Garmin Forerunner 225 Review

Remember a time when smart watches were still objects of fantasy that were restricted to sci-fi dramas.

Brands like Garmin and TomTom have made a serious play for the ever expanding wearable market with a blend of serious fitness credentials with GPS capabilities.The Forerunner 225 is the first Garmin wearable with wrist based heart monitoring. Does your quest for the perfect wearable end here?

The first thing that we dig about this watch is its ‘always on’ display. No shakes or swipes that can sometimes make you appear silly in a crowd. It’s not just the circular form, the Forerunner 225 looks more watch than smartwatch. The silicon strap lends to the rugged form factor. The design language is a throwback to the formidable fitness watches of another ‘time’. The five buttons on the side add to the retro appeal and also some confusion, at least initially. While the watch looks quite bulky, it sits quite easy on the wrist with its 54gm footprint. The display is not touch sensitive; you are completely at the mercy of the physical navigation buttons.

We like how the display packs some colour unlike the gray scale display of the FitBit Surge. The 1-inch (diameter) LCD display (180 x 180 pixels) offers great visibility even under direct sunlight but with no serious scratch resistant creds you are probably better off with a protective film (something we also recommend for Fitbit devices like the Charge HR).

If you’re looking at serious smart watch type capabilities like call or text alerts (once you pair it with your smart phone) you will be disappointed. The Forerunner 225 pairs with your smart phone (via Bluetooth) through the Garmin Connect App but there are no ‘second screen’ features that some other Fitness trackers like Fitbit offer.

The heart sensor sits under the watch and is flanked by the charging pins (sadly the device needs a bundled custom charger and does not come with a standard micro USB port). The heart rate readings are quite accurate and are not ‘always on’ when the watch is on idle mode, to optimise battery life. We like how the heart rate sensor goes into a colour coded mode depending on your heart rate when you are in a vigorous workout or run. The device also breaks down your runs into these different heart rate zones (five in total, like Active Recover etc.)

The Forerunner 225 also comes with heaps of activity trackers – from steps to calorie burns to sleep tracking. Unlike some other trackers, the step counter keeps resetting your daily goals based on your track record. We experienced occasional niggles on the connectivity while the App does not have the same visual appeal as the FitBit smart phone App.

The device offers a whole host of customisations – from goal-oriented workouts to rest intervals. Garmin claims 4 weeks of battery life on watch mode and ten hours on GPS mode with Optical heart rate monitoring. Based on our usage we believe the device should last for 4-5 days on a single charge for individuals with 45-60 minute fitness/running routines every day.

The device also boasts of a ‘5 ATM’ water resistance certification giving it an edge over Fitbit devices on that front – you can wear the Forerunner 225 to your shower or jump into the swimming pool with it.

The Garmin Forerunner 225 is one of the most capable fitness trackers your money can buy, but with a stiff Rs 22,000 price tag there are other options that merit your consideration.