Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A bit about me 1. I've owned the Garmin Forerunner 235, Fenix 3 and Fenix 5X (among several older watches from Garmin and others) 2. I run 25-35 miles/week (4x outdoors + occasional treadmill) and bike indoors 1-2x per week on Zwift 3. I use the Stryd Live footpod 4. I sync all of my data to Strava Why I purchased this watch - I've been using the Garmin Fenix 5X for the past year, and it has been a great watch. It's definitely a huge watch (arguably too big) with a lot of great features, some of which I used and some I didn't. However, it doesn't have music, which is a feature that I really wanted. I really don't like carrying around my phone to listen to music on runs, so the idea of having a watch that had that feature was appealing. - However, I wasn't ready to shell out $650+ for the Fenix 5 Plus for the music feature. I had been looking at the Forerunner 645 Music, but it was pricey, and the Vivoactive 3 which was priced right but isn't really a pure running watch. - Enter the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music which was released in late May 2019. What I like about the 245's form factor - Lightweight and barely noticeable on my wrist - Very crisp, high resolution (240x240) display (easier to see than the Fenix 5X despite its smaller size) - Screen is Gorilla Glass 3 (less likely to scratch than some older Forerunner models) What I like about the 245 for running - Uses the same basic interface as all Garmin running watches, so it's intuitive for me to use by now (takes some getting used to for newbies, though) - Running metrics that were in the Fenix 5X are all available (e.g. pace, heart rate, cadence, training effect, VO2 max estimate, etc.) - You can load pre-designed courses (for directions during a run), workouts (for interval training and such) and training plans (5k/10k/Half Marathon plans) What I like about the 245's music features - Can hold 500 songs (~3.6GB available) - Music options include Spotify, Deezer and manual loading of MP3 or AAC files from your computer - Wi-Fi syncing of music What else I like about the 245 - Connecting to my Stryd footpod and bluetooth headphones was quick easy - Sleep tracking (deep sleep, light sleep, REM, awake) - New "Body Battery" feature that measures the amount of energy reserve you have throughout the day - New blood oxygen sensor (Pulse Ox) will probably tell me something interesting (maybe?) What I wish it had - I purposely decided to "downgrade" from the extremely large and heavy Fenix 5X (51mm) to this watch (42mm). While I don't regret the decision, I wish the Forerunners's size was somewhere in between (maybe 45mm). - Battery life for this watch is fine if you're not running ultras (estimated at 6 hours for music + GPS) but I'd be willing to give up a little weight in exchange for a larger battery to keep this one going longer between charges. - Barometric altimeter - not a must have for me in flat Florida, but this allows you to measure elevation and stairs climbed; instead, elevation is pulled using GPS data which may be less accurate - Spotify and Deezer music services require premium membership ($8-$10 / month) - Podcasts don't sync automatically via Spotify; manual syncing required (or there's a paid app call Runcasts, but it has mixed reviews so I haven't tried it) - At some point, I'm going to miss the pre-loaded elevation maps that the Garmin Fenix 5X had; I didn't use them very often, but they did come in handy every now and then - Price point is pretty high at $349 retail --> Garmin can get away with it now because of their strong reputation and advanced features, but I'm not sure they'll be able to get away with such a price premium for much longer Other potential concerns - I've read that some people have issues with the music cutting in and out on Bluetooth headphones. I haven't experienced this when running, but it did start to cut in and out while walking during my cool down. My assumption is that this happens because the antenna on the watch is too far away from my ears when my hands are down by my side while walking (as opposed to closer to my chest when running). This isn't a big deal for me because 99% of the time I'll be running while listening to music. - Potential solution: I have read that one solution is apparently to make sure the watch is on the same side of your body as the antenna for your headset (typically the right side). You might want to try that if you're having the same issue. ********************* 2 month update: I continue to like this watch, so my overall rating hasn't changed. I've found it to be incredibly accurate when running (like all modern Garmin watches) and the battery life is holding strong. I haven't managed to scratch it despite wearing it every day since I bought it. Garmin also recently added Amazon Music support to the watch, which is great if you're like most people and have a Prime membership (premium music subscription not required). I have had an issue with an inaccurate heart rate reading, but only while riding my indoor bike (not while running). My heart rate reading will "plateau" well below my actual heart rate and won't budge much thereafter. Garmin apparently is aware of this issue, so I'm hoping they come up with a fix soon. As for Bluetooth headphones, I've been happy with the Mpow Flame2 (also sold on Amazon). They maintain strong connectivity while running - rarely dropping signal.