations while exercising with this thing (especially in water), but if having a touch screen is important to you then you might like the Venu or Vevoactive range. The screen is backlit (configurable to work when raised, during darkness etc.) and the screen is very clear in full sun. It might not be as pixel perfect as an AMOLED screen but it is very clear, very battery friendly and always on.I could go on about the many features of this watch. I suppose it is important to add that the straps are watch industry standard so any of the correct width will fit (not stuck with Garmin only), it is waterproof to 5ATM, charges with a short proprietary to USB-A cable, and the Garmin standard UK warranty is 2 years from date of purchase.In summary I highly recommend Garmin products especially this Forerunner 245. All the Garmin stuff I have works a treat, is way more stable/accurate than Fitbit, and the battery life blows Apple Watch out of the water.

I’ve had a few GPS watches before, the previous one I have is the Vivoactive 3. In comparison this is on another league altogether.First of all the most impressive difference was battery life. I went for a 10k run with GPS and Glonass and it only took 4% of the battery, where my vivoactive would take 30%.Second advantage, its smaller and lighter, so confortable indeed.Then, the amount of details recorded is mind blowing.I actually prefer to use buttons over the touch also, its more precise especially if it rains or due to sweat.Connection to my phone was quick, as soon as I got back home it was already updated my run, really impressive.GPS lock took a mere 5 seconds also.It also has heart rate when swimming, which the vivoactive 3 cant do.All in all a great upgrade especially for the battery and confort.I bought the non music version as 3.5gb storage is nowhere near enough for my collection which is around 300gb. I still use an mp3 player instead of keep swapping music.

Great watch

This is my first Garmin watch and, to be honest it’s perfect. I’ve seen some other models for hundreds of pounds but this does pretty much everything the more expensive watches do for a fraction of the price.The functionality takes a bit of getting used to but after a couple of days it becomes intuitive.What I do like is the lack of touch screen. My other watch was a nightmare when running as it used to turn off when recording. Having buttons only is much better.The bezel is not in set so invest in a watch cover. I got mine off ebay for three quid.The strava link is superb, syncing pretty much immediately when you save your data.Perfect watch for all your running needs.

Had this watch for almost a week and I love it. It’s a big upgrade over my previous Garmin Vivomove HR. I’ve done 4 different activities in this time and the watch is very accurate because of the in-built GPS tracker which so far has worked 100% of the time. The screen when outside is perfect even in full sunlight – very clear and bright. The extra data that you get including full activity map are excellent from the Garmin Connect app – also a big upgrade. The Garmin IQ app is great for picking up new watch faces to try. My only slight gripe is that the strap is not overly long. It just about fits me but with only a few holes remaining. Luckily I had a new strap on my previous device so I just switched them around as they are all pretty much universal in size (except length!). An extra 15-25mm on the strap and it would have had 5 stars from me. Great watch for the price and if you want GPS tracking without needing your phone with you it’s perfect.

Was easy to use, and with the app simple to customised the display and notifications.Had for a while and battery life is still good, use gps for running usually every weekday and goes a week easily on a charge, can go around 9 days before dropping to single figures of charge from experience of forgetting to charge it weekly.Works well with the app, easy to see stored runs on map, heart rate, speed etc and so on. Sleep monitor is also fairly accurate – far better than some other smart watches have done.Would recommend over more expensive watches for monitoring fitness / running routine.Only downs I’ve noted is it does take a while to open the app and also need a network connection to see info; it doesn’t just work with watch paired to phone all the data is cloud stored.And with other GPS receivers you do sometimes have to wait a couple of minutes to get a good GPS lock before running, but even if you do start a run before GPS lock it is fairly accurate on the map trace.

Quite like this product but some elements aren’t that intuitive! Bought it to help with my fitness, particularly steps. A good app from Garmin helps with the stats. Display could be a bit brighter but on the other hand that would reduce battery life which on average seems to be about 4 days before a recharge. Not that easy to use some of the watch functions. Overall a nice smart watch but not the best.

Brilliant watch for tracking runs ect, great that you can have music on it as well, the only downside I have seen so far is that the sleep results are never accurate at all, so it makes me question a lot of other readings on the watch

I have used the watch for 3 months to track and improve my running. It serves as a handy tool for this purpose providing a lot of data, especially live heartrate is extremely helpful. It also measures stress levels throughout the day (and night) and shows body battery suggesting to rest when needed. Love it overall!

