Garmin Forerunner 945 is Garmin’s latest and greatest in the Forerunner series, and as the name suggests, it is dedicated to serious runners and triathlon enthusiasts. You’ll get all of the company’s basic features and a number of premium benefits, such as full-color mapping, advanced training analytics, and other useful extras.
$299.99 in stock
8 used from $259.99
Whereas, Apple Watch Series 7 is a different watch altogether. It still features the same iconic square design as its predecessors, but the screen on Series 7 is a lot bigger, the bezel is a lot thinner. Other than design and the latest S7 chip, we haven’t witnessed any big upgrade from the previous Apple Watch Series 6.
Honestly speaking, FR945 and Apple Watch S7 are a world apart as they serve two different types of audiences. The former would be the best for sports fanatics, whereas the latter is an excellent fitness and health tracker that can also help with your daily activities.
Read on the full Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch S7 comparison to get the full picture.
Table of Contents
General Comparison:
| Product Name | Apple watch series 7 | Garmin Forerunner 945 |
| Predecessor | Apple watch series 6 | Forerunner 935 |
| Models | Apple watch series 7: 41mm & Apple watch series 7: 45mm | Forerunner® 945, Forerunner® 945 LTE |
| Release Date | October 2021 | April 2019 |
| Parent Company | Apple | Garmin |
| Operating System | watchOS 8.0 , Chipset: Apple S7 | Garmin OS |
| Compatibility | iOS | Android, IOS |
| Competition | Fitbit Sense, Ticwatch Pro 3, Fossil Gen 5 | Suunto 9, Garmin Forerunner 935 |
| Suitable For | Primarily Sports, | |
| Sensors | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS, Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, barometer, always-on altimeter, compass, SpO2, VO2max | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, Garmin Elevate™ Wrist Heart Rate Monitor, Barometric Altimeter, Compass, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Thermometer, Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor |
Price and Value: Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch Series 7
The Garmin Forerunner 945 is priced at about $600, whereas the Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $399.00 for the basic model.
The Garmin FR945 is definitely not a watch for everyone. If you don’t do sports and don’t care about those extra training metrics, Apple Watch Series 7 is definitely the best watch to pair with your iPhone, and it costs $200 less.
Otherwise, Garmin Forerunner 945 is a better buy than the Apple Watch Series 7 because it offers more sports profiles and training features, superior battery life, and a rugged design.
Winner: Tied
Design & Display: Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch Series 7
| Apple watch series 7 | Garmin Forerunner 945 | |
| Dimensions, Weight | Apple watch series 7: (41mm) 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm & Apple watch series 7: (45mm) 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm | 41mm: Aluminum: 32.0gStainless Steel: 42.3gTitanium: 37.0g45mm: Aluminum: 38.8gStainless Steel: 51.5gTitanium: 45.1g | 47 x 47 x 13.7 mm, 50 g |
| Band Size | 41mm: 38mm and 40mm | 45mm: 42m and 44mm | 22 mm |
| Build materials | leather | fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Colors | Aluminum: Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, RED | Stainless Steel: Graphite (PVD), Silver, Gold (PVD), | Titanium: Space black (DLC), Titanium | Apple Watch Nike: Aluminum available at midnight and starlight. | Apple Watch Hermès: Stainless steel available in space black (DLC) and silver. | Black |
| Waterproofing | 5ATM (up to 50m) | 5 ATM |
| Display Size | 45mm: 1.7 inch | 41mm: 1.4 inch | 1.2″ (30.4 mm) diameter |
| Screen Type & Resolution | ,45mm: Retina LTPO OLED, 396 by 484 pixels | 41mm: Retina LTPO OLED, 352 by 430 pixels | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP), 240 x 240 pixels |
| Pixel Per Inch | 326 PPI | 283 PPI |
| Screen Protection | Ion-X strengthened glass | Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX |
| Always-on Display | Yes | Yes |
If you put them side by side, the Apple Watch Series 7 becomes a lot more attractive because of its sleek design and impressive user interface. Series 7’s display is bigger than the one on FR945, and that makes a huge difference when it comes to viewing your stats and notifications. Not only is the screen size better on Series 7, but the resolution is also much higher.
Garmin FR945 on the other hand feels bulky, rugged, and it’s actually a tad bit ugly. When Garmin designed FR945, it appears that they didn’t give much consideration to its aesthetics, but rather mostly focused on making it as functional and easy to use as possible. That is true of most of the Garmin Watches except for those in the Venu and Vivoactive Lineup.
Series 7’s display is more than twice as big as the one on FR945, and that makes a huge difference when it comes to viewing your stats and notifications. Not only is the screen size better on Series 7, but the resolution is also much higher.
