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Garmin refreshes its line of Forerunner GPS watches with five new models

Garmin refreshes its line of Forerunner GPS watches with five new models

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Plus a new menstrual tracking feature

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Image: Garmin

Garmin is updating its line of Forerunner GPS running watches today with an entirely new lineup of watches, ranging from the entry-level $199.99 Forerunner 45 to the $599.99 Forerunner 945, which is meant for professional athletes.

The Forerunner 45 (and 45S, which is a smaller version of the 45) have gotten the biggest visual changes of the lineup. They have the same round watchface as the pricier models in the Forerunner lineup, along with some new tracking features for planning exercises throughout the day and support for Garmin’s Coach function. Like all of Garmin’s Forerunner watches, there’s a built-in heart rate sensor and onboard GPS.

New sensors and designs for the GPS watch line

The 245 (and 245 Music, which is the same as the 245, but with the option to locally store up to 500 songs) is an updated version of the 235, and it gets newly added support for stress and sleep tracking, more sports to track, and an updated UI. It also adds a pulse oximeter sensor for even more fitness data.

Lastly, there’s the new Forerunner 945, the $599.99 flagship of the lineup. The 945 adds a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen absorption, Garmin Pay for contactless purchases, and full-color maps for navigating while out running. It can store up to 1,000 songs locally (from compatible services like Spotify or Deezer), and there’s a new tool for analyzing past workout history to improve future training. Garmin promises up to two weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 36 hours in GPS mode, and up to 10 hours with both GPS and music active.

The Forerunner 45 models will be available later in May. The Forerunner 245, Forerunner 245 Music, and Forerunner 945 are available now.

Garmin’s also following Fitbit’s lead last year with a new feature that lets women track their periods — that’ll come first to the Forerunner 645 Music, vívoactive 3, vívoactive 3 Music and fēnix 5 Plus, and later to the fēnix 5, fēnix Chronos, Forerunner 935, and the new Forerunner 945, Forerunner 645, Forerunner 245, and Forerunner 245 Music as well.

Here’s what it looks like:

Update, 7:00 PM ET: Added that Garmin is rolling out a menstrual tracking feature to a variety of its smartwatches.

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