On Tuesday, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app announced it is running a test in Canada starting later this week that hides the total number of likes on photos and videos. Likes, which are shown as hearts on the app, will be removed from the main feed, permalink pages and profiles.
While followers won't be able to see the total number of likes a post has received, the owner of the account still can.
"We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get," an Instagram spokesperson said.
The news was announced at Facebook's(FB) annual developer conference, F8, in San Jose.
The test is likely to elicit a range of reactions, from anger to relief. Likes are often used as a metric of popularity. Some Instagram users feel pressure to rack up the likes or post photos curated for the social media age, such as at Instagrammable pop-ups or social-media friendly restaurants. Not getting enough likes can even affect some users' self-esteem. According to some studies, Instagram is the most detrimental social networking app for young people's mental health.
"Likes are powerful because they are immediate feedback," said Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University. "In a way, likes give you the same kind of hit like a gambler gets at a slot machine."
Engeln said she's had young women tell her their day can be ruined when a post doesn't get enough likes. Sometimes they'll even delete the photo.
Although removing public-facing likes could result in users posting more authentic content and feeling less pressure on the platform, experts said it's not a cure-all solution.
"For teenagers, this is great because it would no longer highlight levels of popularity of themselves against other kids," said Randi Priluck, a professor and associate dean at Pace University focused on social media and mobile marketing. "But they're still going to see their own likes. People are very driven by rewards so they're still going to be competing for those likes. It's not going to fully solve the problem."
It also doesn't address or fix some of the other factors that can impact the self-esteem of people on the platform, such as bullying, feeling left out or thinking other people's lives are better or more glamorous than their own.
"None of that goes away when you take away likes," said Karen North, an expert in social media and psychology at the University of Southern California. "Regardless if Instagram takes away likes, you can't escape the inevitable that people will still compare their lives and feel inferior."
The move, if rolled out more broadly, could also cause some confusion for the influencer marketing industry. Social media stars working with brands on partnerships are often paid based on engagement on their posts, and part of that involves likes.
As a result, comments, follower counts or other metrics could become more important to people making money on Instagram.
"It will certainly create some near-term inefficiencies in how some of these deals get done," said Kamiu Lee, CEO of influencer marketing platform Activate. "In the long term, the industry will figure it out. It will just shift attention to some of these other things."
Other social networks, such as Twitter(TWTR), have also discussed the idea of making likes and follower counts less prevalent. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey even texted about it with rapper Kanye West, who shared screenshots from their conversation on his Twitter account.
Instagram's test was first spotted earlier this month by Jane Manchun Wong, a Hong Kong-based woman who searches for unreleased features in popular apps like Facebook and Instagram as a hobby.
At the time, an Instagram spokesperson denied the rumors and said: "We're not testing this at the moment, but exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we're always thinking about."
According to Google, the term “VR for the masses” dates back to at least 1994 when it referred to the Nintendo Power Glove and Sega 3D glasses. Several systems have taken the mantle since then, including the groundbreaking Oculus Rift, which set off a wave of VR enthusiasm in 2012. But it’s 2019, and VR’s acquaintance with the masses is still passing at best.
This is necessary context for any review of the Oculus Quest, another headset that’s supposed to give VR mainstream appeal. Oculus’ parent company Facebook is releasing the $399 Quest on May 21st, alongside an updated Oculus Rift model. After spending a week with the device, I’m convinced that the Quest has a lot to offer. In some ways, it might be the best headset on the market. But it’s still hampered with many of the same fundamental shortcomings we’ve seen for years in VR, and its convenient but low-powered design makes it a relatively pricey compromise.
