1st June: Garmin confirms launch date (likely 255 & 955)
Review: Garmin Forerunner 955 Review now ready
Review: Garmin Forerunner 255 Review now ready
Edit: First Thoughts ‘Review’ on the Garmin Edge 1040 Here
Here we go. Wednesday 1st of June is re-confirmed as a launch date and this time directly by Garmin. As Garmin says, this is a big reveal (but we already know what it is)
Wednesday 1st is World Running and this will almost certainly be the launch of 4x Forerunner 255 Series running watches and 2x Forerunner 955 Series triathlon watches.
These are the models and they are available now
- Garmin Forerunner 955 SOLAR £550: here
- Garmin Forerunner 955 £480: here
- Garmin Forerunner 255 £300: here
- Garmin Forerunner 255s (small) £300: here
- Garmin Forerunner 255 Music £350: here
- Garmin Forerunner 255s (small) Music £350: here
We’ve known this information for quite some time so here are some more details on the features
The Garmin Edge 1040/Solar is also pending imminent release but that will DEFINITELY be later in the month and not on the same day.
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specs @fitness-tracker-test.info
Forerunner 255 – Basic specs
Forerunner 245 Forerunner 255S Forerunner 255
Display transfl. MIP display transfl. MIP display transfl. MIP display
Display size 1,2″ 1,1″ 1,3″
Resolution 240 x 240 218 x 218 260 x 260
Pixel density 200 PPI 200 PPI 200 PPI
Wristband 20 mm
Quick Release 18 mm
Quick Release 22 mm
Quick Release
There has been little innovation relating to transflective MIP displays so the display of the Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 255 should be pretty similar. At 1.3 inches, the Forerunner 255’s display has been enlarged, while the Forerunner 255S’ display shrinks to 1.1 inches.
Those who were hoping for an AMOLED display will be disappointed.
Forerunner 255 – Battery life
Battery life has been improved in general. While there are only minor improvements when using GPS, in smartwatch mode the battery lasts twice as long.
Forerunner 245 Forerunner 255S Forerunner 255 Forerunner 955
Smartwatch mode up to 7 days up to 14 days up to 14 days up to 15 days
GPS up to 24 hours up to 30 hours up to 30 hours up to 42 hours
GPS + Music up to 6 hours up to 6.5 hours up to 6.5 hours up to 8.5 hours
Although the specs have been taken from an official Garmin document, I wonder why in terms of battery life there are no differences between the small Forerunner 255S and the bigger Forerunner 255.
Forerunner 255 – Connectivity
There are no real surprises concerning the sports watch’s connectivity, except for the multi-band support. At least that’s what I think it is. The german source states “Multi-Frequenz GNSS” which translates to multi-frequency GNSS which in turn should be multi-band GNSS. If this translation is wrong, please correct me in the comments.
Multi-band capabilities (aka L1/L5) allow for using L1 and L5 frequencies. By doing so, the position tracking is supposed to significantly enhance. At the same time, the multi-band feature puts a major load on the battery.
Apologies for the formatting issues…
Based on these specs, the 255 could be a very good choice for someone who primarily runs. The key (for me) will be whether it has the 4 week training load focus like the 945 has.
https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner945/EN-US/GUID-C3205D96-DAB6-4C93-A225-5B8D7B5A5621.html
Now it’s possible to create run workouts based on power zones(Watts). Seems native power is coming
where did you get that from pls?
@TFK – Opinion/Prediction time! What’s going to be the better/bigger release 955 vs 255[s]. Obviously 955 is higher end, but is one of the going to be a bigger disruptor in its category/the industry as a whole?
great question!
my guess:
255/255s – has two size formats so that will make more of an impact on the current status quo
955 is just an upgrade.
Today Garmin Connect has been updated. Now if you create a run workout in target type you can choose power in watts(power zone)
The decision to give the 42 mmm FR255s a 1.1 inch display, which s smaller than the FR245 and thus creating a larger bezel is simply insane!
Connect App ‘Workout Intensity’ now includes Power
It appears that if Garmin pushes native running power to other watches, a firmware update will be needed. I created a power based workout and ran with an EPIX 2 and Stryd. The result was similar to using a power based workout created in Trainingpeaks, where in the workout the Watts generated appear as two dashes –.
This assumes that they intend to play nice with Stryd and permit non Garmin power sources.
Update connect in google play (not yet available in web), create structured running workout.
ah with power? i just posted on that which someone else reported. thank you as well
Ho do you know the 1040 is later release? I was hoping for the 1st
yes i believe it’s next week not this week like the watches
Do we know at what time exactly is release?
On Android app of Garmin Connect you can define a workout based on power. I have created one, sent to my Fenix 6 and there it was! Next step I connected a Stryd as power meter, footpod and both (Ant+) but it seems no reading to the garmin field both for running and treadmill profiles.
did you try the Garmin running power ciq fields? having one of those ‘live’ in the profile might pipe through Garmin’s power calculations. would be interesting to see if it sets off the alerts if you go too slow/fast
stryd doesn’t broadcast running power over an ant+ standard ‘profile/protocol’ as there is no such thing (yet). so garmin can’t ‘see it’ unless there is a stryd data field or app present.
we will all know tomorrow how Garmin’s use of power will work. either our Stryds will work with the new watches and maybe older ones or not.
stryd will definitely still work. it looks like garmin are pre-installing their own CIQ power as a widget. how and if that interacts with stryd’s power and the data displayed and recorded, IDK
So, we’ll have an extra CIQ field to use and running power we’ll be used as cycling one?
But in that case my doubts are critical power (or Stryd power values that differ too much from Garmin ones) and how Harmin will handle them
garmin and stryd values will be totally different.
if garmin use the cycling power field, and that IS possible but unlikely, then there will be various data disasters in strava nad in their own tools. we’ve been down this rabbit hole a couple of years back and hope we don’t go there again. it should be ok.
Forerunner 955 to buy 🙂
https://www.trionik.de/forerunner-955-solar-black-s483251.html?utm_source=idealo
thank you
hi a new image or two there but we need some more details on the specs!
955 & 255 now listed @ Garmin.com
yep, ready to buy here: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=1857&awinaffid=604495&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wiggle.co.uk%2Fgarmin-forerunner-955-solar-gps-watch