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Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Forerunner 245

Garmin Vivoactive 4

Garmin Vivoactive 4

210 reviews

View Product Details

Garmin Forerunner 245

Garmin Forerunner 245

214 reviews

View Product Details

#5 most mentioned

Reddit · r/garmin

#7 most mentioned

Reddit · r/smartwatch

#3 most mentioned

Reddit · r/garmin

Wirecutter · The 4 Best GPS Running Watches 2021

Great high-end fitness tracker with advanced metrics

Accurate tracking of sleep, breathing, and stress

Motivating training plans

Contactless payments

Downloadable apps and onboard music storage

Great GPS performance

Music storage and playback

Heart rate sensors that perform well for the most part

Enhanced smartwatch features

Reliable and traditional running watch

Not as stylish as some other fitness trackers

Battery life could be better

No built-in altimeter for tracking elevation

Not ideal for mountain biking, weight training, and rowing

Battery life may be shorter than expected due to certain features

Dead pixels may appear shortly after the warranty runs out

Verdict

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is a great choice for those looking for a high-end fitness tracker with advanced metrics and smartwatch features. It offers accurate tracking of sleep, breathing, and stress, motivating training plans, contactless payments, downloadable apps, onboard music storage, and the ability to leave your phone at home while exercising. Additionally, it can be paired with other devices such as chest strap heart rate monitors for more accurate readings during workouts.

Verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 245 is a great choice for runners who want a reliable and traditional running watch with enhanced smartwatch features. It has music storage and playback, GPS performance, and heart rate sensors that perform well for the most part. However, some users have experienced hiccups with mountain biking, weight training, and rowing. Additionally, the battery life may be shorter than expected due to certain features like Pulse Ox draining it faster. Finally, some users have reported dead pixels appearing shortly after the warranty ran out.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Activity Tracking

youtube

Garmin vívoactive 4S First Impressions // Activities, Menus & Animated Workouts!

So, let's go and back out of there for a second next one's gon na, be your health stats, your heart rate, stress level, body bout in respiration and t...

Positive

youtube

Garmin Forerunner 245 Music // The Fitness Review

Heart rate was also pretty good. You'Ll see some inconsistencies here, but for the most part it was pretty darn close to three other external heart ra...

Positive

Battery Life

nice watch, weak battery life, music sync didnt work, too complicated/clunky interface, 4s too small

I didn't realize that one hour of running with the GPS on and music on would kill two days of "smartwatch" mode, or that a few hours of use in gps tracking mode w/o music would do the same thing. So on average if you are using this the way it is intended you should really expect to have to charge it every 2-3 days minimum. If you're doing longer gps exercises or listening to music then you'll probably change every day. And charging isn't quick, it does charge up to 80% fairly fast but the next 20% seems to take forever

Bad battery life

I think it may be that some features, like the Pulse Ox (which is fairly inaccurate), cause the battery to drain faster. Garmin's Connect app encourages you to wear this watch all the time, even when sleeping, to get better fitness data. That's another reason the battery drains so fast. Good thing is that it charges quickly

Fit

Garmin Vivoactive 4 Review

The Vivoactive 4 gamifies fitness by giving you badges for certain achievements. When you earn a new badge, the watch will vibrate and a congratulatory message will pop up on the screen. To view all your badges, visit the Garmin Connect app, tap My Day at the bottom, then tap your photo or avatar at the top of the screen to open your profile.

Positive

245 v 745 v Venu

The 245 and the 745 likely fit the bill best for your needs. I've got a 245 now and it's a great watch.

Positive

reddit.com/r/Garmin

Connectivity

An Amazing Smartwatch—But Beware of Updates and Garmin "Customer Service".

maybe not exactly. From the first quarter of 2021 through most of July, my device performed admirably. Sure, sometimes the GPS can take a while to connect, but overall, the watch did everything it was supposed to. It consistently did a good job

However, now I feel like maybe the Garmin FR 245 Music would be a better choice for me. The most basic functions I need are GPS and the ability to download music from Spotify for phone-free runs.

