Garmin announces the Forerunner 255 and the Forerunner 955
Garmin’s latest batch includes its first dedicated running smartwatch to use solar power, new training features and improved performance
In celebration of Global Running Day, Garmin has unveiled the latest in its range of GPS running smartwatches – the Forerunner 255 series and the 955 series – and they’re available to buy right now.
The 255 series is made up of four models, with the standard 255 joined by the 255 Music, the 255S and the 255S Music. Both the Forerunner 255 and 255 Music come with a 46mm case, while the 255S and 255S Music have smaller 41mm cases.
Battery life is said to be improved across the board, compared with the 245 series, with Garmin claiming the watches will run for up to 14 days in smartwatch mode or up to 30 hours in GPS mode.
Exact figures have yet to be confirmed for the battery life with music playing, but it’s likely there will be similar advancements on that front. What we do know, is that the Music models are capable of holding up to 500 songs, and support the downloading of playlists from Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.
Stamina isn’t the only change on offer here, either, with a handful of new features designed to help you push your running game to the next level. Full triathlon support allows you to switch up your workout routine with dedicated multisport profiles, jumping between different sports at the press of a button.
A new race widget gathers all the relevant race information – weather, performance predictions and a countdown clock – all in one place, and once you’ve scheduled a race, the watch’s Daily workout suggestions feature will adapt based on how long you have to go before race day.
There’s also a Morning report feature, which gathers data about the weather, your daily workout suggestions, along with information about the previous night’s sleep and your heart rate variability (HRV) status. This report can be customised, so if there’s something that you don’t find to be useful, you can remove it to streamline your display.
And the 255 series also now supports Garmin Pay, Native running power (when using a Garmin Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Pro chest belt) and supports multi-band GPS for more accurate pace and distance recordings in challenging conditions.
Garmin Forerunner 955 and 955 Solar: What’s new?
Race widgets, morning reports and HRV status are all coming to the new Forerunner 955 as well, along with a handful of other exciting improvements.
Like the Fenix 7 series, the 955 is getting touchscreen capability, allowing you to swipe between widgets and pan around maps more easily. There’s now a solar charging model, and the watch inherits some of the Fenix 7’s advanced metrics as well, including Real-time stamina and Training readiness.
As with the 255, the battery here is an improvement over the Forerunner 945, with Garmin stating that the 955 Solar is capable of lasting up to 20 days in smartwatch mode and up to 49 hours in GPS mode.
The 955 also has multi-band, multi-satellite-system GPS tracking, and supports running power natively although, again, only via Garmin’s Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Pro chest belt.
The Forerunner 255 and 255S are priced at £300, while the Music versions will both set you back £350. The Forerunner 955 Solar is will cost £550, with the non-solar version coming in at £480. We’ll be getting our hands on Garmin’s latest in the near future, so check back in with Expert Reviews soon to see our full impressions.