7.5Verge Score
Good Stuff
New inside-out tracking works well
Convenient tetherless design
Supports some of the best VR games
Doesn’t require additional hardware
Bad Stuff
Less powerful than wired headsets
Sometimes uncomfortable
Screen is still grainy
More expensive than non-VR consoles
The Quest is Oculus’ fourth consumer VR headset. Like last year’s Oculus Go, it’s got a standalone design, which means it doesn’t connect to a phone or PC. But where the Oculus Go is meant for stationary TV or movie viewing, the Quest is a gaming device. It includes dual hand controllers instead of a single remote, and it’s studded with four wide-angle tracking cameras, which let users walk around a fairly large space. It will also support some of the Rift’s most popular experiences, including the rhythm game Beat Saber, rock-climbing title The Climb, and shooter Robo Recall.
The Oculus Quest maintains the original Rift’s minimalist aesthetic, unlike the new and completely redesigned Rift S. It’s got a body covered in black fabric and a trio of head straps, which work okay with the Quest’s increased weight, although it’s definitely a less comfortable experience. There’s also a slider for adjusting the distance between lenses. (The Rift S has gotten rid of the slider, a move that irked some people, including Oculus founder Palmer Luckey.) It’s even sleeker in some ways since the Rift’s headphones have been replaced by invisible directional speakers, although they leak sound so loudly that you might want to plug in earbuds anyway.
The Quest’s insides are stuffed with electronics, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 mobile chipset from 2017 and 64GB or 128GB of storage. It adds features like a volume rocker, a power button, and a USB-C charging port. There’s a battery that’s supposed to last between two and three hours; I’ve gotten a little over two hours while playing games. The Quest is notably heavier than the Rift, with a thick, convex front panel. It’s also completely wireless, and you don’t need a gaming PC to use it. These are massive improvements for both ease of use and mainstream appeal.
Even after years of using tethered VR, I still occasionally trip over cables or accidentally twist them around my feet. My Oculus Rift is also stuck in one fairly inconvenient location because that’s where my desktop computer lives. The Quest fixes both of these problems effortlessly. I’ve had bad experiences with Quest-style inside-out headset tracking on other headsets, but Oculus’ new “Insight” system genuinely seems to work. The cameras detect edges, so a totally bare room might cause problems, but I’ve used it in dim light — and at a few different locations — with no issues.
These cameras can also pass grainy, monochrome video to your screen. The HTC Vive and other headsets already offer this feature as an added convenience since it lets users see the real world without doffing their headsets. Here, it also makes mapping your play space incredibly easy. While VR calibration usually requires walking around a room to trace its boundaries, the Quest lets you simply put on the headset and paint virtual lines on the floor.
The Quest can theoretically remember up to five spaces and automatically swap between them, so you can move between rooms without repeating the setup. I haven’t gotten this to work consistently, but it’s a minor speed bump because redrawing the lines only takes a few seconds. Oculus has also shown off “arena-scale” VR with the Quest, teasing the possibility of nearly limitless virtual motion. For now, the Quest’s maximum play space is 25 by 25 feet; the system just won’t let you draw a boundary that’s larger.
Oculus is shipping the Quest and Rift S with the same controllers, which are slightly modified versions of its 2016 Oculus Touch design. The controllers’ motion seems as accurate as the headset’s, and I’ve had no trouble stretching my hands to the side or above my head. I lost tracking briefly when I first tried Beat Saber, a super fast game that involves flicking your hands at odd angles. But I played for hours, and it didn’t happen again. I’ve only had recurring issues with boxing game Creed where blocking a punch involves nearly touching my controllers to the headset. (I’ll admit that’s not a very common mechanic.)
I have experienced one odd issue: the Touch controllers froze once when I inadvertently knocked them together and again when I accidentally struck a piece of furniture, and I had to reboot them both times by pulling the AA batteries out. Oculus says it’s aware of the problem and that a software fix should come through by launch.
The new Touch controllers look a little different from the old ones, mostly because Oculus has flipped a tracking strip from below to above your hands where the head-mounted cameras can find it. The basic controls haven’t changed: you’ll still find the same two face buttons, dual triggers, and analog stick on each controller. The analog stick has been shifted upward, and the controller’s face is slightly narrower since Oculus has eliminated a capacitive Touch panel that detects a user’s thumb position. Resting your thumb on its buttons does the same thing, but I occasionally missed the feature in gesture-heavy games like Dance Central where I’d worry about accidentally clicking something while making a virtual fist.