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Durability

Pretty cool features questionable longevity

I have only had this for a week and a half and while it’s very informative and has lots of cool features and really keeps me motivated. I am however concerned it’s not going to last for the long haul. The bezel has already worn into the metal in one spot and I’m not sure how as I’m pretty careful and haven’t been playing rough. I’m not sure I can wear this to work once my landscaping job starts back up as it may not withstand it

some disappointments

I have not dropped, banged or otherwise mistreated this product. It has not been exposed to extreme weather nor conditions but a year and a half into use and this strange dot appeared on(in) the screen and today it just froze , can't turn it off - nothing. For the cost of this watch i expect better.

Comfort

Battery life or GPS? You can only pick one...

Fit and comfort on my small wrist seems to be very good. Band fits me great, to the point I'm starting to think my wrist isn't as small as I thought it was. Explicit Exercise tracking - when you set it to track an activity - mostly walking for me - it works great. The app draws a very precise map of my route and indicates the distance to a high level of accuracy

With smartphones constantly getting larger, What are your current favorite smartphone holder products?

Or honestly you don't even need a watch if you're comfortable running without technology. There is definitely a freedom to running without anything on you.

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Comfortability

I only use these for music

This is pretty good for my use. I have several quartz and digital wristwatches; I only wear this smartwatch at work to listen to downloaded (not streamed) music. The fitness tracking and mobile app features are of no importance to me so I have given them 5 stars. As a timekeeping watch, it is pretty good

The feedback of my Forerunner 245 Music

I don't know if this is just my watch issues. If I don't have to deal with this annoying process turn on and off of my watch every day, I will give five stars for this review. By the way, one thing I want to mention, the Garmin Express is not working well. Every time I use it, I have to plug-in and plug-out the connecting USB cable five to six times to make connect work

Design

Out of Pure Curiosity - Does this Community Prefer Transflective MIP or AMOLED Displays?

I found a lot of nice looking watchfaces (of rather simplistic design/coloration) that look nice in the MIP display so I wear the VA4 constantly.

Positive

reddit.com/r/Garmin

INTERFACE: It's very fast and I like the new menu interface a lot. It's almost the exact same as the 945, excluding some Firstbeat analytics. My only annoyance is that it's missing Hotkeys, which I actually used on my other watches. I hope that it's just an oversight and not an intentionally-stripped feature

Software Updates

Excellent product, performs as described.

6) For much faster initial software updates I would recommend to install the Desktop app and update the watch from there.

Happy with Garmin, had some issues with the watch

Also, Garmin customer support has been outstanding! Cons: I’ve had issues with the watch accurately tracking pace, mileage, and VO2 (hence the above interaction with Customer support). Seems like some updates from Garmin Express may have resolved these, but it’s annoying that I have to plug this watch into a computer every couple weeks to check for software updates when I sync it with the Garmin Connect app on my phone multiple times a day. Seems like software updates through the mobile app would be standard functionality…

Price

Works as described

As far as cost/value rationing, given accuracy, with bias as purchased prime day at a discount, it definitely for me was a winner without the chicken dinner.

AMAZON KEEPS SENDING ME SOUTH EAST ASIAN VERSION OF THE WATCH!!!!!!

Really this should be the same price as the vivoactive 3, and serious runners who don't want a touch screen, garmin pay, stairs climbed counting, and want extra running metrics would buy it. Most people still wouldn't. After using it I don't see why its 100 dollars more. Runners pay more money for watches?

Notifications

Basically what I was looking for

It's summarizes you day or week probably more but I have only had the phone for 1.5 weeks.

Ok, Garmin. I love this watch!

This sends an email to whoever you’ve listed, or all of your connections, with a link to a tracker. I love this as a woman who often goes on runs alone early in the morning or at night. There is also a feature on this watch where if you press a button 3x it sends a text to your emergency contacts and it will also do this if it notices anything unusual (you stop suddenly, etc). Probably my favorite features

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