The Garmin Forerunner 235 was launched back in 2015 which is positively ancient in the world of tech. I bought it as my first Garmin watch and mostly loved it, it had a lot of quirks that annoyed me, but it did the job I wanted at a great price. It is one of the last watches to be upgraded in Garmin’s lineup and probably the one that has seen the most significant upgrade.

However, since its launch, the Vivoactive 3 has filled in the gaps being a more stylish alternative for people looking for an affordable multi-sports watch.

So if you have a FR235 or considering buying one, you maybe thinking is it worth getting the FR245? If you can justify the price difference, the TLDR will be yes it is well worth it.

Price Differences

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The biggest factor in all my purchases is the price difference, the RRP of the new FR245 is only $50 more according to DC Rainmakers comparison list. Garmin still sells the FR235 for £199 but you can buy it from Amazon for £159. The lowest price it has been is £139.99 last month on Amazon.

However, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 is currently £160 while the music version is £199 on Amazon, and at the time of writing, you can get the music version (in sand colour) for just £149 from Argos. For many, this will be a better buy, though it lacks race predictor and recovery advisor, apart from them it is a superior watch in every way.

The none music version of the Garmin Forerunner 245 is £250 while the music version will set you back £300. While it is undeniably an amazing watch, based on the current Garmin Vivoactive 3 on Argos it is a hard buy. Is it really worth the £150 extra?

Vivoactive 3 Music for £149!

At the moment, with this price on Argos, this is the budget sports watch I’d go for, I am half tempted with it myself, to replace the Fenix 5S so I can use the music and NFC payments.

For many the NFC payments won’t be important, and I have my phone, so not essential for me either, but it is a feature the Vivo has that the other two watches don’t have.

However, it does lack a lot of the additional things the FR245 has which may sway you away from buying this. The FR245 has better battery life, audio alerts through the headphones whilst running, a newer GPS chip, and the new Garmin Elevate optical HR sensor with PulseOx and respiration rate. So ignoring the price, the FR245 is going to be a much better watch, I just don’t think it is worth double the price.

What has been added since the Forerunner 235?

All the above features have been added, and the design has been completely revamped. The FR235 was not the best looking and was very plasticky, I found its plastic activity button far too easy to accidentally press which caused issues when asleep due to the vibration alerts it caused.

The new Forerunner design looks fantastic in my opinion, significantly better than the FR235 while also being at least as nice as the Vivoactive 3.

– Added Music (for Forerunner 245 Music)
– Added Garmin Running Dynamics with RD Pod or HRM-RUN/TRI straps
– Added PulseOx (pulse oximeter measurement/tracking)
– Added all-day stress tracking
– Added body battery functionality
– Added courses (basic breadcrumb trail navigation)
– Added Virtual Racer (racing a course with set timing)
– Added Virtual Partner
– Added Garmin Coach support (including adaptive training plans)
– Added pool swimming, including workouts and drill mode
– Added strength workouts support
– Added configurable lap banner
– Added WiFi (Forerunner 245 Music only)
– Added Bluetooth Smart sensor support
– Added Garmin Varia radar support (cycling focused)
– Added bike light sensor support
– Added Galileo GPS support
– Added Incident Detection (if you crash your bike it notifies someone)
– Added Safety/Tracking Assistance (you can press button to send help alert to friends/family)
– Added temperature and altitude acclimation behind scenes (used for VO2Max metrics, but not shown as widget like on FR945/MARQ)
– Added new Garmin ELEVATE optical HR sensor (V3, same as MARQ/FR945)
– Added UltraTrac mode for 24hr+ GPS battery life (really long workouts, exact spec TBA)
– Revamped training load features, primarily training effect, status, and load
– Revamped race predictor to be a bit more strict on predictions (more than just VO2Max lookup charts now)
– Increase configurability of data fields, new layouts/pages
– Increased display resolution from 215px to 240px
– Increased GPS battery life to 24 hours in regular GPS mode (or 6hrs with GPS+Music),
– Decreased 24×7 watch battery life from 9 days to 7 days

Comparison features between Forerunner 245, 235 and Vivoactive 3 Music.

Table generated via DC Rainmaker compariosn tool

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.