We don’t know if this is connected in any way or merely a coincidence, but it appears to be raining killer deals on excellent Garmin smartwatches just as the Apple Watch Series 9 is gearing up to see daylight.
Of course, many of Garmin’s wearables aren’t exactly what we’d call “mainstream” Apple Watch alternatives, targeting very specific users with very specific needs rather than the global masses. The Forerunner 745, for instance, is a fairly robust but also decently stylish circular device made primarily with, you’ve guessed it, runners and triathletes in mind.
You absolutely don’t have to be a professional athlete to enjoy this bad boy’s advanced features and capabilities, though, especially at a cool $100 under a $399.99 list price. That was actually permanently reduced from an original price point of $499.99 a while back, mind you, so compared with how much Garmin used to charge two or three years ago for this intelligent timepiece, you’re looking at saving a pretty substantial 200 bucks right now.
And yes, that obviously means that the Forerunner 745 is quite an old model, but it’s by no measure of the word outdated, supporting among others body battery energy monitoring technology, blood oxygen saturation tracking, and even women’s health tracking.
Then you have your run-of-the-mill heart rate monitor and advanced sleep tracking, but also a bunch of specialized tools to help you with your next marathon training or simply to lose weight in the fastest, smartest, and easiest way possible. There’s a built-in virtual Garmin Coach to guide you as you hit your fitness goals, you get daily workout suggestions adapted to your needs and general health, not to mention things like recovery time, training effect, race predictor, training load, training status, and performance condition insights, each of which will bring you one step closer to your best version from a fitness standpoint.
On top of everything, this is an absolute battery life monster too, promising to keep the lights on for up to seven days between charges in “smartwatch mode”, although that number will be drastically reduced if you leave your GPS connectivity enabled at all times and even more so if you also like to play your favorite tunes while working out.