This is an extremely minor gripe from a longtime Rift fan, and the Quest is aimed at newer users who almost certainly won’t notice. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the Quest as a step toward getting a billion people into virtual reality, and Oculus CTO John Carmack compared it to the Nintendo Switch: a device that’s lower-powered than big consoles like the Sony PlayStation 4, but it has succeeded because it’s convenient and relatively cheap.
The problem is that despite these efforts, I don’t think that the Quest has Switch-style mainstream appeal. It’s about as sophisticated and convenient as I can imagine a $399 VR headset getting in 2019. But VR, in general, is still clunky and socially awkward, and Oculus hasn’t really cracked those problems. While the headset is fairly well-balanced, it’s still heavy, and some sessions have left me with a throbbing forehead. The Quest’s screen is higher resolution than the original Rift’s, at 1600 x 1440 pixels per eye, and it uses improved lenses. But it’s still grainy. Like all headsets, it’s just a weird and conspicuous thing to wear on your face.
VR ostentatiously shuts out everyone around you, including roommates, children, and significant others. This can be appealing if you want some time alone, but if you want to be engaged with these people, it’s a real problem. Oculus is trying to fix this by letting the Quest stream video to a phone, Chromecast, or Nvidia Shield set-top box. To me, though, that almost feels worse. It’s like signaling that I won’t be paying any attention to my friends or husband, but they should still pay attention to me.
Cultural attitudes toward technology change, but they create an extra barrier for the Quest to overcome. I’m not sure the Quest can make the leap. Some VR headsets have been relatively successful — Sony’s PlayStation VR has sold 4.2 million units since November 2016, for example — but the key word is relatively. Nintendo shipped around 32 million Switch consoles, by contrast, in a shorter period of time. Sony also had a huge, established presence in the gaming world already, and it could tie the PSVR to a wildly successful console, which is something Oculus isn’t doing.
Unfortunately, the Quest isn’t simply a better, more convenient Rift. It can play smaller and less graphically intensive Rift games, and it supports some bigger games like The Climb and Robo Recall, although I haven’t gotten to test them. But it’s launching with only around 50 titles, a fraction of the Rift’s catalog. Oculus won’t be porting some of its hottest upcoming Rift titles, including the open-world role-playing game Stormland.
The VR games market is already small, so these gaps make the Quest less attractive. If VR games grow to the size of your typical big-budget console game, it’s not clear the Quest’s mobile hardware will be able to keep up. If you’ve got a spare $400, a tolerance for light physical and social discomfort, and a resistance to FOMO, this compromise might be right for you. Otherwise, you could wait for a price drop or some new technical breakthroughs or opt for a Rift or PlayStation VR, if you’re interested in exclusive games. Oculus says the Quest and Rift S complete its first generation of VR, and we don’t know what a second generation might bring.
As an Oculus Rift owner, I’m deeply tempted by the Quest. My five-year-old gaming PC is showing its age. I play a lot of Beat Saber, and I’d love having a self-contained headset with all of the Rift’s core features and none of its wires. I just wish I didn’t have to pick between a design I love and the games I want to play.
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Samsung has announced an unusual new TV that’s designed for “the millennial generation.” It’s a 43-inch vertical screen that’s optimized for viewing the same social media content you enjoy on your phone. In case, you know, you’ve always wanted to browse your Instagram feed on the big screen.
The TV is called The Sero, which translates to “The Vertical” in Korean. It features a simple mirroring function that lets you synchronize your mobile device display with the TV via NFC.
Since many photos and videos captured on smartphones and shared on social networks these days are in vertical (AKA portrait) orientation, The Sero allows those photos and videos to be enjoyed on the full vertical screen (perhaps even with room for comments on the bottom).