Winner: Tied
Smartwatch Features: Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch Series 7
| Apple watch series 7 | Garmin Forerunner 945 | |
| Connectivity | LTE and UMTS6, GPS + Cellular models, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® |
| Companion App | Companion | Garmin Connect |
| Storage | 32GB | Up to 1000 songs |
| Processor | Dual-core processor with Apple S7 chipest | N/A |
| RAM | 1GB | N/A |
| Notification Alert | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar, Weather | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Spotify | Yes | Yes |
| Timer & Alarm | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Watch Faces | Yes | No |
| Voice Assistant | Yes(Siri) | No |
| Music Storage, Control | Yes | Yes |
| Third-Party Apps | Yes | Yes |
| Make calls, send texts & Emails | Yes | Yes |
| Browse Web | Yes | No |
| Contactless Payment | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes |
When it comes to smartwatch features, Apple Watch Series 7 is better than the Forerunner 945. You’ll get all of the basics on both watches such as notifications, messaging, and phone calls. However, there are a few features that are unique to The Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch can make calls and send texts, allows access to the Apple Store where you will find thousands of third-party apps, and last but not the least, it can make contactless payments via Apple Pay.
FR945 has a built-in music player and storage that lets you play your favorite songs without having to connect to your phone. Also, you can stream and download playlists from popular streaming platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, and iHeartradio. Garmin has also included Garmin Pay on FR945, which allows you to make payments using Garmin watches directly.
Winner: Apple Watch Series 7
Fitness & Health Features:
| Apple watch series 7 | Garmin Forerunner 945 | |
| Built-in GPS | Yes (-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS) | Yes (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Oxygen | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | Yes | No |
| Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis | Yes | No |
| Steps, Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | Yes | Yes |
| Sync Data With Strava, Apple Health | Yes | Yes |
Sports and Health Features: Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch Series 7
The health metrics overlap in both watches. Both can track heart rate, sleep, stress, SpO2, and more. Apple Watch Series 7 tracks ECG as a bonus, whereas sleep tracking is more advanced on the FR945.
However, sports tracking is much more advanced and comprehensive in Forerunner 945. It has a ton of workout profiles such as running, cycling, swimming, ski/board, paddle sports, indoor track, and more. The watch can monitor training effect, training load, VO2 max, Body battery, and so on. Apple watch can simply not stand next to Garmin when it comes to tracking various types of activities.
Garmin FR945 is water-resistant up to 10ATM (100m) whereas Apple Watch Series 7 has an ATM 5 (50m) rating which means that the former is much better for water sports.
Winner: Garmin Forerunner 945
Safety Features:
Forerunner 945 and 945 LTE comes packed with safety tracking and incident detection. Garmin Connect will notify your emergency contacts if your Forerunner 945 detects an incident or if you manually request assistance from the device. Whereas the LiveTrack feature includes location tracking, which can pinpoint your exact position during activity.
On the other hand, The Apple Watch has a fall detection sensor that senses when you have taken a hard fall and automatically contacts emergency services. Similar to the Live Track Feature, the Apple Watch has a ‘Find People app’ to share locations with loved ones.
Winner: Tied.
Battery Life & Charging: Garmin FR945 vs Apple Watch Series 7
| Apple watch series 7 | Garmin Forerunner 945 | |
| Battery Performance | Up to 18 hours | Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks GPS mode with music: Up to 10 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 36 hours |
| Battery Size | 309 mAh (1.19 Wh) | Not specified |
| Charger Type | USB-C magnetic fast charging cable | USB Type A Port |
| Fast Charging | 0%-80% in about 45 minutes | No(Takes 2 hours) |
In terms of battery life, Garmin FR945 has an advantage over Apple Watch Series 7. Garmin claims that FR 945 can last up to two weeks in smartwatch mode, whereas the performance is reduced to mere 36 hours in the continuous GPS mode. And if you add music in the mix, the watch would last for up to 10 hours.
On the other hand, Apple Watch Series 7 features a slightly smaller battery that would last up to 18 hours on a single charge with regular use. However, if you turn on the built-in GPS and LTE, the watch would only last for about six hours. However, Apple has featured fast charging on this watch, so it can go from 0 to 80% in 45 minutes.
Winner: Garmin FR945
Final Verdict: FR945 or Apple Watch Series 7?
At the end of the day, Garmin Forerunner 945 and Apple Watch Series 7 are both great watches with their own set of pros and cons. Garmin has focused more on making FR945 an all-in-one sports watch while Apple has gone for a sleeker design that might appeal to a wider audience.
If you are looking for a comprehensive sports tracking watch with great battery life, Garmin FR945 is the clear winner. But if you are looking for a smartwatch with more features and better aesthetics, Apple Watch Series 7 is the way to go.
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Kevin is a Tech journalist for over a decade. He writes on Wearables, Headphones, and Laptops. When he is not glued to his laptop, You will find him working on exciting projects that include Unboxing new Gadgets, comparing them, and tweaking their hardware.