Key Update: The Garmin Forerunner 945 is about to be released (June 15 2019). You can find the Forerunner 645 vs Forerunner 945 product comparison here.
Before we dive into the finer details, I want to outline a few of the most significant differences between the Forerunner 645 and the Forerunner 935.
Forerunner 645 – Built For Runners – This is primarily a running watch. While it does have indoor swimming and cycling modes, it is best suited for people who focus almost exclusively on running. If you are a 5k, half marathon, or even an ultra marathon specialist, this watch will give you everything you need and more.
Forerunner 935 – Built For Triathletes – The FR935 is perfect for triathletes. In fact, it is one of the best triathlon watches that has ever been made. It basically gives you all the functionality of the Garmin Fenix 5, in a slightly slimmer frame, for a much more affordable price. It also comes in a bundle which includes the Garmin HRM strap, which is essential if you want the best possible heart rate data when swimming, running and cycling.
Read more: Garmin Forerunner 45. Now that Spotify support has landed on the watch, you can download and listen to playlists, albums, tracks and podcasts directly from the watch using Bluetooth.
Forerunner 645 – Music Playback – The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music was the first Garmin watch to introduce in-built music storage. It gives you 3.5 gigabytes to play with, which works out to about 500 songs. The Forerunner 935 doesn’t include music playback, but it makes up for it with better multisport functionality and triathlon specific features.
Now let’s see how these 2 watches stack up against each other technically. To do this, we are going to look at the key similarities, and the key differences between the two watches.
Forerunner 645 vs Forerunner 945 -Key SimilaritiesFR645See Price
GPS + Glonass
Data Transfer
USB/Bluetooth/Wifi
Smartphone Notifications
Indoor Swimming Tracking
Cycling Tracking
With Accessory
Garmin Running Power
With Accessory
Forerunner 645 vs Forerunner 935 - Key DifferencesFR645See Price
Built-in Music Storage
Multisport (Triathlon) Mode
Battery Life
Up to 24 Hours GPS/Up to 50 Hours Ultratrac GPS
41.8g
Golf Mode
Why you should consider the Forerunner 935:
To cut a long story short, triathletes across the world are opting for the Garmin Forerunner 935 as their first choice multisport training watch. It quite literally has everything you need to conquer Ironman triathlons with ease. The fact that it comes bundled with 2 HRM straps merely confirms that Garmin knows exactly which persona they are targeting, namely competitive triathletes. Spotify.
For instance, it has a quick release mechanism which allows you to move the watch from your wrist to your bike mount (after your swim) and then back to your wrist for the run. During a competitive triathlon, this simple release mechanism makes it much easier to manage your watch during all phases of the race, without losing time or expending mental energy.
It is also the only Forerunner which includes a Golf mode. While this only applies to a small segment of the population, it’s worth keeping in mind if you do enjoy playing 18 holes regularly.
Why you should consider the Forerunner 645:
Again, Garmin knows who they are trying to serve with this watch. It’s designed for running specialists who don’t necessarily need open water swim tracking and triathlon features. The music functionality and contactless payments means that there really is no need to carry your phone when you hit the tarmac or the trails.
The only slight drawback to the FR645 is that there are cheaper Garmin alternatives that are especially attractive if you aren’t interested in the built-in music storage or the contactless payments. For instance, the Forerunner 235 offers many of the same features, and often sells for up to $200 less.
If money was no object, which one would I buy?
Personally, I would opt for the Forerunner 935. Here are the main reasons why:
Garmin Forerunner 645 Music Amazon
All that being said, the Forerunner 645 is still a very good option for runners. If you’re not into triathlons, and you don’t play golf, it’s pretty much perfect. In many ways, you could call it a Fenix 5 Plus, for runners. The music storage and the contactless payments make that comparison perfectly apt.
Final Thoughts:
The FR645 is arguably the best GPS running watch that money can buy. It literally has everything a runner needs, and it has two massive selling points that the Forerunner 935 can only dream of (music storage and payments).
However, the FR935 is a multisport beast that will comfortably meet the needs of the best triathletes in the world. It’s one of the best multisport GPS watches that has ever been made, and it even dominates the mighty Fenix 5 in terms of value for money.
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Ultimately, the Forerunner 935 is my pick, but if you’re not into triathlons and running is your primary sport, the Forerunner 645 is the better option.
In this post I’ll talk about Garmins that store and play music and share a review of the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music as a wrist GPS for those who want music without carrying a phone. Spotify wont work with other apps remotely.
When I first got into running, I needed music to get through the long runs. I had an iPod mini loaded up with tunes. In winter, I kept the iPod in a jacket pocket. In summer, I had to pick up an arm band. As time passed, two things happened:
Recently I found myself wishing I could listen to music on my runs again. There were several challenges to overcome:
Download Spotify Songs Garmin Forerunner 645 Music Review![]()
I was at the Chicago marathon race expo with my sister Judy. Judy is my source of information for new running gadgets because she works at Bushtukah, a locally owned sports store. She told me Garmin had a wrist GPS that could store and play music. Garmin had a booth at the expo, the perfect opportunity to check out my options.
