The Garmin Forerunner 955 will be a premium triathlon watch, following in the footsteps of the venerable Forerunner 945, and here we round up the latest news, rumors, and predictions.
Details are scarce so far, but following the release of the Garmin Forerunner 55 in 2021 and the highly anticipated Fenix 7 in January 2022, surely it is a matter of time before the 955 reaches the wrists of the runners
Last update: In late January 2022, a page briefly appeared on Garmin's Australian website that seemed to confirm the existence of a Forerunner 955 LTE edition.
cut to hunt
- What is it? Garmin's next high-end triathlon watch
- When did it come out? maybe in 2022
- How much will it cost? Probably around $599.99 / €519.99 / AU$949.
Can't wait for the Forerunner 955 to arrive? Here are the best deals on the current Forerunner series right now: Today's best Garmin Forerunner deals
Understanding the Forerunner series
First, a word about Garmin's naming system, which can be a bit confusing for newcomers.
There are four lines of Forerunner: 50, 250, 750 and 95. The lower-tier models focus on running, but the higher-tier ones are also fully equipped for swimmers, cyclists, and triathletes.
Forerunner 50 series watches are affordable entry-level devices with everything a beginner needs, including GPS, All-day heart rate tracking and sleep monitoring. The most recent entry in the lineup is the Forerunner 55, which
it was released globally in June 2021.
The Garmin Forerunner 55, released in January 2022, was the first of a new generation of Forerunner watches (Image credit: Future)
The Forerunner 250 line is for runners who want to take their training to the next level., with more advanced training tools and metrics available on your wrist. They cost a bit more, but stay in the low-mid price range. The latest watches in the lineup are the Forerunner 254 and 254 Music, released in April 2019.
There used to be a Forerunner 400 series with touchscreen goggles, but that line has been phased out (the last version was the 410, back in 2011).
The Forerunner 750 series is designed for triathletes and is equipped with a full range of tools for running, cycling and swimming. They also have a dedicated triathlon mode that allows you to follow an entire triathlon event, simply by pressing the lap button to change stages. They're in the mid-to-high price range, and the latest watch in the line, the Forerunner 745, landed in September 2020. Finally,
the Forerunner 950 range is at the top of the tree. Watches in this range are slightly larger than their 750 counterparts, but they have better battery life, offline maps, and more storage space for maps and music.
They have a premium price, and the most recent model, the Forerunner 945, was released in April 2019. It's definitely due for an upgrade, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for a Forerunner 955 in 2022.
Forerunner 955 news and rumors
News about the Forerunner 955 has been scant, and Garmin has not officially confirmed that the watch is in development., but in January 2022 some details briefly appeared on the company's Australian website.
Just like the Garmin Venu 2 Plus leak a few months earlier., this appears to be a situation where an incomplete page was accidentally published before it was ready. There were no images this time, but several Garmin fans managed to grab screenshots of a listing on the Australian online store for a Forerunner 955 LTE bundle priced at AU$1,049 (about $750 / €550). Seems like a plausible list.
An LTE version of the Forerunner 945 arrived a few months after the base model, allowing owners to download apps from the Garmin Connect Store, get additional maps, sync and transfer data without a Bluetooth connection to their phone. It's a handy added feature for anyone who's going to be out of range of their phone for a while, and it means you'll spend less time fiddling with the smartphone app.
The Forerunner 955 may be available to buy as a bundle with one or more heart rate monitors, just like the Forerunner 945 (Image credit: Garmin)
The fact that it's a 'bundle' suggests that, like the Forerunner 945, the 955 will be available to buy with heart rate monitors.A with additional chest strap for more accurate readings. The Forerunner 945 can be purchased as a bundle with the HRM-Tri and HRM-Swim monitors, so it's possible the 955 will ship with them, or with the more recently released Garmin HRM-Pro. However, it's worth keeping in mind that this could just be placeholder text, and nothing has been officially confirmed.
The page was removed before Google or The Wayback Machine could cache it, so there's no way to revisit it and look for more details, but the fact that we've seen screenshots taken on various mobile and desktop devices suggests that it may be genuine rather than manipulated.
We contacted Garmin after details emerged, but the company declined to comment.
What we want to see
One of the main selling points of the Forerunner 945 was its exceptional battery life., and we expect the Forerunner 955 to last even longer between charges, especially if you opt for one of the sunglasses variants that will likely accompany the standard model.
The Garmin Epix has a vivid AMOLED display, but we'd expect the Forerunner 955 to stick with a pixel memory display that consumes less power for maximum battery life (Image credit: Garmin)
The Garmin Fenix 7 solar range, launched in January 2022, offers truly impressive battery life thanks to new, more efficient solar cells, and we hope Garmin applies this technology to the new Forerunner 955 as well.
It also means we're not expecting a huge upgrade in display technology.. The Garmin Epix and Venu 2 have bright, crisp AMOLED displays, but that technology drains your watch's battery more than old-school pixel memory, so we're not expecting a big change from the Forerunner 955's display. fingers that it has a white backlight instead of blue like the Fenix 7 (the blue tint tends to wash out colors on the screen), but we're not holding our breath.
We'd like to see the Garmin Forerunner 955 adopt the flashlight feature of the Garmin Fenix 7X (Image credit: Garmin) However,
we'd like the Forerunner 955 to borrow the flashlight feature from the Fenix 7X (the largest watch in the line). It is an extremely practical tool; press the backlight button 2 times and a bright LED lights up from the top of the watch case, either white or red. It's useful for seeing keyholes in the dark, locating your running shoes first thing in the morning without waking your partner, and making yourself more visible to motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians at night.