As a keen runner, I find this a really useful tool. It tracks my runs, HR, distance and everything else I could possibly think of. It’s easy then to upload these to the smart phone app and to Strava for closer examination. I use it everyday to keep track of runs or any other physical activity. I didn’t find the default running watch face the best but it was easy to download replacements through the Garmin App and install those instead. On the downside, it can sometimes take a while for the GPS to find your location and you find yourself hanging about at the start while it finds itself. The button functions and menus aren’t always the most obvious either. There are training plans in the app which purport to dynamically adjust to your ability. While it’s clear what you need to do each day, I didn’t find them at all helpful in achieving the goals that I set. Those faults lose it one star but, overall, I’m really pleased that I bought this watch.

Upgraded from a forerunner 45, resisted buying a more expensive one, not used the music bit yet, but gives everything I wanted and unlocks the connect functions, very easy to use

Bought this to replace both my Garmin Forerunner 35 (which is a great first running watch, but more basic, and blocky in appearance) and my Fibit Charge 4 (which looks smart, but I find useless for running due to the small text and touch screen).Really pleased with the appearance, and how comfortable it is to wear all day. (I even wear it all night without noticing it, which lets me use the sleep analysis function too.) Loving it for running, as I can easily see all the stats I want, and control everything with good sized buttons.Lots of extra functionality that I’m still learning more about (eg recovery time), but also more basic functions easily visible that the Forerunner 35 seemed to lack (eg viewing and monitoring Heartrate all day, even when not triggering exercise modes).I have it hooked up to my Polaris arm strap to monitor heartrate during exercise, for better accuracy – which was simple to do. It also paired very easily with my Garmin connect phone app using Bluetooth (which links to Strava, showing mapping of runs from the device’s GPS data), and seems to be getting software updates from Garmin directly from Garmin Connect. (Another plus point, as my older Forerunner needed hard wiring to my PC to get software updates.)So far, I’m very impressed by the battery life, which seems far better than either device it’s replacing – despite it monitoring more things.All in all, a great, robust, watch for everyday wear as well as for running/exercising. (And I’m enjoying no longer feeling I have to constantly switch between 2 watches!)

Just what I always wanted

Great watch – might be more of a budget Garmin, but it has all the features you could need for sport

Was very dubious about buying but I love it. Not too flash but does everything that I need it to do. I am a club runner, built for comfort not speed, I run about 40km a week.

My other two smartwatches were an original Motorola 360, then a Samsung Galaxy Sport 2 and they were more fancy watch than sports trackers. I loaded up all the watch faces and apps and it was great.Then when I decided to start jogging and realised I needed something better to log my distances. After much web browsing I decided on the Garmin 245. No, it doesn’t have the fancy Rolex look alike watch faces, but it does the exercise stuff really well. I’ve been using Strava and Adidas Running apps and it’s been mapping my daily excursions since the original lockdown began.I went with one of the standard watch faces as it had all the information I need at a glance. The battery lasts for aaaaages and charges quickly too, so it’s always on my wrist. Am I any fitter? No, because it seems I have a heart condition that requires major surgery in the near future, so that was a not pleasant surprise, but it’s keeping me healthy enough.This version also comes in a different model, Forerunner 245 music that has a bit more memory to store mp3s so you can listen to bluetooth streamed music while you hike, cycle, run, etc. I use my Samsung A52s with wired headphones, so didn’t need the extra functionality.It’s one of the cheapest watches in the Garmin range and it’s perfect for me. Just buy a screen protector for it before you start wearing it, as I found the glass does scratch (somehow).

It’s a good watch but the vibration gets weaker over time you can barely feel it pretty disappointing

