Forerunner 945 LTE released

Agree that somehow this seems to indicate that the Fenix 7 is longer out than people have been expecting. This makes a Fenix 6 LTE seem a lot more likely to me. Or maybe a Marq+LTE soonish.

Disappointed that there is no on-device running power.

Absolutely nothing about this new 945 LTE excites me. But at least it's got an eBike activity now, so hopefully Fenix 6 gets that so people here can quit starting "Where's eBike Activity?!?" threads all the time.

Otherwise, nothing exciting about this. Same 16gb memory, same screen, same battery, same lack of golf activity, same lack of ski maps... the LTE doesn't really add any of the stuff people who wanted LTE were hoping for. It can't do texting, calls, or voice assistant. It is basically only for Livetracking and contacting emergency services. I don't understand why anyone would pay a monthly phone bill for that, but I suppose some people might.

Volker said:

Why still isn’t the full display size used and we have still the unused “black circle” around?

My guess is they made the decision to stick with the old screen when they decided it would be an incremental update to 945, rather than a whole new generation product (955), and that they're saving the major screen updates for when 955 and Fenix 7 eventually do come out (probably in 2022).

The prospect of a FR/Fenix with a smaller black bezel and larger display (but the same overall watch size) is something that would absolutely make me upgrade my 6X. I love everything about my 6X, but a larger display will ALWAYS be a welcome upgrade in my books. Honestly, even if Fenix 7 ends up being exactly the Fenix 6, just with a bigger screen, I'll still buy it ;)

My wife and I have 945s and trail run in the middle of *nowhere* a fair amount; this implementation of LTE is exactly what I'd want in a running/hiking watch.  If you had full-on LTE, you wouldn't be able to run an ultra with the thing, let alone a full marathon.  That said, right, as 945 owners, I don't think it's quite worthwhile yet...  I can't see the fenix 6 people jumping at a fenix 6 plus either with identical hardware.  They're just too similar, and these watches aren't an insignificant investment.  

rtperna said:

My wife and I have 945s and trail run in the middle of *nowhere* a fair amount; this implementation of LTE is exactly what I'd want in a running/hiking watch

The problem for me, at least where I live, is that "the middle of nowhere" usually means there isn't any LTE coverage, so I'd need to be carrying my InReach Mini with me anyways

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/garmin-forerunner-945-lte-in-depth-review.html

THey appear to have gone for the sensible options regarding LTE aka emergency use / tracking only. 

One other thing I really appreciate, is that they have decided to do their own LTE service. Meaning, you just pay Garmin the subscription fee (I think it said like $6/mo) and they deal with all the mobile carrier stuff on their end. So you don't need to sign up for service with Verizon, AT&T, etc. That's a big deal for me because I do not have cell service - my work provides my phone and service for me, and I don't want to have to sign up for new service with some mobile carrier just for my watch.

I guess it's kinda like how they do InReach service. You don't sign up for Iridium; instead, you just pay Garmin for the subscription, and Garmin deals with all the Iridium service stuff for you.

C.sco said:

same lack of golf activity,

What is your definition of "lack of golf activity? 

buy.garmin.com/.../compareResult.ep

C.sco said:

It is basically only for Livetracking and contacting emergency services. I don't understand why anyone would pay a monthly phone bill for that

It's $6.99 a month or $5.99 a month with an annual contract. The cheapest InReach subscription is $11.95 a month with 10 text messages and then additional charges after that. I don't understand why anyone would want to carry an additional device and pay that fee. :) 

This release would have been a great modest upgrade with the 260x260px display and the smaller form factor they used. With the 240px display, it's nothing particularly compelling, IMO.