One week with Garmin’s newly announced Forerunner 945 LTE and Forerunner 55

Enlarge / The Garmin 945 LTE family. (credit: Garmin)

Garmin just announced the new Forerunner 945 LTE and Forerunner 55 running smartwatches, and I know what you're thinking: Garmin finally caved and made a full-blown, cellular-connected smartwatch!"

Not quite. The new device does have LTE connectivity, which requires a monthly subscription of either $5.99 (with an annual contract) or $6.99 (with no annual contract), but the feature is exclusively for enhanced safety tracking and activity sharing.

These enhanced functions let you receive audio and text messages from chosen contacts via a shared link during activities, as well as two-way text communication with Garmin's 24/7 emergency services. Beyond that, you cannot send or receive calls or texts without your phone.

Read 20 remaining paragraphs | Comments