Garmin Forerunner 235

Fitness trackers / Built-in data readout

The Garmin Foreunner 235 is a watch based fitness tracker with a 1.2 inch color transreflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display, real-time heart rate monitor, step counting, sleep tracking and calories burned.

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CR Expert Take

How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.

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Current Range of Tested Fitness trackers

What goes into the Overall Score?

Ease of use

/ 5

Step count accuracy

/ 5

Heart-rate monitor accuracy

/ 5

Versatility

/ 5

Ease of interaction

/ 5

Readability in bright light

/ 5

Readability in low light

/ 5

Ease of pairing

/ 5

Water resistance

/ 5

Detailed Test Results

Overall this model was very easy to use, very accurate for counting steps, and excellent at measuring heart-rate accuracy. With recent version iPhones, our experts found it somewhat easy to pair, very easy to interact with, and likewise for recent version Android phones, very easy to pair, very easy to attach to the body, and very easy to recharge the battery. In our water immersion test it passed the manufacturer's claim of 164 feet for 10 minutes.

About

You can broadcast your heart rate data from your Forerunner 235 device and view it on paired Garmin devices. For example, your heart rate data to a Garmin Edge device while cycling, or to a VIRB action camera. Can create custom workouts that include goals for each workout and for varied distances, times, and calories. You can create workouts using Garmin Connect or select a training plan that has built-in workouts. Can create interval workouts based on distance or time; saves your custom interval workout until you create another. Use open intervals for track workouts and when you are running a known distance. The Forerunner 235 has a wrist-based heart rate monitor and is compatible with ANT+ heart rate monitors. Manually enter heart rate values and set the range for each zone. Has VO2 Max which is the maximum volume of oxygen (in milliliters) you can consume per minute per kilogram of body weight at your maximum performance. VO2 Max is an indication of athletic performance and should increase as your level of fitness improves. The Forerunner 235 requires wrist based heart rate or a compatible chest heart rate monitor (sold separately) to display your VO2 Max estimate. Has Recovery Heart-rate monitor so you can check your recovery heart-rate value after each activity. Recovery heart rate is the difference between your exercising heart rate and your heart rate two minutes after the exercise has stopped; higher numbers generally indicate healthier hearts. You can add Connect IQ features to your watch from Garmin and other providers using the Connect IQ Mobile app. You can customize your device with watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps. You can connect with your friends on Garmin Connect that also gives you the tools to track, analyze, share, and encourage each other and record the events of your active lifestyle including runs, walks, rides, swims, hikes, triathlons, and more.

Features & Specs

Features

Activity results read from device

Yes

Displays time

Yes

Touch screen

Color display

Yes

Display type

sunlight-visible color transreflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Backlight

Yes

Real-time heart-rate monitor

Yes

Heart-rate monitor type

Active

Heart-rate monitor requires chest strap

Step counting

Yes

Inactivity alerts

Yes

Multi-sport tracking

walking, running, swimming, bicycling, treadmill, hiking

Sensor types

optical heart-rate, accelerometer

WiFi

Music controls

Yes

Standalone GPS

Connected GPS

Yes

OS compatibility

iOS, Android

App name

Garmin Connect

Battery life (days)

Battery removable

Notifications

Yes

Notification types

calls, and texts

Socialization

Socialization features

Sleep tracking

Yes

Sleep sensing method

Auto

Floors climbed

Alarm type

vibration, sound

Included accessories

Quick start manual, charging cable with clip

SpO2 sensor

GPS tracking

Bluetooth USB dongle

Food tracking

Specs

Type

watch

Sizes

one size with adjustable strap

Display size (in.)

1.2

Width

Depth

Weight (oz.)

1.4

Warranty (yrs.)

Dimensions (WxD)

1.8 x 0.5

Color

Price & Shop

Garmin Forerunner 235

CR Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

Detailed Test Results

About

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