What’s more, if you’d like to view anything in conventional landscape orientation, you can easily rotate the screen on the stand.
The Sero will be released in Korea at the end of May 2019 with a hefty price tag of ₩18.9 million, or about $16,300. No word yet on if/when it will be sold in the US or how much it would cost outside of Korea.
Fresh markdows are in this Tuesday at Amazon, with Late 2018 11-inch iPad Pros falling to new record low prices. Save up to $300 instantly while supplies last.
The new, lower prices reflect an additional $25 to $100 discount on select models, with overall prices on the latest iPad Pros starting at $674.99. In addition to savings on tablets, Amazon is also issuing steep price cuts on MacBook Pros and even budget-friendly iPads. For a complete rundown of the latest offers, be sure to check out Amazon's Apple deals page, as well as our own Apple Price Guide, with the latter offering price comparison shopping across top Apple authorized resellers.
Brand-new markdowns
Plus save $125 to $200 on other 11" iPad Pros
12.9" iPad Pros (Late 2018) are also on sale
$999 13" MacBook Pros
Additional Apple Deals
AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:
Garmin is updating its line of Forerunner GPS running watches today with an entirely new lineup of watches, ranging from the entry-level $199.99 Forerunner 45 to the $599.99 Forerunner 945, which is meant for professional athletes.
The Forerunner 45 (and 45S, which is a smaller version of the 45) have gotten the biggest visual changes of the lineup. They have the same round watchface as the pricier models in the Forerunner lineup, along with some new tracking features for planning exercises throughout the day and support for Garmin’s Coach function. Like all of Garmin’s Forerunner watches, there’s a built-in heart rate sensor and onboard GPS.
The 245 (and 245 Music, which is the same as the 245, but with the option to locally store up to 500 songs) is an updated version of the 235, and it gets newly added support for stress and sleep tracking, more sports to track, and an updated UI. It also adds a pulse oximeter sensor for even more fitness data.
Lastly, there’s the new Forerunner 945, the $599.99 flagship of the lineup. The 945 adds a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen absorption, Garmin Pay for contactless purchases, and full-color maps for navigating while out running. It can store up to 1,000 songs locally (from compatible services like Spotify or Deezer), and there’s a new tool for analyzing past workout history to improve future training. Garmin promises up to two weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 36 hours in GPS mode, and up to 10 hours with both GPS and music active.
The Forerunner 45 models will be available later in May. The Forerunner 245, Forerunner 245 Music, and Forerunner 945 are available now.
This is a thicc ice cream sandwich boy.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Earlier this year, the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop made a splash at Mobile World Congress thanks to its massive size and 18,000mAh battery. But while everyone wants better battery life on their smartphones, it turns out no one wants it so bad that they’d be willing to lug around an inch-thick brick. Today, the phone’s Indiegogo campaign stumbled into oblivion, raising a mere $15,005 of its ambitious $1.2 million goal—a paltry 1.2 percent in total.
Still, it’s kind of hard to be terribly sad since this was clearly a stunt, to begin with. While we initially reported the phone would go on sale for 600 euros (roughly $675) this summer, Avenir Telecom—the suspect company behind the phone—went to Indiegogo in the first place. There’s a reason most tech journalists are wary of products that rely on crowdfunding campaigns. Most are gimmicky prototypes hocked by marketers that aren’t intended to see the light of day, regardless of how much media buzz it might get. The ones that do make it are usually run by companies like Sphero, which have a good reputation for bringing products to market, don’t really need the cash, and mostly use crowdfunding platforms to engage with a community of enthusiasts.
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There are definite signs that the Energizer phone’s Indiegogo campaign was more stunt than a realistic fundraising attempt. Although it offered a discounted $549 early bird price, $1.2 million is a lofty goal that would’ve required significantly more backers than the eleven it actually received. That means an average contribution of over $1,300 per backer, which doesn’t bode well for the viability of any crowdfunded project. Secondly, this sort of product always does well on a stage like Mobile World Congress, where it offers the exact sort of novelty and spectacle that grizzled tech writers and enthusiasts can gawk at. In real life? The market for the P18K was always going to be much more niche, especially given its chunky build.
