The Garmin Forerunner 955 will be a top-end triathlon watch, following in the footsteps of the venerable Forerunner 945, and we're rounding up all the latest news, rumors, and predictions for you right here.
Details are scarce so far, but following the launch of the Garmin Forerunner 55 in 2021 and the long-awaited Fenix 7 in January 2022, it's surely only a matter of time before the 955 arrives on runners' wrists.
Latest update: A Reddit user claims to have caught sight of an email from Garmin that was sent to retailers, which provides details of both the Forerunner 955 and 255. According to the email, the two new watches will be available from June 1.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Garmin's next premium triathlon watch
- When is it out? Potentially June 2022
- How much will it cost? Likely 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:
Understanding the Forerunner series
First, a word on Garmin's naming system, which might be a little confusing for newcomers. There are four Forerunner lines: 50, 250, 750, and 95. The lower-level models have a focus on running, but those higher up are also fully equipped with tools for swimmers, cyclists, and triathletes.
Watches in the Forerunner 50 range 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 range is the Forerunner 55, which launched worldwide in June 2021.
The Forerunner 250 range 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 little more, but are still in the low-mid price bracket. The latest watches in the range are the Forerunner 254 and 254 Music, which were released in April 2019.
There used to be a Forerunner 400 series with touch-sensitive bezels, but this range has since been phased out (the latest release was the 410, back in 2011).
The Forerunner 750 range is made with triathletes in mind, and equipped with a full range of tools for running, cycling, and swimming. They also have a dedicated triathlon mode that allow you to track a full triathlon event, simply pressing the lap button to switch between stages. They sit in the mid-high price band, and the latest watch in the line, the Forerunner 745, landed in September 2020.
Finally, the Forerunner 950 range is the top of the tree. Watches in this range are a little larger than their 750 counterparts, but with better battery life, offline maps, and more storage space for maps and music. They carry a premium price tag, and the most recent model, the Forerunner 945, was released in April 2019. An update is definitely due, which is why we've got our fingers crossed for a Forerunner 955 in 2022.
Forerunner 955 news and rumors
Garmin doesn't tend to release details of forthcoming watches ahead of their actual launch, but hints and rumors about the Forerunner 955 have picked up steam in recent months.
In January 2022 a few details seemed to briefly appear on the company's Australian website.
Much like the Garmin Venu 2 Plus leak a few months earlier, this seems to be a situation where an incomplete page was accidentally published before it was ready. There were no images this time around, but several Garmin fans managed to capture screengrabs of a listing in the Australian webstore for a Forerunner 955 LTE bundle priced at AU$1,049 (about $750 / £550).
This seems like a plausible listing. An LTE version of the Forerunner 945 arrived a few months after the base-spec model, allowing owners to download apps from the Garmin Connect Store, grab extra maps, sync and transfer data without a Bluetooth connection to their phone. It's an extremely useful extra feature for anyone who's going to be out of range of their handset for a while, and means you'll spend less time fiddling with the smartphone app.
The fact that this is a 'bundle' suggests that, like the Forerunner 945, the 955 will be available to buy with additional chest strap heart rate monitors for more accurate readings. The Forerunner 945 can be bought in a bundle together with the HRM-Tri and HRM-Swim monitors, so it's possible that the 955 may come with these, or the more recently released Garmin HRM-Pro.
It's worth bearing in mind, however, that this could just be placeholder text, and nothing has been officially confirmed. The page was taken down before it could be cached by Google or The Wayback Machine, so there's no way to revisit it and scour for any further details, but the fact that we've seen screenshots taken on different desktop and mobile devices suggests that it could well be genuine rather than a doctored image.
We contacted Garmin after the details emerged, but the company declined to comment.
Things then went quiet for a few months, but in April an authorized Garmin dealer appeared to leak a list of forthcoming devices and their warranty information. These included the Forerunner 955 and 255, plus some surprises, including a watch called the Garmin Instinct Analog.
Interestingly, there was no mention of an LTE edition of the Forerunner 955, but it's possible that the list was abbreviated and didn't list all watch variations.
In May, a Reddit user claimed to have caught sight of an official email from Garmin to retailers, which again mentioned both the Forerunner 955 and 255. The Redditor's post claimed that both watches will feature Garmin's new real-time stamina meter, which shows how much energy you have left during a workout, plus the morning report that first appeared on the Garmin Lily.
According to the email, both watches are due to arrive on June 1, meaning you could have either one on your wrist very soon.
What we want to see
One of the biggest selling points of the Forerunner 945 was its outstanding battery life, and we're expecting the Forerunner 955 to last even longer between charges – particularly if you opt for one of the solar variants that are likely to come alongside the standard model.
The Garmin Fenix 7 solar range, which launched in January 2022, offers seriously impressive battery life thanks to new, more efficient solar cells – and we're expecting Garmin to carry this tech over to the new Forerunner 955 as well.
This also means we're not expecting a big upgrade in screen technology. The Garmin Epix and Venu 2 have bright, crisp AMOLED displays, but this tech puts more drain on your watch's battery than old-school memory-in-pixel, so we're not expecting a big change to the Forerunner 955's display. We've got our fingers crossed that it'll have a white backlight rather than blue like the Fenix 7 (the blue hue tends to muddy the screen's colors), but we're not holding our breath.
We would, however, like the Forerunner 955 to borrow the flashlight feature from the Fenix 7X (the largest watch in the range). This is an extremely handy tool; press the backlight button twice, and a powerful LED shines out from the top of the watch housing, in either white or red. It's handy 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.
- On a budget? Check out the best cheap running watches
