Garmin's new budget Forerunner undercuts its own lineup, and it's the pick of the week

Garmin doesn't often make its budget watches genuinely exciting, but the newest entry-level Forerunner earns a look. Priced at $249.99/£219.99/AU$399, it upgrades meaningfully over the ageing Forerunner 55, which had started to feel dated next to the Coros Pace 3 and Amazfit's mid-range lineup.

What makes it stand out

Garmin's running metrics and GPS accuracy remain the best in the budget tier, full stop. Battery life, sleep tracking and training load data all carry over from Garmin's pricier watches, without the AMOLED screen or full-colour maps that push the Forerunner 265 and above towards £400-plus.

Who it's for

New and intermediate runners who want Garmin's training data without paying Garmin's flagship prices. If you've been eyeing a Forerunner 265 but balking at the price, this is the watch Garmin actually wants you to buy first.

The honest caveat

The display is a step down from Garmin's AMOLED watches, a transflective panel that's easy to read in sunlight but less punchy indoors, and there's no onboard music storage. If you want maps or Spotify offline playback, you'll need to look higher up Garmin's range, or at the Amazfit T-Rex 3 Ultra, which trades some running-specific polish for genuinely enormous 24-45 day battery life.