There are several models of Garmin which store and play music.
All the models store up to 500 songs.
When I wrote this post the following music services were available on the 645:
My previous Garmin was the Forerunner 735 which I bought with dreams of triathlons since it tracks indoor and outdoor swimming. I decided to stay with the Forerunner series and bought the black Forerunner 645 Music with Rose Gold hardware.
When I bought it, Spotify was only supported on the Fenix, but the Garmin rep told me the software update for Spotify on the 645 was coming out in the next 3 months.
Size and appearance
Forerunner 735 and Forerunner 645 Music on wrist for comparison
The 645 was smaller than my 735, and the rose gold was, well, prettier, than my 735. So I switched over to my 645 even though I didn’t have music yet. I got a number of compliments on the watch. Unlike the last two Garmins I have owned, the 645 doesn’t scream Garmin when you see it. I can usually spot undercover runners and triathletes at work at about 50 paces by their Garmins.
Let’s be clear, it’s not a dress watch. It looks out of place when I wear it with an evening dress (one day maybe I’ll replace the dead batteries in my actual dress watches but since I wear my Garmin 365 days of the year, that seems unlikely). Taking it off in the summer risks blinding everyone with the thick white tan line across my wrist. But, general opinion among my runner friends was this was the nicest looking Garmin they had seen. My sister even took a picture to send her store manager suggesting they start carrying the rose gold version.
Download Spotify Songs Garmin Forerunner 645 MusicUsing Spotify on the 645
I waited patiently and sure enough in December the Spotify app was available for the 645. The first thing I discovered was most of the instructions and videos online for downloading music to your 645 do NOT apply to Spotify. All those instructions telling you to download your playlist to your computer and then connect the Garmin to the computer with the USB port do NOT apply to Spotify. Spotify has its own storage format. After watching several videos, downloading apps and playlists to my laptop to no avail, I got desperate and tried something completely insane: I downloaded and read the manual from the Garmin website. 5 minutes later I had downloaded my first playlist to my device. Scroll down for a summary of the steps to get Spotify working. https://fesnaq.weebly.com/blog/spotify-on-my-computer-wont-go-to-my-phone-app.
Bluetooth headphones
All these devices only work with Bluetooth headphones, so I picked up a pair of AirShokz Trekz Air ($149.95 USD). These were recommended by Garmin and conveniently had a booth at the same race expo. I’ll write a separate review of them once I’ve tested them on some longer runs and a wider variety of weather. But I will say, I am happy with them so far and I feel safer with the bone conduction headphones because I can listen to music and still hear traffic and conversations.
Battery life
Several friends who rely on their phones for music asked me about battery life. Winter in Ottawa can result in temperatures that freeze your nose hairs (around -20 C), and even eyelashes (around -30 C but that’s why treadmills were invented). Those same cold temperatures drain phone batteries. I’ve never had a problem with a Garmin battery dying in the cold. I presume the fact it is strapped to my wrist instead of sitting in a pocket or pouch helps keep it warm. I decided to test it on a pleasant -15 C run. I started out with 100% charge. After running 1 hour tracking my run and listening to music I was at 83% battery life. For a marathon runner like me, that means I should not have any trouble listening to music for my longest training runs which max out just under 4 hours. An ultra runner might need the Fenix 5 Plus which promises up to 8 hours of music or the Fenix 5X Plus which promises up to 13 hours. The 645 only promises 5 hours according to the Garmin site.
On a side note, now that I have music on my Garmin, I’ve found myself listening to music more often. I wrote this blog post listening to music from my 645 while riding a train from Ottawa to Toronto with unreliable data connection and wifi. Mental note: download some non-running playlists for travel, I need to save the running playlist for when I want that extra boost (you just can’t run slow to Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones)
How do I update/add Spotify playlists to my 645?Garmin Forerunner 645 Music Spotify
What could be better?
The software on the 645 definitely has a few glitches. Once in a while it freezes, or you go to your playlist and it acts as though it only has one song on the playlist. I just turn it off and on again. On one occasion the power off button wouldn’t work when it was frozen, but after 10 minutes it worked again.
Every now and then the headphones will disconnect and you have to restart the music and reconnect the headphones to the watch. It’s happened to me twice with my headphones, and one of the Seattle Green Lake Runners said she has the same problem.
If you have Spotify already and you are looking for a way to listen to music without carrying a phone, check out the new Garmin devices with music. Despite the occasional software glitches I am very happy with my Forerunner 645 Music and I’m having fun building new playlists for running. It’s a shiny new toy that does the job, and if anyone (like say your significant other who is not a runner) asks you why you need another Garmin when you already have one, just tell them this one goes to 11! (right Christopher?)
See a list of my other running related posts including race reviews, and some just for fun
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