This will not fit in my jean pocket.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Originally, the phone was meant to deliver 90 hours of call time, 100 hours of music playback, two days of video playback, and 50 days of standby all on a single charge. Now, I would love that but not at the expense of lugging around an actual brick in my purse.
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It seems Avenir Telecom has taken its massive failure to heart. In the comments section of the campaign, the company stated, “Although it didn’t reach its goal, we will work on further improvement on the P18K (design, thickness, etc.) as we do believe there is a rising interest for smartphones with incredible battery life, which can also be used as power banks.”
Cool. Call us when it’s thinner. For now, us regular folks are perfectly fine settling for an extra charger or external battery.
The Energizer Power Max P18K Pop, an Energizer phone with a massive 18,000mAh battery, has finally finished ringing its death knell, after a wildly unsuccessful Indiegogo campaign saw it receive only 1% of the required funding.
The massive handset was shown off at MWC 2019 in February, and launched on Indiegogo in late March. However it doesn't seem like many people were taken with the Energizer-branded phone – the crowdfunding window is now closed, and the device only ended up raising $15,000 / £11,000, with 11 backers.
Avenir Telecom, who licenses the Energizer name for use on smartphones, set the crowdfunding goal at a whopping $1.2 million / £920,000, and at $599 / £461 for an individual phone, the company would need to ship 2,000 of the handsets to reach the goal.
There were also savings for multi-buy pledges, which seem to be what the few backers chose to fund, so in reality Energizer likely anticipated shipping 2,500 or 3,000 phones. Now, however, it looks like the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop will never see the light of day
Why did the Energizer phone fail?
We've already written an in-depth analysis of why no-one funded the Energizer phone, but to put it simply, there's a very limited audience for a phone the size and weight of a brick.
Despite some pretty intriguing and novel features, like the dual-sensor pop-up camera and the massive battery, we just couldn't see anyone choosing to spend their money on the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop, especially when other great phones exist for the same price.
At the end of the day, the Energizer phone was just a novelty – one with a long, confusing name too.
Garmin is following in Fitbit's footsteps by adding new female-focused tracking features to its companion Connect app.
Announced alongside its new Foreunner 45 series, Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 945 watches, the new Menstrual Cycle Tracking feature will enable Garmin users to track their cycle, log symptoms, receive predictions for period and fertile windows and get educational insights from their Garmin Connect app.
Garmin says the new feature was developed by women and is inclusive of all cycle types (so, regular cycle, irregular, pre-menopausal and menopausal). Connect users will receive insights based on which phase of their cycle with some insight examples including:
- “Once your period starts, you might find it easier to push yourself physically. In 2002, Paula Radcliffe broke the world record for the fastest marathon in Chicago while dealing with menstrual cramps.”
- “Your body naturally craves high amounts of protein at this point in your cycle. Lentils, seeds or lean meats are great options to keep you going.”
- “During the first 2 weeks of your cycle, your body is primed for maximum strength, speed and power. This is the best time to focus on more challenging strength training.”
Users will also be able to track daily physical and emotional symptoms and aims to bring awareness to fluctuations in things like sleep, mood, appetite and athletic performance. Additional features can be unlocked with Garmin devices that are compatible with Garmin's Connect IQ store letting users get cycle tracking information and discreet period reminders.
Garmin's Health division is also sponsoring a research study at The University of Kansas Medical Center to examine how wearables and the data they produce can assist menstrual cycle tracking and ovulation prediction. So there's clearly scope that these features could become even more useful and insightful in the future.
The Menstrual Cycle Tracking feature will work with the Forerunner 645 Music, vÃvoactive 3, vÃvoactive 3 Music and fÄ“nix 5 Plus Series watches. Garmin plans to add the functionality to the Fenix 5 Series, Fenix Chronos, Forerunner 935, Forerunner 945, Forerunner 645, Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245 Music 'soon'.
