Garmin announced the Forerunner 225 yesterday, a new smartwatch that doubles as an all-day activity tracker. It is Garmin’s first GPS watch capable of monitoring heart rate at the wrist.
Unlike Garmin’s other smartwatches, the Forerunner 225 will not require a wireless chest strap to monitor heart-rate levels.
To make this possible, Garmin partnered with Mio, creators of the Mio Alpha.
“After more than 10 years of developing GPS running watches we are very excited to team up with Mio to introduce our first device featuring wrist-based heart rate,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales in a press release. “Getting and understanding your heart rate is more comfortable and easier than ever with the Forerunner 225’s real time results on a colorful gauge – allowing runners to evaluate and adjust effort quickly so they can focus on their run.”
The smartwatch sports a round display and colorful graphics and will show users their zone, beats per minute, calories and steps. The built-in accelerometer gathers distance and pace data to help the Forerunner 225 double as an activity tracker.
Garmin says the 225 will last users four weeks on a charge and is water resistant up to 50 meters.
The smartwatch allows dedicated runners to create goal-oriented custom workouts with vibration alerts to track their progress.
Users can save, plan and share their activities through Garmin Connect, Garmin’s mobile app available on Android and iOS.
The Forerunner 225 will be shipping in the second quarter of this year and retail at $300.00.