Sports watch pioneer Garmin has unveiled its eagerly anticipated Forerunner 955 and Forerunner 255 series of watches following months of speculation.
The firm has introduced six watches in total. There are two Forerunner 955 models - Solar and Non-Solar options.
While the four Forerunner 255 series options are 41mm (255s) and 46mm (255) size choices, both of which are available to buy in music and non-music options.
Read more: Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar review: The ultimate adventure sports watch
Forerunner 955
This is the company’s new flagship running watch.
Both solar and non-solar versions of the watch have touchscreens in addition to Garmin’s signature five-button design.
The firm said the buttons can be used “separately, or in conjunction with the touchscreen”.
This approach was first introduced on the multisport watches Fenix 7 and Epix Second Gen.
Aside from the solar power difference, both 955 watches are identical.
The company said that support for multi-band GPS is more accurate than ever and the 49 hours of battery life in GPS mode means the wearables can cope with even the longest endurance races.
Forerunner 955 offers full colour maps (but not topographical) highlighting points of interest, and includes PacePro and ClimbPro route guidance tech introduced on previous Garmin models.
Training readiness is the firm’s useful indicator of how well you have rested and recovered. It advises you whether you’re ready to take on a challenge or whether you should leave it to another day.
HRV (heart rate variability) status constantly tracks your heart rate during sleep to help you get a better handle on recovery and an overall wellness picture.
Both of these revamped stats now take a prominent place in the menu of vital stats which will be familiar to existing Garmin users.
There’s also a new Morning Report feature that informs you of your sleep and HRV status from the night before.
The company said that the new race widget allows you to quickly see race prep information – including a race day-specific performance prediction, race day weather and a countdown clock.
Forerunner 955 also includes support for offline music playback and contactless payments along with smart notifications for calls, text messages, social media updates and alerts from both Apple and Android phones.
Forerunner 255 series
Garmin Forerunner 255 series comes in four different models.
Forerunner 255 and 255 Music both measure 46mm across, while Forerunner 255s and 255s Music are 41mm in diameter.
Aside from the smaller size of the two 255s models, the feature list is identical.
Both deliver up to 14 days’ battery life and 30 hours in GPS mode, and neither include the touchscreen technology of the Forerunner 955.
The music models both include the ability to download playlists to your wearable from Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music.
These stripped-down models still boast plenty of the new 955 features, including Morning Report, race widget and HRV status.
Multi-band GPS offers the same improved GPS tracking across different satellite bands.
You can also toggle between different sports profiles with a single button press, which is useful for triathletes and other multi-disciplinary athletes.
The company’s usual health metrics and features are present and correct too, such as Pulse Oximeter measurements, VO2 Max, training status and Garmin Coach.
Forerunner 255 watches can all utilise PacePro to help offer guidance during your run.
Pricing and availability
Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar costs €649.99 and Forerunner 955 Non-Solar costs €549.99.
Garmin Forerunner 255 (46mm) and Forerunner 255S (41mm) come in fun new colours – including tidal blue and light pink – and cost €349.99. Garmin Forerunner 255 Music and Forerunner 255S Music are also available now in black or whitestone and cost €399.