The first report of a broken Galaxy Fold screen caused alarm. By the fifth, many onlookers had lost faith in Samsung's brave new foldable phone design. Samsung's one saving grace in the embarrassing, sensationalized debacle is that the issues -- three in all -- were discovered on early production units in reviewers' hands, and Samsung is delaying the Fold's official release to address what went wrong. (CNET's review unit was never affected.) These weren't the devices that Samsung customers had shelled out $1,980 apiece for, and that means the world's largest phone-maker has another shot, perhaps a slim one, to make things right.
By now, Samsung has reclaimed the Galaxy Fold units, defective and whole alike. Returning those units after a 10-day review period was always part of the deal. But there's little doubt that Samsung is also attempting to run damage control on what has become a runaway situation and a black eye for the brand's reputation as an innovator.
There's still a sliver of hope for the Fold after its new shipping date in June. After shoring up problems with the screen and hinge -- which are easily damaged and compromised -- and after finding ways to communicate to future Fold owners that they should never, under any circumstance, remove the protective screen film, there's still one thing the brand must do: give Fold owners a red carpet experience.
The Galaxy Fold is not your typical phone by a long shot. At twice the cost of the excellent Galaxy S10 Plus, the Fold represents a new category that makes it phone and tablet in one. If Samsung wants to position the Fold as a "luxury" device, it will need to make buyers feel like they're part of an exclusive club with accelerated customer service, free upgrades, gifts and sneak peeks. After all, who doesn't love a good perk?
Buyers of high-end goods and services are already conditioned to expect giveaways, exclusive experiences and personalized attention. Take for example, owners of luxury cars who get a dedicated concierge service or free track instruction; winery members who are invited to private dinner pairings; and frequent fliers with airline status that gets them First Class upgrades and warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.
Galaxy Fold buyers need a little incentive.
Angela Lang/CNET
Samsung, and its carrier partners, should extend a version of that philosophy to bring buyers back on board. The Galaxy Fold has a delicate screen. If it breaks, will Samsung offer an immediate fix or repair and a loaner phone in the meantime? What about a dedicated customer service number to troubleshoot issues?
The Galaxy Fold comes with a case and a set of wireless Galaxy Buds in the box, but maybe Fold buyers should also get access to elite wallpapers, a mountain of Samsung Rewards points that can be redeemed for other items, or $20 free Samsung Pay credit.
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Paying $2,000 for a phone was already a lot to ask even before the Fold's screen issues turned early buyers into guinea pigs for emerging technology. Samsung should want to reduce buyers' skittishness, and work to hook their loyalty, by reducing the risk of ownership while also making it worth people's effort to go out on a limb for a product do-over.
Will perks make buyers come back? Maybe not the on-the-fence observers or industry watchers who prefer to wait for bendable glass screens or cheaper entry prices.
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But for the bleeding-edge early adopters for whom the Fold may not be an only phone, or those who are still committed to the foldable phone vision, knowing that Samsung is providing both a safety net and a carrot could make enough of a difference to give the Galaxy Fold a second chance.
Garmin has been slowly updating its smartwatches and fitness trackers over the past few years, and 2019 appears to be the year of the Forerunner. Today, Garmin announced three new types of Forerunner smartwatches—the Forerunner 45 and 45S, the Forerunner 245 and 245 Music, and the Forerunner 945—that will replace all but one of its existing Forerunner lineup. The remaining device is the $449 Forerunner 645 Music, which came out about one year ago and was the first of Garmin's wearables to have onboard music storage.
The new devices that make up the new lineup have slightly new designs and many new features. However, Garmin's naming system doesn't really help differentiate one smartwatch from another, so we'll break down the devices here. The most affordable of the bunch are the Forerunner 45 and 45S, both of which start at $199. The "S" signifies a smaller case size, so users can choose between the 42mm Forerunner 45 or the 39mm Forerunner 45S.
