Forerunner 645 Series

I've had both, and hands down I would pick MIP all day. I run outdoors in the day. MIP is the best for that. Even at night, the backlight works perfectly fine for me. I'm still using a 645M with a small 41mm display, and even with my not so good eyesight, I have no problems reading the display. The day Garmin goes all in on OLED, is the day I start looking at smart watches instead.

How quickly does it charge? I've gotten used to popping my Garmin (FR645, FR945, Fenix 7s, then Fenix 7s Pro) on the charger for 10min or so while I shower and that is enough that I never have to worry about the battery. Think the same would be true of the Venu 4?

I had an Apple Watch Series 3 for many years. Then I bought a FR645 to try alongside, just for running. Loved it so much I decided to go full Garmin with a FR745. Loved that watch so much, until I smashed it climbing 🤦‍♀️ Decided to upgrade to a Fēnix 7S SS because I wanted maps and I clearly needed the sapphire glass. I’ve had the Fēnix maybe 2.5 years now. Recently, I thought I might prefer an Apple Watch as I am now dealing with chronic illness and have not been able to engage in any of my usual sporting/outdoor activities for 6 months. I lasted 3 weeks with an Apple Watch Series 11 before coming back to my Fēnix. I just prefer the MIP display, the battery and the buttons. I don’t really care for smart features. Also the workout screens and maps but obviously not using those much right now. Sold the Apple Watch yesterday. No regrets.

Does all the stuff, predates two major price hikes that didn't come with a lot of value-added. The 65 got a new screen and the 70 got a bunch of new metrics that aren't really actionable. Garmin's comparison tool is pretty good, you can line them up and decide for yourself if the newer ones add anything that's worth it to you. In case you missed it, someone else shouted out the 255 which I think is the best value going in a Garmin watch unless you want maps.

Lots of options. Check out the Venu series, Vivofit, and Vivoactive. IMO the value-added aspects of the Forerunner are around running and other aerobic endurance sports. Are those relevant to you?

Forerunner can be a great alternative to Fenix if you're price conscious. Or just last generation Fenix. Do you care about maps?

Forerunner does that stuff too. In general, higher-end Garmins add, they don't take away. Are you serious about any of your sports? Like planning seasons, building for events, that kind of thing?

Changed my mind... I think without an explicit indoor rowing activity profile and VO2max, the extra analysis stuff on the Forerunner won't really work. Not sure if any of the watches have that. I know there are some accepted equations to estimate that stuff, though I think you'd also need a reasonably accurate power meter on your rowing machine. So yeah, Venu or whatever is fine.

My opinion, go with the Forerunner. Check out all the chatter from people moving on from their Apple Watches - I get that some of the newer ones have much better support for running but you say you have an older one. And you're not going to want to carry your phone either. How much running have you done up to now?

Just got a 265 I am happy with

Same here. Loved my 645 but I am happy with the upgrade.

One of the issues i have with the Amoled display is that I can't seem to be able to use barcode reader to scan barcodes on the watch. With previous forerunner 645M, I had multiple barcode saved on the watch with barcode app. One of them was gym pass, and I had other ones for other specific rewards card. (I hate taking phone out all the time or bringing it sometimes when walking to the gym). Now that I upgraded to an Amoled screen, I can't seem to be able to use barcodes anymore. Not sure if anybody else can comment on this ? Other than that, sometimes the flick of the wrist isn't convenient to look at the time, but you get used to it

FR645 is what's on my wrist, I like the screen color and contrast. I also own a 6x, but the screen was lacking, although the golf function is much better on the Fenix.