Despite the Forerunner 245 being designed for running, above other activities, I bought this for it’s swimming functions. I actually rarely run. Thie watch was at a reasonable price point and offered extra pool swimming functionality, whilst still offering decent tracking for cycling and walking/running. When I was reading through the reviews before buying it, I didn’t see much about swimming so I wanted to leave a review that covered swimming a little more. This watch does not have an outdoor swimming option, but as I have yet to brave wild swimming, this is not an issue for me. I bought this as an upgrade to my Vivoactive3 primarily because of the heart rate monitor that is now available during swimming activities. It also has the drill log function and allows the user to create and download workouts to use in the pool, which were functions that were lacking on the Vivoactive3. I have found both to be very useful since I have been using this watch. The extra buttons are taking me a while to get used to and initially I did make some mistakes, ending up recording 4 separate swims during one session, but overall (with user error taken out of the picture!) the performance of the watch seems to have been good. It has counted my laps fairly accurately. There have been a couple of extra laps added but I think this is due to the current pool conditions under COVID restrictions and swimming loops instead of straight laps, and sometimes having to stop and start due to other swimmers. I actually think it has been amazingly accurate considering the conditions. I have also used it for hikes and bike rides, both of which it has recorded accurately. The heart rate monitor matches that of the Vivoactive 3 and seems to be very accurate. I have checked my heart rate manually a few times and it has agreed perfectly with my calculations, so I am happy that it is accurate. The information after a ride or walk has been very accurate including the GPS map which was accurate enough even to show which side of the road I was walking on.Looks-wise, I don’t think it is as nice as the Vivoactive 3 and I suspect the bezel will scratch fairly easily as it is plastic. I have a screen protector and a case on mine to protect it. My Vivoactive 3 just had a screen protector and survived well despite heavy use. I hope this will be as good.The battery life seems to be good, though I haven’t noticed a big difference from the Vivoactive 3. I like the additional function of the body battery, which appears to be pretty accurate.One thing that did surprise me though, was the need to plug it into a laptop when I received it, to get the latest software update. I couldn’t do this from my phone or Chrome book. I was also surprised that it had not come installed with a more up-to-date software version. However, once I realised what I needed to do, it was easy enough to follow the on-screen instructions and update it to version 5 rather than the version 2-point-something it had come with. Once that was done, I installed a few watch faces and chose one that I like.The face is clear, even in low sunlight and without the backlit option. The strap is comfortable and fits without adjustment due to the number of holes running all the way around. There is plenty of adjustment so I cannot imagine that there are many people it would not fit.All in all, it is a nice upgrade from the Vivoactive 3 which I have been very happy with. The added functions are great and I am pleased with it. At the price, I think it offers a good range of functions and is accurate.

Upgraded from a Vivoactive 3 and was surprised by how much of an upgrade it feels. Loads more data now available on Garmin Connect which I’ve found really useful. However, it’s clearly designed for runners (the clue is in the name I guess), if you want a general ‘smart’ watch this is not it, buy a Fenix or Apple watch. However, as a runner I love all of the training features and LOVE PacePro which allows you to upload a GPX file of the course you are running and guides you to the pace you need to be running at each individual section to hit your target time, it’s brilliant! Battery life is SO much better then the Vivioactive, it lasted a week even including a Marathon! Unfortunately, I don’t like the silicon strap that it comes with, it irritates my skin and I don’t have sensitive skin. I’ve never had an issue with watch straps (including Garmin watches in the past) but this causes red patches and soreness and I know from talking to others that this issue is not uncommon; others tell me you can apply vaseline to the sore spots regularly but surely this isn’t something you should need to do regularly! I have now bought a fabric strap from a third party which has solved the issue but it’s been annoying.Overall a great RUNNING watch, not a great ‘smart’ watch and you’ll need to budget for a new strap.

Only downsides are 1) that it doesn’t have a compass and 2) that you can’t filter the apps that send you notifications. The compass was my favourite feature of my old 735XT. And to be honest, I liked to filter out a lot of the apps that notified my cellphone. But these are tiny downsides compared to the upsides: MUCH better heart rate sensor, and MUSIC! I was skeptical about the music, but it works really really well. And they don’t tell you but it works fine with Apple Music for any albums you bought and downloaded to your Macbook. So you don’t need a subscription to Spotify, Deezer or Amazon. Just connect to Apple Music, and sync your owned content. Luckily for me, I bought a lot of albums through the years, many of which are excellent for running (Ibiza mixes, etc). To sum up, if you can find this for under £180 quid, it’s a no-brainer buy. You won’t regret it.

The accuracy is fantastic, easy to use and the app works just fine. I’m using it paired with my fitness app. The watch is very light weight, there is no discomfort sleeping with it. Great investment indeed.