Garmin says these are designed for newbie runners or those starting a new exercise plan, and that thinking likely led to its affordable price tag and its array of features. Like most Garmin smartwatches, the Forerunner 45 and 45S track all-day activity and sleep, deliver smartphone alerts to your wrist, and are easy on the eyes thanks to an always-on, sunlight-friendly display. Even though the Forerunner 45 watches are the most affordable of the bunch, they still have a heart-rate monitor and built-in GPS, so users can make outdoor runs without the help of a smartphone.
Other workout profiles are available on the watches as well, like elliptical and yoga, and it will calculate Garmin's Body Battery score, which tells you how to plan workouts and rest periods based on your current lifestyle. Both the Forerunner 45 and 45S should last one week on a single charge when in smartwatch mode and up to 13 hours in GPS mode.
If you take everything the Forerunner 45 watches can do and add music storage, pulse ox, and running dynamics tracking, you get the Forerunner 245 and 245 Music (which start at $299 and $349, respectively). This device is designed for runners who have a bit more miles under their belts but aren't training for triathlons yet. The 245 Music can hold up to 500 songs from various partner platforms including Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer, as well as a user's personal tracks. The sensors inside the Forerunner 245 watches will measure VO2 max, aerobic and anaerobic training effects, and pulse ox, or how your body absorbs oxygen into the blood.
It can also connect to external sensors like a running dynamics pod and heart-rate chest straps to capture more running data while you train. The Forerunner 245 watches have the same one-week battery life as the Forerunner 45 watches do when in smartwatch mode, but they'll last up to 24 hours in GPS mode or six hours when using GPS and music playback simultaneously.
Garmin's new menstrual-tracking features in the Connect mobile app.
The $599 Forerunner 945 can do everything the Forerunner 245 Music can do and more. It can hold up to 1,000 songs and will have even more onboard workout profiles to track, including skiing, hiking, golfing, and others. The 945 will also have NFC for Garmin Pay, so users can pay for coffee, groceries, and other things on their way home from a run without having their wallets.
Garmin added a new metric to this watch as well—dubbed training load focus, it will sort your recent activity into different training categories based on the structure and intensity of those activities. In addition to full-color, on-screen maps and trackable metrics that will please triathletes, the Forerunner 945 should last up to two weeks in smartwatch mode, 36 hours in GPS mode, or 10 hours when using GPS and music playback together.
The Forerunner family had six devices before and will continue to have six devices with this revamp, but the new smartwatches have modern designs that will appeal to fans of the Vivoactive series. They also fall more neatly into the categories listed on Garmin's website: teammate, mentor, and expert. It's possible that more runners will want to give the Forerunner series a try now, and more users will consider the series now that it's better designed and that all of Garmin's newest wearable features are represented across the board.
In addition to new devices, Garmin announced a big change coming to the Garmin Connect mobile app—female health tracking. Now, female users can input menstrual cycle and symptom information into a dedicated section of the Connect mobile app to track their cycles. I haven't gotten a chance to test out the new features yet, but screenshots provided by Garmin show a menstrual-cycle tracker similar to Fitbit's and that of dedicated female health-tracking apps. Garmin's technology will also provide training and nutritional suggestions based on the information users provide, and those with a Garmin wearable can get cycle information and tracking reminder alerts on their wrists if they please.
Fitbit introduced female health tracking into its mobile app last year—while Fitbit's app has always been more user-friendly than Garmin Connect, the addition of female health tracking made it that much more inclusive. Now that Garmin has a similar feature, female users have more options when it comes to smartwatches and fitness trackers that have companion apps in which they can track all different aspects of their health.
Menstrual-cycle tracking will be available in the Garmin Connect app soon via an update. The Forerunner 45 and 45S will be available in May, while the Forerunner 245, Forerunner 245 Music, and the Forerunner 945 are available today on Garmin's website. Keep an eye out on Ars for Forerunner smartwatch reviews in the coming weeks.
Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.
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