TechSmartwatchesIt’s almost certain two new Garmin smartwatches are coming soon – but should you be excited?With the release of the Garmin Forerunner 255 and 955 looming over the horizon, one must wonder: do we need these fitness watches?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechSmartwatchesIt’s almost certain two new Garmin smartwatches are coming soon – but should you be excited?With the release of the Garmin Forerunner 255 and 955 looming over the horizon, one must wonder: do we need these fitness watches?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
With the release of the Garmin Forerunner 255 and 955 looming over the horizon, one must wonder: do we need these fitness watches?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
We already had quite a few Garmin releases recently, like the entry-level Garmin Forerunner 55(Image credit: Future)
We already had quite a few Garmin releases recently, like the entry-level Garmin Forerunner 55
(Image credit: Future)
At this point, everyone who’s even remotely interested in thebest Garmin watcheshas heard there are two new smartwatches coming out very shortly: the mid-rangeGarminForerunner 255 and high-end Garmin Forerunner 955 might appear online as soon as next week. However, as someone who’s been using both theGarmin Forerunner 245andGarmin Forerunner 945for the last couple of years, I wonder if there is a need for an update?
Garmin has always been the finest purveyor of performancerunning watches, no wonder you’ll find a Garmin wrapped around the wrist of most athletes in races. Garmins are reliable and chock-full of training features that can help you exercise and recover more efficiently.
Garmin’s smartwatches are also famous for being massively overpowered. An average person might use around 10% of the features the premiumGarmin Fenix 7Xor theGarmin Epix (Gen 2)has to offer. The same goes for even the Forerunner 245 mentioned above: it’s unlikely casual runners will ever fully utilise the watch, even now, three years after it was released.
Not to mention the Forerunner 945, which is ridiculously well-specced for a wearable mainly used for running (although the 945 is more of a triathlon watch, really). All Garmin watches are super precise both in terms of heart rate tracking accuracy but also positioning, despite not using the latest physical tech Garmin has to offer.
The Forerunner 245 is still pretty accurate – three years later(Image credit: Garmin)
The Forerunner 245 is still pretty accurate – three years later
The Forerunner 245 is still pretty accurate – three years later
(Image credit: Garmin)
This begs the question: do we need a Forerunner 245 or 945 if their predecessors are still top-of-the-line smartwatches in their respective market segments? What features can Garmin possibly add to make people want to check out the new watches? Most importantly, will adding these features make the new iterations more expensive?
There are two things I really would like to see in the new watches, but I’m not sure if I will. One of them is an AMOLED screen; the Epix has one and one of my favouritefitness trackers, theGarmin Venu 2, also sports one of those. However, the Instinct 2 and even theGarmin Forerunner 55still have memory in pixel displays, so who knows if either new watch will add this on.
The Forerunner 955 is also rumoured to have solar charging, which is equal measure good and bad news; I wouldn’t mind longer battery life, but Garmin didn’t add solar charging to the Epix because it didn’t provide tangible user benefits on an AMOLED watch. So maybe the new Forerunners won’t have AMOLED screens after all…
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The other feature is the new Elevate V5 heart rate sensor which I’m 100% sure will be added to both watches, as well as dual-band multi-GNSS positioning (well, one would hope).
(Image credit: Garmin)
(Image credit: Garmin)
Do we need these new Garmin smartwatches? In all honesty, I don’t care if weneedthem – Iwantthem. I’ve been waiting years to see them, and I’m sure I will enjoy wearing them for training, recovery, sleeping, everything. Not everything in life needs to be about what we need; we don’t need anything apart from water, some solid food and sleep.
I want the new Forerunners because new Garmin watch releases are always fun. You can pore over the stats and see what’s changed. You can measure how accurate the sensors are, compared to the old version. You can argue with people whether the new version is better or not. You can be a child and get all giddy.
Bring on the new Forerunners. I’m ready.
Today’s best Garmin Forerunner dealsLow StockGarmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Garmin Forerunner dealsLow StockGarmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Garmin Forerunner dealsLow StockGarmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Garmin Forerunner deals
Low StockGarmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all pricesGarmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all prices
Low StockGarmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all prices
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Garmin Forerunner 45$256.25$219.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 45
Garmin Forerunner 45
$256.25$219.99View
$256.25$219.99
$219.99
See all prices
Garmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 55$159.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 55
Garmin Forerunner 55
$159.99View
$159.99
$159.99
See all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245$317ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245
Garmin Forerunner 245
$317View
$317
$317
See all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music$349.99$269.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
$349.99$269.99View
$349.99$269.99
$269.99
See all prices
Garmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 745$419ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 745
Garmin Forerunner 745
$419View
$419
$419
See all prices
Garmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 945$329$309.99ViewSee all prices
Garmin Forerunner 945
Garmin Forerunner 945
$329$309.99View
$329$309.99
$309.99
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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