There are a few notable omissions from the Forerunner 245. I get the feeling Garmin has left these out purely to encourage people to buy other pricier watches, but the Music variant still offers more than anything else in its price bracket.

Accurate and detailed sports tracking; Music playback and Spotify support; Breadcrumb navigation; 24 hours of GPS battery life

No native support for power meters; No triathlon mode

Garmin’s most popular running watch gets an impressive upgrade

The 245 Music has everything a runner needs and more; Along with accurate GPS and heart rate tracking, you get the ability to set workouts to follow, training plans synced to the watch and analysis of the effect of your workouts.

There is no triathlon or open-water swimming mode on the 245, with Garmin presumably trying to push multisport athletes towards the pricier Forerunner 945 , Fenix 5 Plus and Fenix 6 series; Garmin has not put a barometric altimeter in the watch.

The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music works well for those who need a fitness watch, which will also show all their notifications, etc. This is not for those who want a fancy smartwatch, but rather a dedicated fitness device with more comprehensive tracking than a simple band and one that is rugged enough...

Garmin GPS sports watches are now available across the spectrum of athletes, from casual walkers to professional athletes. Earlier today five new wearables were announced and for the past couple of weeks I have been running with the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music.

Lightweight; comfortable design; Vast amount of customization; Long battery life; Affordable price; Spotify and Deezer support

No barometer

Larger than average screen, Syncs with music streaming services, Smart notification system, Wrist mounted heart sensor, Water resistant up to 30m

Expensive

If you are taking your running more seriously and you can’t stomach paying big money for a top-end Garmin, the Forerunner 245 should offer you all you need and give you a solid smartwatch experience too.

Slimmer and lighter design; New training insights; Easy to use music features

Battery drain with music streaming; Missing altimeter; No Garmin Pay

Replacing the Forerunner 235, this new running watch features a slick new design, an improved screen, lighter weight, and some of the company’s most advanced sensors for additional tracking features.

Highly accurate fitness tracking and heart monitoring; Long battery life; Onboard music storage

No Garmin Pay; No barometric altimeter or gyroscope.

The spotify app to synch to this watch didn't work until completely removing and reinstalling and despite all the testimonies as to that fact and the livid reviews (see them all in the IQ Connect store) apparently neither Garmin or Spotify is doing much about it to make the installation easy and...

The Forerunner 245 Music is another formidable running watch from the Garmin stable. It's taken nearly everything we liked about the 235 and made it better. We say nearly everything because the battery life has dropped slightly and the heart rate monitor still falters in the high intensity test.

Small and comfortable design; New improved interface; Music player features; New training features

“New metrics, onboard maps, and music prove to be a killer combination in the Forerunner 245 Music.”

Easy to read screen; maps; Music support; can steam Spotify and Deezer; Helpful notification support; Accurate tracking; Sleek; modern design

Missing barometric altimeter; No gyroscope; Expensive