Many of these sensors are standard at this point, but the quickly accessible compass and thermometer both stand out. With GPS and its Russian cousin GLONASS, a real-time compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, barometric altimeter, and the Garmin Elevate wrist heart-rate monitor, there’s not a lot the Forerunner 645 Music watch can’t do. Even when we set it comfortably loose, it still appeared to log an accurate heart-rate reading. Unlike the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro or Fitbit’s Ionic and Blaze, the Forerunner 645 Music doesn’t require an extremely tight fit to actively register heart rate.
Holding Down activates the built-in music player.
Holding the Up key brings up a quick menu where you can change the watch face and alarm clock, or sync Bluetooth headphones. Though the names are self-explanatory, a few carry secondary shortcuts, as well.įor instance, holding the Light button down longer than a simple press brings up a quick menu giving access to features such as Do Not Disturb, the Garmin Wallet, a stopwatch and timer, the Find My Phone feature, and the watch’s digital power switch.
Start/Stop and Back are located on the right side of the watch face while Light, Up, and Down are located on the left. While both Fitbit and Apple have embraced touchscreens, Garmin sticks with five tried and true buttons on the Forerunner. We were immediately pleased with how comfortable and light it felt on our wrist. The watch is even compatible with a healthy selection of interchangeable, quick release bands, making it easy to swap for different colored silicone or leather bands, further increasing its versatility – the standard watch itself comes with either a black or red strap. You probably wouldn’t wear it with a suit, but it’s classy enough to sport daily without concern. With a stainless-steel bezel encasing a chemically strengthened glass crystal, the Forerunner has a classic look that remains sporty and tough. A comfortable blend of function and style With a partial charge, our watch took roughly 30 minutes to fully charge out of the box, and typically only required an hour to charge it up when it drained all the way. Like most fitness trackers, Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music comes packaged with only the wearable itself, a charging cable, and an instruction manual. We decided to put the wearable through its paces to see just how well it performs in practice – and if it’s a true competitor to Fitbit and Apple.
Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music, is a lightweight yet powerful smartwatch designed to cut you free from a phone entirely.įeaturing built-in GPS, active heart-rate monitoring, contactless payments, and native music compatibility (a Garmin first), the Forerunner 645 Music looks every bit the part of a dynamic fitness tracker on paper. If you own a fitness tracker, shouldn’t you be able to leave your phone behind when you work out? Yes, but many fitness trackers still need to be tethered to phones for features like GPS and music.