3x new Garmin Watches – get closer to the FCC
Listings at regulatory authorities in the UAE and Singapore show some inbound Garmin multisport watches.
These could be announced as soon as this week, although CES in January isn’t usually the time for a Forerunner multisport watch.
There is only limited new intel. Here are some thoughts on what these newly listed products might be
Multisport
Garmin’s latest running watch, the Forerunner 255, was technically a multisport watch. So the multisport moniker could mean a high-end running watch like the 255 or another watch added to the ‘proper’ multisport stable that already includes the Forerunner 955.
Product Codes
Notice that the Garmin manufacturer number codes listed above are A04452, A04453 and A04578. Two of those numbers are consecutive and that usually means two closely related products like, say, a regular-size model and a small-size model. More numerically different codes might mean two completely different watches, an LTE version, a music version….or something else.
2023: new Garmin Endurance Sports Technologies for GPS Watches & Bike Computers Trends
Features
The watches are listed as having WiFi, Bluetooth and ANT+. The last two are not significant but the former, WiFi, might indicate a music-enabled model. This would be consistent with a non-budget Garmin sports watch or, in this case, THREE music-enabled watches.
Summary
The Forerunner 265s (AMOLED) has already been leaked (below) and it’s not a leap of faith to assume that comes alongside a regular-sized FR265 (AMOLED). These are AMOLED versions of the existing FR255. Perhaps these correspond to A04452 and A04453?
But then what might the A04578 be? Perhaps a Forerunner 265 LTE? or Forerunner 965 AMOLED? or 955 LTE?
Other plausible options for the 3 watches might be a 265/265s and a 765. The latter would be a smaller format 955, non-pro triathlon watch using the current naming convention.
My guess: 3x AMOLED versions of the 255 (FR265, FR265s) and 955 (FR965) announced at CES
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Any newa on a new suunto maybe a suunto 10 something bigger more outdoor type watch with maps???
sy no news.
https://the5krunner.com/2022/11/29/2023-new-garmin-polar-suunto-apple-fitbit-wahoo-and-coros-watches-for-2023/
A fr 255s is already a smaller, non-pro triathlon watch.
The 3 key changes between 255 and 955 are maps, touchscreen and more data. A 765 (or 755??) cannot have all 3 and cannot have none of those features.
It could be a try version for amoled on sportwatches. But that is rumored to be a 265.
It could be the successor of the 945 lte. I don’t think that watch was a huge success. Maybe because of price, maybe because it is not very useful in the western world with quite good 911/112 service. If price is the problem, a 255 with lte could be called 765 (or 755)
(Just thinking out loud)
Can’t it just be the Garmin Venu 3 and 3s for 2 of them? AMOLED is common for the series, although LTE would be a new but welcome addition.
January last year gave us the Venu 2 plus, so the 3 model should be inbound soon anyway.
yes january and ces is more the time for a smartwatch like Venu 3/3s. my bet would be more along thee lines were in not for the image of the 265 AMOLED above!
If any of these had LTE wouldn’t that need to be called out in the regulatory listing? And I don’t see that. So can we conclude no LTE?
I guess so yes. I’m unsure what exactly the Singaporean site would log and report.
Shouldn’t have to wait too long, either Wed or Thu this week I guess. An AMOLED 955 would be tempting but I’d have to try & stick to my rule of never buy a new Garmin product for at least 9 months after release 🙂
you can alwyas find something wrong with them but they are better than in years gone by when first released.
my bug bear is that the CIQ apps and DFs don’t work at launch
as someone who is currently waiting on my 2nd replacement 955, a watch that has only been out for 6 months, i wish garmin would sort out their existing devices before releasing more. though most of the issues seem to be software (many introduced by the latest update) and i understand the fr955 and fr255 share the same software base, if the 965/265 is basically a 955/255 with a fancy screen then they will probably also have the same bug-ridden software base.
yup, plus the ciq stuff wont work at launch
Great find! And this might make a lot of sense for why they made the 955 pricing lower at $500 – bc they knew there was going to be a more expensive AMOLED version. I do, however, expect some sort of jump forward from Garmin on LTE and communication options after the kids watch tech was announced. Thanks again!
i think the kids watch just used the existing spectator messaging feature but tweaked a bit. i think garmin will find lte hard to improve on.
yeah you could be right on the 955 pricing. tho it’s worth pointing out the USA pricing seems fairly competitive. you guys are probably going to avoid a recession but the rest of us wont and we all seem to be getting unusually high prices for new garmin stuff (compared tot he USD price).
Saw this on reddit, posted last night –
“I attended a group run tonight at a running store and a Garmin rep was there with a 965 and a 265. They both have beautiful OLED screens. Touch screens like the 955 & 255 too. No word on release date or price though.”
A epix is 200 euro more expensive than a comparible fenix 7.
I guess that will not sell very well for a 349/399 euro 255, or a 549 euro 955.
(But I do admit I’m not that impressed with amoled. It’s just there to prettify the watch without adding functionality. But for others pretty is more important)
an extra Eur200 is a lot I know. I suspect it will still sell well.
Presumably if it was going to be announced at CES it would have happened by now?
I was thinking the same thing – guess we’ll have to wait a little longer!
iirc they tend to announce either side of the major events to avoid getting caught in the PR mush from everyone else
so maybe next week?
I was think the same, seeing as that is what they did with the Fenix 7 / Epix!