Garmin's new mid-range GPS running watch packs all the essentials, but does it compromise too much...

Durable; lightweight design Accurate GPS and heart rate sensors Plenty of music storage Seven-day battery life Garmin Coach training plans are very useful

No Garmin Pay No barometric altimeter You have to pay $50 extra just for music storage + Wi-Fi

When Garmin first introduced the Vivoactive 3 almost two years ago, I wondered how exactly they'd create a successor to the Forerunner 235. Sure, the FR235 had more buttons than the Vivoactive 3, but ultimately the Vivoactive 3 was a more rounded watch in terms of features.

Made for fitness enthusiasts who like to listen to their favourite tunes while running, the Forerunner 245 Music is the successor to 2015’s Forerunner 235 and is priced at ₹ 34,990.

The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is a runner’s best friend, and sets a new bar by which most other running watches will be measured. The watch is small, slim and light. The display is very clear and easy to read.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been taking up different activities in a bid to improve my fitness. If you’ve kept up with my fitness tech journey thus far (you probably haven’t), you’ll know that I’ve tried out cycling, swimming—and my personal favourite right now: running.

If you are taking your running more seriously and you can’t stomach paying big money for a top-end Garmin, the Forerunner 245 should offer you all you need and give you a solid smartwatch experience too.

Slimmer and lighter design; New training insights; Easy to use music features;

Battery drain with music streaming; Missing altimeter; No Garmin Pay;

Hard to beat beats