Garmin is introducing two new running watches to its Forerunner portfolio just in time for Global Running Day: the $349.99 Forerunner 255 and the $499.99 Forerunner 955. Both GPS watches include multi-band GPS as well as new racing capabilities such as a race widget. The Forerunner 955 will also be available in a Solar version, which will include solar charging for even longer battery life.
The Forerunner 255 is a lightweight, intermediate running watch that is an improvement over the Forerunner 245. It will be available in two sizes. The normal Forerunner 255 will be 46mm in diameter and 49 grammes in weight, while the smaller 255S will be 41mm in diameter and 32 grammes in weight. There will also be Forerunner 255 Music and 255S Music models, which can store up to 500 songs on the watch itself. According to Garmin, this includes playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer. The Music models will cost an additional $50, bringing the total to $399.99. The watches are water-resistant to 5ATM and have a battery life of 14 days, with up to 30 hours in GPS mode.
The biggest changes this time around are a redesigned racing widget, HRV status during sleep, multi-band GPS, and the option for triathletes to transition between sports with a single button click. The race widget will feature race preparation information such as performance forecasts, race-day weather, and a countdown clock. Multi-band GPS is a function that is becoming increasingly popular on multisport watches. It improves GPS accuracy by allowing connection with various satellite bands. The promise is improved accuracy in circumstances where a good signal is difficult to obtain. Finally, the watch has a “morning report” feature. When a user wakes up, the watch will provide a brief review of the day’s weather, a daily workout recommendation, and a report on the previous night’s sleep, recuperation time, training status, and HRV status.
In comparison to the Forerunner 245, the Forerunner 255 series includes an NFC chip for Garmin Pay. Sensorial, it’s not that different. It still has continuous heart rate monitoring and SpO2 sensors for features like Body Battery. The statistic assesses how well you recovered during sleep as well as how “tired” you are from stress during the day. The Forerunner 255 series will also offer standard smartwatch functions like push notifications, as well as Garmin’s safety features like incident detection and live monitoring. In terms of training capabilities, it will also provide users with daily workout suggestions, access to training programmes via Garmin Coach, and in-depth stats via the Garmin Connect app.
The Forerunner 955, on the other hand, is more of a high-end running watch. (However, it isn’t quite as feature-rich as Garmin’s flagship Fenix series.) It weighs 52 grammes and has a 47mm always-on, full-colour touchscreen display. However, button enthusiasts need not panic. The 955 retains five physical buttons that can be utilised in conjunction with the touchscreen. It has the same water-resistant rating as the 255 series but has a somewhat longer battery life of 15 days, with 42 hours in GPS mode. A $599.99 Forerunner 955 Solar with Garmin’s proprietary Power Glass lens is also available. With solar charging, the 955 Solar can last up to 20 days and 49 hours in GPS mode. (This assumes three hours a day under 50,000 lux settings, so take that with a grain of salt.)
The Forerunner 955, like the Forerunner 255 series, includes multi-band GPS, HRV status, morning reports, and the new race widget. It also offers a new metric for training preparedness. As the name suggests, the measure considers sleep, recovery time, HRV, and a few other factors to provide users with a score indicating how “ready” they are for a training session. It also has real-time stamina tracking, which Garmin pioneered with the Fenix 7 series.
The Forerunner 955 includes the same standard features as the 255 in terms of health tracking and smart functions. It does, however, include a few more training measures, such as PacePro and ClimbPro, which provide real-time advice on your pace and elevation. You can also store more songs on the 955 — 2,000 to be exact.
Both Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 are now available. The Forerunner 255 comes in four different colours: grey, pink, blue, and black. Meanwhile, the Forerunner 955 comes in both white and black.
