Fitbit Versa 4 vs Garmin Forerunner 745
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: 2022
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: 2020
🏃 Activity
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The Fitbit Versa 4 provides comprehensive activity tracking, capturing steps, distance, calories burned, and floors climbed with precision. Its Active Zone Minutes feature is a key tool for optimizing workout effectiveness by tracking time spent in personalized heart rate zones. The integrated built-in GPS facilitates accurate real-time pace and distance monitoring for outdoor activities such as running, cycling, and hiking, offering valuable data without requiring a paired smartphone.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Garmin Forerunner 745 is a purpose-built GPS smartwatch for runners and triathletes, offering detailed tracking of steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with daily goals. It provides advanced running dynamics and performance monitoring tools essential for serious training.
❤️ Health Monitoring
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Utilizing advanced PurePulse 2.0 technology, the Versa 4 offers continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring, providing insights into resting heart rate trends and real-time heart rate zones during exercise. It integrates advanced sleep and stress management features for a more holistic view of the user's well-being.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: This device features continuous heart rate monitoring, advanced physiological metrics including VO2 max estimation, training status, and training load focus. It also tracks respiration rate, providing a comprehensive view of an athlete's health and recovery.
🔋 Battery Life
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: A significant advantage of the Versa 4 is its impressive battery life, offering over 6 days of power on a single charge. The inclusion of fast charging capabilities means a full day's power can be acquired in just 12 minutes, minimizing downtime and ensuring consistent tracking.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 offers up to 1 week of battery life in smartwatch mode. For GPS-intensive activities, it provides up to 16 hours of tracking, which is sufficient for most races and training sessions.
😴 Sleep Tracking
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Detailed sleep tracking on the Versa 4 monitors sleep duration and analyzes sleep stages (light, deep, and REM). It provides a comprehensive Sleep Score and personalized insights within the app to help users understand and improve their sleep quality effectively.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: Advanced sleep monitoring is included, analyzing sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) and incorporating a Pulse Ox sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep, offering valuable data for assessing recovery and overall well-being.
📍 GPS Tracking
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Versa 4 accurately tracks real-time pace and distance for outdoor activities independently of a smartphone. Post-workout, users can review detailed route maps and intensity zone breakdowns directly within the Fitbit app.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: Equipped with built-in GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, the Forerunner 745 provides highly accurate outdoor activity tracking without needing a paired smartphone. It delivers precise pace, distance, and route data critical for accurate training logs and race performance analysis.
🏋️ Workout Modes
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Supporting an extensive library of over 40 workout modes, the Versa 4 caters to a wide array of physical activities, from running and cycling to swimming, HIIT, strength training, and yoga. During workouts, it displays live performance statistics, including heart rate, pace, and calorie burn, to inform training intensity.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 supports a wide range of workout modes tailored for running, biking, swimming, triathlon, and more, with real-time statistics displayed during activities and advanced metrics for post-workout analysis.
💫 Exercise Recognition
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The integrated SmartTrack technology offers automatic detection and recording of common exercises such as walking, running, cycling, and elliptical workouts. This feature streamlines the tracking process, ensuring activities are logged even if the user forgets to manually start a workout.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities like walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring seamless recording of these basic movements within the overall training log.
🍎 Compatibility
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The Versa 4 ensures broad compatibility with both Android and iOS devices, connecting via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Android users benefit from Google Fast Pair for quick and effortless initial setup.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications.
📲 App Support
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Synchronization with the feature-rich Fitbit app provides users with a centralized platform for comprehensive health tracking and in-depth fitness insights. Compatibility with popular third-party applications like Strava, Google Fit, Apple Health, and MyFitnessPal allows for seamless data integration into existing fitness ecosystems.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: Synchronization with the robust Garmin Connect app is fundamental, providing detailed analysis of training data, performance metrics, and health statistics. The app allows for creating and downloading workouts, accessing training plans, and connecting with the Garmin community.
💡 Smart Features
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Beyond fitness, the Versa 4 offers notable smart features, including the reception of call, text, and app notifications. Integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant provides convenient voice control. Support for Fitbit Pay and Google Wallet enables contactless payments directly from the wrist.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: Beyond its primary focus on sports, the Forerunner 745 includes practical smart features such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments and allows for on-device music storage with support for streaming services, enabling phone-free training with music.
💦 Water Resistance
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: With a 5 ATM water resistance rating (up to 50 meters), the Versa 4 is built to withstand swimming, showering, and general water exposure, making it a versatile companion for various activities.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: With a water resistance rating of 50 meters (5 ATM), the Forerunner 745 is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a reliable device for triathletes and swimmers to track their aquatic training segments.
⌚ Display Quality
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The device features a bright and highly responsive AMOLED touchscreen display. An always-on display mode offers convenient at-a-glance access to information, and customizable watch faces allow for personalization of the visual interface.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 features a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) color display. While not as vibrant as AMOLED, this display technology offers excellent readability in direct sunlight and is highly power-efficient.
👌 Ease of Use
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The Versa 4 is designed for intuitive interaction, featuring a responsive touchscreen complemented by a haptic side button for efficient navigation. Its seamless synchronization with the Fitbit app facilitates effortless data tracking and analysis.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The device utilizes a five-button interface, which is preferred by many athletes for reliable operation during intense workouts or in various weather conditions. The user interface is designed for quick and easy access to training data and key features.
✨ Design and Comfort
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The Versa 4 features a sleek and lightweight aluminum case paired with a comfortable soft silicone band, ensuring suitability for all-day wear. The design supports interchangeable bands, offering options for personalization to match individual style preferences.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 features a compact and durable design with a comfortable silicone band, optimized for a secure fit during intense training sessions and suitable for all-day wear.
🩸 SpO2 Monitoring
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: An integrated SpO2 sensor allows for tracking blood oxygen levels specifically during sleep. This provides valuable data that can help users identify potential breathing irregularities during the night and gain insights into their respiratory health.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep and spot-checks throughout the day, providing valuable data related to acclimatization and recovery.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: It is important to note that the Fitbit Versa 4 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) monitoring.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: It is important to note that the Garmin Forerunner 745 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
🧘 Stress Tracking
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: Stress levels are monitored through the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The Versa 4 provides access to guided breathing exercises and mindfulness tools within the app, offering practical resources for stress management.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The Forerunner 745 tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote recovery.
🩹 Recovery Tracking
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The Daily Readiness Score is a key feature that assesses the body's preparedness for strenuous activity by analyzing sleep quality, recent activity levels, and heart rate variability. This helps users make informed decisions about when to push their limits and when to prioritize rest.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: The device provides advanced recovery insights, including recovery time advisor, training status, and training load focus, helping athletes understand the impact of their training and optimize their recovery strategies to prevent overtraining.
💳 Subscription
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: The core functionalities of the Versa 4 are available without a subscription. However, access to advanced insights, a wider range of guided workouts, and more in-depth sleep tracking features requires a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99/month or $79.99/year).
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Forerunner 745 are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality or advanced training analysis.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Fitbit Versa 4: $229.95
Check Fitbit Versa 4 Price *2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 745: $499.99
Check Garmin Forerunner 745 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you