Garmin - Forerunner 945 LTE

I got the Apple Watch Ultra 3 24 hours ago after being a long time Garmin user. I thought I'd mention my thoughts here in case anyone else was considering. My previous two watches were the Vivoactive 3 (purchased in 2017) and the Garmin 945 LTE (purchased in 2021). Pros: \* Smart features are cooler than I expected, it's awesome to have everything perfectly working with my iPhone, being able to reply to messages. Having everything in sync. There is a lot of features, but small things like it being in sync with your Focus. So when my phone is set to sleep, the apple watch goes dark (optional) and gets your ready for bed. Or the reminders app being able to be displayed on a watch face, and I can see how many reminders I have left on my iPhone. Or being able to remote start my car from the watch. Small things which are lovely. \* Data accuracy is great, no cadence lock while running this morning was impressive. \* "Closing rings" is actually quite cool. I thought it would be stupid, in Garmin I was just targeting amount of steps per day. I'm actually enjoying closing rings more than I thought. I think it will get me moving/standing more than Garmin. \* One of the worries I had was the flashlight, I loved the Garmin shortcut to open the flashlight. I didn't have the led flashlight, and didn't want to need to use touchscreen to turn on the flashlight. Turns out on the ultra you can just assign the "Action" button as the flashlight, and it works very well (brighter than my Garmin). I'm sure it's not as good as Garmin's led flashlight, but still very pleasant. \* Cellular on a run is lovely, I used Visible's promo, combined with other promos I was actually able to get an unlimited plan for entirely free for a year. \* I didn't know about "Raise to speak", really cool feature that if you get your watch next to your mouth, you can speak to siri with saying "Siri" or pressing a button. I use it to set timers, or add reminders. \* Touch screen actually works well. I was worried because I hated the touchscreen on my Vivoactive 3. Apple has actually implemented it quite well. Not as good as Garmin's buttons, but still works well. Cons: \* No workout suggestions by default :(. I loved Garmin's suggestions based on training load, and do intervals and such. There are alternative apps that offer it, but most of them are subscriptions. I still need to try those out. \* There are still several bugs, I've missed some Facebook Messenger notifications that didn't appear on the watch. I have a smart garage, which has an Apple Watch app. But the app just doesn't work, doesn't login. \* The data dashboard isn't as good as Garmin's, you need to look around to find your stuff. Some paid apps try to fix that. \* No animated workouts (I replace with an app with free workouts called "FitOn"). \* Watch is heavier than my previous one. (in theory it's lighter than a Fenix, but i never had a Fenix, so not sure how it feels). \* Didn't actually find a watch band I love. Ended up getting the expensive one, which is nice for all day wear, but not that good for running. I'll need to try the Nike bands.

"how does the weight/wrist-feel compared to the 945?" Felt pretty heavy but I'm getting used to it. I initially went to an Apple Store, and thought "no way I'm carrying this", and later still ordered after giving some thought. So far I feel the watch on my wrist. My 945 LTE I couldn't really feel it. But like I said I'm getting used to it and it doesn't bother me anymore. When ordering I initially checked that you can return it (you can, without restocking fees, over 14 days) because of the heaviness reason.

The issue is I have the Garmin 945 LTE, and got used to not having to take my phone on a run. I need a cellular upgrade, and having to jump to 1300$ after tax seems insane. An Apple Watch Ultra 3 that will be announced soon, will most likely be more reasonable.

I just got an Apple Watch Ultra, coming from a Garmin 945 LTE. My 945 LTE cost me $561, and I really wanted to keep cellular. The only cellular watch Garmin came up with would cost me $1300 after tax, so that's why I mainly moved to Garmin. There are many reasons why I love the Apple Watch more, for me sleep was very good too on Garmin, but there are a few things that I miss from Garmin: \* HRV & heart rate data aren't frequent enough. \* Training load and daily suggested workouts. I was never doing a plan. I liked waking up in the morning, Garmin was analyzing my training load, and suggesting either a regular run, either intervals, either sprint intervals. I absolutely loved that. And I miss that from Apple. There aren't any apps that are doing so :(.

As someone currently that bought an Apple Watch Ultra 3 (had Garmins for a long time), I personally prefer the Garmin Interface to the Apple one (can't comment on Samsung since I haven't used it). Yes it is complicated, but once you get used to it a lot of actions are very easy to access quickly. Unless they changed it, changing the watch face was very easy on my 945 LTE, you would long hold the "Settings" button, and then click into Watch Face. Is that not as easy now?

It's a very old model, which Garmin priced way to high for it to ever become good value for money. I had an close eye on it and 946lte due to size. I ended up buying 955 when it was released and first long after that, did the 745 and 945lte, but now it was too late and they where outdated

If you can find a 945 LTE it’s the same inners are the 955 and has almost all the same features plus LTE.

All watches I tested do a very poor job on counting laps, so I do not use them for that purpose. I use only information on heart-rate and stroke counts (to get a lower bound). surprisingly open water distance measurements are far more reliable. Actually using garmin FR945lte

you do not need a smartphone at all for garmin watches. golden cheetah is open source an can be used under linux/windows doe not need any cloud. firmware updates + maps can be done via usb.

as garmin does not force you to have a smartphone and lasts for at least a week. for me it was a no-brainer. FR945lte does everything I need so I do not buy a new model for the upcoming years , )

i've used my 945LTE for weightlifting and it does a pretty good job. Track reps and weight for each set, then go into the app to correct the lift. Some aren't on there; it's not perfect. I'm not training for anything other than picking up and putting down heavier stuff, so it works for me.

Ive had the 945lte, Fenix 7x and now the Fenix 8 and i have NEVER had any bugs or problems. I might be lucky or the people complaining might be unlucky... Just remember this: if you enjoy a product and it just works flawlessly you would maybe recommend the product to 1-2 people. But if you had a really bad experience people tell 10+ about it and complain on forums.. If i could do one thing over i would go for the Fenix 8 Solar and not amoled. If you love long battery life go for Fenix 8 Solar or enduro 2 or 3. Especially if you plan to log long activities like hiking.

I have been a Whoop wearer for 4 years. I have had a Garmin 945 for 5. This is exactly my use case—run and strength (and whatever else) with the Garmin and whoop for the overall experience.

Garmin Forerunner. I have the 945 and it still going strong. Does a great job with running, swimming and biking. Add in a Garmin Edge eventually for your bike. I do know several people that are quite happy with their Coros though. Not sure what they offer for cycling computers though.

Can't speak for the Instinct, but I got my Garmin Forerunner 945 in 2019 and it's still going strong. Passive battery life a week+, GPS battery is still close to 24h (I think, haven't done a race that long in a bit). No issues with connectivity, bluetooth, charging, nothing. Some of their newer models are a little bloated and they're adding a ton of features at the cost of battery life, which is the only disappointing part. For ultras the only thing I _really_ care about is battery, and their out of the box battery life says 26 hours or something now, instead of 32+. Either way though, they make really good devices.

Yep, great watch. I've had mine 12 months now, and I ocean swim about 4 times a week, plus trail running and MTB. Does it all, very nicely integrated on Apple devices.

This must depend on your model. I often use the buttons of my FR 945 while swimming (usually because I forgot to start the activity!)