Garmin brings LTE connectivity to its premium GPS running and triathlon smartwatch with the introduction of the Forerunner 945 LTE

OLATHE, Kan./June 2, 2021/Business Wire – Garmin^® International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today introduced the Forerunner^® 945 LTE, a premium GPS running and triathlon smartwatch with LTE connectivity.¹ Designed to help athletes stay connected on the go, the Forerunner 945 LTE brings phone-free safety and tracking features, spectator messaging and live event sharing to the wrist while still providing the detailed training data, performance monitoring tools and smartwatch features athletes have come to rely on.

“We are excited to bring LTE connectivity to the Forerunner line with the introduction of the Forerunner 945 LTE,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “For years, athletes have been able to leave their phone at home and still receive performance metrics, listen to music and pay for purchases with their Forerunner. Now, they can also access safety and tracking features right from their watch, making it even easier to work out without a phone and without worry.”

Whether training or racing, the Forerunner 945 LTE lets athletes send for help if necessary and stay connected to loved ones — no phone needed. If an athlete feels unsafe or if the smartwatch senses an incident occurred, assistance and incident detection features² will send a message with their location to chosen emergency contacts. What’s more, the Forerunner 945 LTE can automatically send an athlete’s name and location to the Garmin IERCC, a 24/7 staffed professional emergency response coordination center that can contact and coordinate with emergency services or others to provide assistance.³ The Garmin IERCC will stay in contact with the athlete through two-way messaging with the watch until the emergency situation is resolved. When out for a run or ride, LiveTrack lets family and friends follow along in real-time and even see an athlete’s entire preplanned course. During a race, competitors can send pace and mileage updates to loved ones and receive motivational audio⁴ and text messages from spectators. A subscription plan is required to use the LTE-connected features; for more information, click here.

Featuring popular training, performance and health monitoring tools from the original Forerunner 945, the Forerunner 945 LTE is ready for any challenge — from open water swims to long training rides or runs.

Training and performance

To help athletes become better, faster and more efficient come race day, the Forerunner 945 LTE includes key training data and performance monitoring tools.

• Daily suggested workouts provide athletes with run and ride recommendations based on current training load and training status.
• Sync indoor and outdoor training plans from Garmin Connect™ and other third-party platforms or train for a 5K, 10K or half-marathon using Garmin Coach adaptive training plans.
• Switch up workouts with dozens of built-in sports apps, including cycling, pool and open-water swimming, track run, cardio and more.
• Stay on pace using PacePro™, a tool that provides grade-adjusted guidance as athletes run a course.
• Better prepare for a race or training cycle with performance metrics from Garmin Firstbeat Analytics™ like VO2 max, training load, training status, performance condition, training effect and more.
• While interval training, a new data page automatically keeps track of an athlete’s fast and slow time, then separates them out.
• Track running⁵ and cycling⁶ dynamics to work toward a more efficient run or ride.

Maps and routes

Whether running through city streets or riding densely covered trails, the Forerunner 945 LTE features built-in, full-color maps to help keep athletes on course.

• Plan and download routes using the course creator in Garmin Connect, which uses Trendline™ popularity routing to provide the best local paths, or create courses on platforms like Strava and Komoot that will seamlessly sync to the watch.
• Use ClimbPro on downloaded courses to see real-time information on current and upcoming climbs including gradient, distance and elevation gain.
• Follow a route or course with turn-by-turn directions and know ahead of time when the next turn is coming.
• Enter a distance to run or ride and receive suggested loop courses that come back to the starting point.

Health and wellness

Even after a workout, the Forerunner 945 LTE provides athletes with additional health insights to track their well-being.

• Monitor blood oxygen saturation levels and get a clearer picture of sleep and altitude acclimation with the wrist-based Pulse Ox⁷ sensor.
• Body Battery™ energy monitoring shows current energy levels which can help athletes find the best times for activity and rest.
• Review last night’s sleep directly on the watch and receive on-device insights about how sleep quality is affecting the body and its training recovery.
• Women’s health features, including menstrual cycle tracking and pregnancy tracking, let women log symptoms, receive exercise and nutrition education, and more.

Connected features

Designed to be worn all day, the Forerunner 945 LTE includes connected features to let athletes get the most out of their watch.

• Store up to 1,000 songs right on the watch and sync playlists through Wi-Fi^® from select music streaming services like Amazon Music, Deezer and Spotify.⁸
• Make convenient payments with  Garmin Pay™ contactless payment solution.⁹
• Receive smart notifications for incoming calls, text messages, social media updates and alerts right on the watch, when paired with a compatible smartphone.
• Control a Tacx^® Smart trainer via ANT+^® technology for course simulation, automatic resistance changes and workout prompts when using courses or workouts.
• Download custom watch faces, add data fields, and get apps and widgets from the Connect IQ™ Store, when paired with a compatible smartphone.
• Following a workout, activities will automatically upload to Garmin Connect, a free online fitness community where athletes can connect, compete and share.

The Forerunner 945 LTE features up to 2 weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 7 hours in GPS mode with music and LTE LiveTrack. Available now in the United States and Canada in whitestone or black, the Forerunner 945 LTE has a suggested retail price of $649.99. The Forerunner 945 LTE will be available in other select countries later this summer.

Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for runners, cyclists, swimmers and athletes of all levels and abilities. Committed to developing technology that helps people stay active and elevate performance, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. Other Garmin fitness brands include Tacx and Firstbeat Analytics. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom, contact the Media Relations department at [email protected], or follow us at facebook.com/garminfit, twitter.com/garminnews, instagram.com/garminfitness or youtube.com/garmin.

¹ To use LTE features, an active subscription plan and connectivity to a Category M1 LTE network is necessary. See Category M1 LTE coverage area.
² See safety and tracking feature requirements and limitations
³ Assistance Plus is not available in all markets where Category M1 LTE network connectivity is available; see Assistance Plus coverage area. See other safety and tracking feature requirements and limitations
⁴ When used with headphones paired to the Forerunner 945 LTE; headphones not included
⁵ When used with Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Pro^™ monitor (sold separately)
⁶ When used with a compatible Garmin power meter (sold separately)
⁷ This is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition; see Garmin.com/ataccuracy. Pulse Ox not available in all countries.
⁸ May require premium subscription with a third-party music service provider
⁹ View current supported country, payment network and issuing bank information