Took up running in January to shift a few extra pounds and have enjoyed it. Have tracked a lot of my runs on a Fitbit Charge and Strava but found my pace was very inconsistent even during a 5k. Wanted something to show my pace and other metrics during my run and this tucks those boxes. I opted for this watch as I don’t really have any interest in smartwatch features but this does have some useful bits and pieces such as news and message alerts that pop through. You can also edit this to suit your preferences which I really like so you can have all smart notifications off if you like. The customisation on this watch is really good. There are features on the connect IQ app which allow you to download apps and watch faces but I prefer simple so I have edited my own watch face on the watch itself which I think is a cool feature. You can also edit the screen to suit your running so it will show what you want it to rather than being subjected to metrics that are preset such as with my old Fitbit. The supporting app seems great too. I like the Garmin trainer feature and particularly value the fact you do not need to subscribe for £x a month in order to enjoy. Will do all that most activity trackers do such as heart rate and sleep tracking as well as some other bits. Overall, it’s a reasonably priced activity tracker tailored for running. If you don’t want this for running, it’s still a decent watch.

Bought this watch after watching/reading countless reviews as it’s a relatively big purchase at this price point, so wanted to get this right.. Previously I have been using a Galaxy watch active which has been great, but I wanted to take the next step with purchasing a forerunner. Initially was going to go for the 55 but the 245 was reduced in black Friday so went for this. Anyway, on to the watch itself…My first impressions are really positive (only had for 1 week) and I love this watch. Yes, the screen resolution isn’t up there with the likes of apple/Samsung, however I didn’t buy this watch for that. As a running watch, the display is clear, easy to ready and actually looks great with a traditional LCD display.The watch itself is light, comfortable and the battery life is amazing, really. It’s lasted 5 days so far and still have over 60%!!!! Garmin have created a fantastic app (garmin connect) which is super easy to use and is nice to look at. What’s really good is that you can see a snapshot of your daily stats (heart rate, stress, body battery) etc on the watch itself, or, you can access the app for a more detailed overview. The daily suggested workouts are a really nice touch and really mix up your running routine which makes it fun to use. What I didn’t expect is how good this watch is as a day to day smart watch, as notifications are displayed really clearly and its quick and easy to respond to texts etc. So far, I have no complaints and if you are considering purchasing this watch, you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended!!

Amazing for the price

Very happy with my 245. I wear it pretty much all the time and find the metrics tracking, steps etc. very helpful. For runs it is of course brilliant. Fully customisable data screens, navigation works nicely, music function is pretty sweet too! Watchfaces can be downloaded with ease, most are fully customisable too. All functions work really well, as you’d expect. One of the more comfortable watches I’ve worn as well. Battery life is as described in the description, won’t blow the competition away but will last as long as it’s supposed to. Not sure what else I can say that hasn’t been said already, it’s fantastic!The ONLY thing I can possibly fault it on is that the 245 doesn’t seem to have a screen/backlight brightness adjustment setting unlike the 255 and 265. This isn’t a problem for me, I’m quite happy with it, and I would probably turn it down anyway. But that’s something to keep in mind if you’re used to something else with a super bright screen.

As a previous Garmin owner I wanted to stick with the brand as I loved my previous forerunner.I’m a casual runner, by no means competitive. I usually run between 5 and 10k’s a few times a week so I’m not one for all the bells and whistles the more expensive watches have. This fits the bill perfectly for me, I’ve noticed a lot more features than my older forerunner had such as stress monitoring, respiratory, body battery, etc… which are pretty neat.I already had the connect app so adding the devices was seamless and easy to pick up where I left off.One of the main reasons I opted for this was the capability of playing music, I used to run with earphones and my phone which I hated, so using this watch with wireless earphones almost felt liberating.The only criticism I have is the strap tends to be a bit uncomfortable but that’s not much of an issue and does not impact my running in any shape or form.Overall it’s a great watch and fits my needs perfectly.

Really how the watch. It has excellent features & I love the variety of watch faces.The only thing I’m frustrated about, is that when I do a long run.it doesnt accurately record the distance. For example on a marathon training run my watch promped me I’d hit 22 miles. When I stopped and saved the run the actual distance was 19.57 miles.Other than that I love the garmin.

I am a keen runner and swimmer, who has used a GPS watch to help me train and record my activities for several years. I retired an ageing Garmin 645 that had done 4 years hard service but had begun to fail in two ways: It had lost the ability to measure altitude over the last year and then it stated that it was unable to estimate VO2 max, in spite of there being no change to my exercise regime. These oddities of behaviour were probably down to the battering the watch had taken, or possible software glitches that I was unable to resolve.The 245 was a little more than half the price of the 645 but does everything (as far as I can judge) that the 645 did, as well as adding a couple of tricks of its own, such as measuring the percentage of blood oxygen saturation. The wrist heart monitor even seems to record heart rate while swimming, something that was beyond the 645. I think that this brilliant little watch is outstanding and the Garmin Connect App works every bit as well with the 245 as it did with the 645. It took seconds to retire the old watch and link the new and see Connect pick up the thread. I would imagine that only a professional athlete with very specific requirements would need anything more elaborate and I am delighted with this watch. Highly recommended.

