Garmin has a slew of new sports watches inbound – with the new Forerunner 255 and 955 expected to land in June 2022, according to a new report.
The Forerunner 255 has been subject to a host of leaks, with the latest being a Reddit post from a user that claims to have seen marketing material that shows a possible 1 June release date.
The current-gen Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 945 were launched together way back in 2019, so these watches are way overdue an update. It’s certainly surprised us that it’s taken this long. The Forerunner 245 occupies the sweet spot of running features, analytics and a fairly affordable price point.
On its own, this unsubstantiated Reddit post wouldn’t really be worthy of reporting – but given the weight of previous leaks, it certainly seems a new set of devices are on the way, and adds color to what we already know.
The Reddit post claims that there will be new Forerunner 255 and 955 models, landing on 1 June.
It claims that the Forerunner 955 will get a solar version, which seems a no-brainer given how that feature has rolled across premium watches in the Garmin range.
If the report is accurate, it seems the Forerunner 255 will keep Music and non-music variants, which does seem at odds with the current Garmin strategy. The Fenix 7 dropped the ‘Pro’ range to offer music on all skews. But it seems Garmin will keep that strategy for the Forerunner 255, and ask customers that want Spotify, Amazon Music or MP3 music on the wrist to pay extra.
Running power is allegedly a new feature for both these new Forerunners, although you’ll need an extra accessory to take advantage. For the uninitiated, running power enables you to pace your workout via effort, rather than speed, and has been a focus of Polar watches, such as the Vantage V2.
The stamina tracking feature, that was introduced on the Fenix 7, filters down to the 255/955. That offers a gauge of your potential maximum endurance, and an estimate of stamina at your current pace.
Finally, it seems the Morning Report feature is rolling out to the Forerunner range. This feature, launched with Garmin Lily, offers a breakdown of your wellness and health starts, along with a quick glance at daily calendar entries and appointments.
There’s very little doubt that an overdue update of the Forerunner 255 and 955 is imminent.
Pricing looks like it will remain at current levels for the Forerunner 255, at around $349/£300 and $599/£549 for the Forerunner 955.
As ever, watch this space for full information when it comes.
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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.