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As the market for smartwatches gets more and more saturated, each brand needs to deliver something unique to stand out from the crowd. As one of the big names in the game, Garmin is trying to do just that with the new Forerunner 945 LTE and the Forerunner 55.
Forerunner 945 LTE
The purpose of the 945 LTE is to give you everything you could ever ask for in a sports smartwatch. Garmin has packed it with all the tech and functionality they offer, making it their flagship product.One of the features that make the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE stand out the most is its ability to send your name and location to the Garmin IERCC. That is a 24/7 staffed professional emergency response coordination center that can contact and communicate with local emergency services.
If that wasn’t enough safety reassurance for you, the watch also offers a feature called LiveTrack, which lets your friends and family see your location in real-time and even view your entire preplanned course. Other health features include an oximeter to measure your blood oxygen levels and a heart rate monitor.
Of course, you can still use the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE as an everyday smartwatch for replying to messages, listening to music (which can be stored), contactless payments, and more. Garmin claims the battery can last for 2 weeks in smartwatch mode and 7 hours in GPS mode with music and LTE LiveTrack. All of this amounts to the hefty price of $649.99.
Forerunner 55
The little brother of the 945 LTE is the Forerunner 55, and its purpose is on the other spectrum of the scale. It is for those who don’t need all the extra features the big guy offers and prefer to stick to the basics.
It keeps the most crucial features for tracking your health and exercises, like the heart monitor and GPS, but it falls behind on others like the option to store music or any of the LTE-enabled functionalities of the flagship.
Nevertheless, the 55 seems like the choice most people would make, especially for those with a more casual fitness lifestyle. The whole package looks even more appealing with the price tag of $199.99.