To be honest, I was hesitant in purchasing a smartwatch from Amazon. I wanted a smartwatch that I could listen to music whilst running without my phone. I was recommended Garmin 245 Music by a fellow runner after my old Samsung smartwatch broke. I am pleased with my purchase and it is a genuine Garmin watch. Its easy to use. It is not a touch screen, but honesty I don’t miss it and I think it is better without it. I can use my wireless bluetooth earphones and connect to my spotify playlist and use gps/workout at the same time. I still use a Samsung Galaxy S8 phone and it connects ok with the watch. I have my parkrun barcode on the watch which is better when trying to scan from my phone. It has an alarm in case you fall and message your family (it actually does work). It has lots of watch faces, apps and widgets you can get from Garmin Connect, such as ‘find my phone’, ‘messages’, ‘WhatsApp’, and the usual health/sleep/activities/weight/blood/heart/stress etc (some apps you have to purchase) and it automatically connects to Strava. For any avid runner (or any activity), this smartwatch is highly recommended. The battery life is also good (better than my previous Samsung smartwatch). I have also purchased different coloured straps that are easily to clip on and off.

Bought this watch after watching/reading countless reviews as it’s a relatively big purchase at this price point, so wanted to get this right.. Previously I have been using a Galaxy watch active which has been great, but I wanted to take the next step with purchasing a forerunner. Initially was going to go for the 55 but the 245 was reduced in black Friday so went for this. Anyway, on to the watch itself…My first impressions are really positive (only had for 1 week) and I love this watch. Yes, the screen resolution isn’t up there with the likes of apple/Samsung, however I didn’t buy this watch for that. As a running watch, the display is clear, easy to ready and actually looks great with a traditional LCD display.The watch itself is light, comfortable and the battery life is amazing, really. It’s lasted 5 days so far and still have over 60%!!!! Garmin have created a fantastic app (garmin connect) which is super easy to use and is nice to look at. What’s really good is that you can see a snapshot of your daily stats (heart rate, stress, body battery) etc on the watch itself, or, you can access the app for a more detailed overview. The daily suggested workouts are a really nice touch and really mix up your running routine which makes it fun to use. What I didn’t expect is how good this watch is as a day to day smart watch, as notifications are displayed really clearly and its quick and easy to respond to texts etc. So far, I have no complaints and if you are considering purchasing this watch, you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended!!

I baught this for my husband and its a great gift. Loved ordering it of amazon because the Garmin customer is very very bad.

Good features for price, use it for bike, running and walks. Has all the features I need for daily use. Charge holds well.

I am new to running and have never used a sports watch in the past, so this review will not be a comparison so much as a personal experience with this particular watch.Firstly I will say that I would prefer to have the music version of this watch, however I got this one on sale and I couldn’t justify the extra cost. I would say to go for the music version if price is not an issue for you.I was going to purchase this watch after I had already completed my couch to 5k program, however I saw that it was on sale so I bought it very early in to the program. I ended up finishing my c25k program a few weeeks early and that is a hundred percent down to having the feedback on my wrist on how far I’d travelled. Having such a small and accessible device which gives you useful information like your heartrate, your time running, your pace and your distance really helps you to push yourself that extra bit at the end of your run to round off your distance. I also enjoy the mapping features that the phone app offers, it’s lovely to go on a jog with your c25k buddy, take a nice picture, then use the garmin app to put your stats over the picture to commemorate hitting the milestones.I love the training programs inbuilt in to the garmin app, they don’t just give you a running program, they also tell you useful information about running, fatigue, posture and mindset along the way. I have found this useful as a new runner. This all comes for free with the app (I say this because I jog with someone who uses a fitbit, and they have to subscribe to have access to the content on the fitbit.)I have even been walking more since I got this watch, it gives you a nice summary each day of your exercise, your condition, sleep patterns etc. If you are someone who likes feedback I do think a Garmin watch is a great bit of kit to help you to train up to be a runner.All in all, I really like it. I would not have run my 10k by now had I not gotten my Garmin watch. I would recommend this or something like it to new runners.