I’ve owned Garmins before and find the ability to objectively gauge and plan your training is a powerful tool. This watch takes it to the next level compared to my old ones. You get essentially the Forerunner 265 here minus the Amoled screen and the training readiness metric. Here’s a hint, look at your body battery and recovery metric and you have pretty much training readiness nailed down. The biometric sensors of the 255 and 265 are the same.
Activity tracking is light years beyond Fitbit and also stock Apple Watched. Hell, having 5 buttons blows any Apple Watch out of the water for running. You can just hit an activity and go, or take a recommended workout. You can also make your own routines and upload to to the watch. I had some workouts from when I last owned a Garmin that I designed 10 years ago, and was able to upload and run them. I principally use it for running and strength training. For running I can’t find any faults for me. For strength training my complaint is the list of strength exercises is missing common exercises, like any read deltoid exercises…. It has an exhaustive list of odd ones too. Worst of all, you can’t make new ones. You can just use an existing one that is close enough and make a note that exercise X is really the one you did…. The watch also does a good job tracking indoor runs and both indoor and outdoor walks. It is pretty accurate in automatically detecting activities like impromptu walks, as well.
The MIPs screen is amazing outdoors and way better at night when you would don’t want to blast your face looking at the time. In mixed-level indoor lighting, it lacks compared to AMOLED. It doesn’t have the pretty colors nor the contrast indoors, but I like a more serious looking watch anyway and find AMOLED to look like a game. The battery life is amazing. To get this sort of life on the 265 you have to let face go dark when inactive and use gestures to wake it. Not a big deal, but nice to be able to see the watch with a side glimpse without having to raise hand all the time.
Customization is great. I downloaded a watch face that allows me to put all the metrics I need and have the time highly visible. Data screens are also very customizable. I have downloaded a custom data screen for running and for strength training to supplement the default screens.
This isn’t a Pixel watch or an Apple Watch. As a smart watch it has limited ability and that’s fine. It reliably shows notifications. If you have your phone with you, you can initiate contact with an emergency contact. For example, you can send a message to come get picked up. If you have a compatible bank or credit card, you can use Garmin pay. I do find my financial institutions don’t currently support it, though.
The music functionality is flawless. I use it with Spotify and a pair of JBL earbuds. It’s nice to be able to run with just the watch and earbuds and not have to carry a phone for music.
I was able to use my ANT heart rate strap and foot pod from 13 years ago with no issues. They sync quickly and stay synced. The onboard wrist heart rate and running dynamics functionality have been very good when I haven’t used my ANT accessories. So there is no need to get an HR strap, but if you have or want one, they work flawlessly.
The Garmin ecosystem; the watch, Garmin Connect App, and the website are great. Highly customizable and reliable. I had most recently used Fitbit and found the experience with the app and its website to be headed in a negative direction this last year.
Overall, I highly recommend this watch. If the price difference between this and the 265 is around $50, it’s a hard decision. It boils down to how you feel about AMOLED versus MIPS, and maybe the chance that 265 feature set continues to get updated a bit longer than the 255. When the price delta is above $50…. The 265 becomes hard to justify and the 255 is the obvious choice. To reiterate, training readiness isn’t worth much at all. It’s a combination of other metrics that are already on both watches. So the decision is simply AMOLED vs MIPS display versus price.
Garmin Forerunner® 255 Music, GPS Running Smartwatch with Music, Advanced Insights, Long-Lasting Battery, Black - 010-02641-2
4.6 | 916 ratings
Price: 314
Last update: 09-06-2024
About this item
Built with a slim design and an always-on, full-color display that’s light on the wrist and easy to read even in direct sunlight — with available sizes of 46 mm and 41 mm
Forerunner 255 Music provides up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours in GPS mode for a full picture of your health — from sleep to training
Download up to 500 songs to your watch, including playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music or Deezer (subscription required), and connect with your wireless headphones for phone-free listening
Morning report summarizes your sleep, HRV status and daily workout suggestion in one place as soon as you wake up (This device is intended to give an estimate of your activity and metrics)
Get ready for your next race with training tips, personalized daily suggested workouts and completion time predictions based on course details, weather and performance
View your entire week of daily suggested workouts, which adapt after every run to match your performance and recovery
HRV status tracks your heart rate variability while you sleep, giving you greater insight into your overall wellness, recovery and training performance (This device is intended to give an estimate of your activity and metrics)
Get free adaptive training plans from Garmin Coach for a 5K, 10K and half-marathon, or create your own custom workouts in the Garmin Connect smartphone app
Evaluates your current training status to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it; offers additional performance monitoring features, including recovery time after your workouts
When using a Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Pro monitor (sold separately), get a continuous measurement on your wrist of how much power you’re applying to the road as you run, so you can manage your effort
Forerunner 255 Music provides up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours in GPS mode for a full picture of your health — from sleep to training
Download up to 500 songs to your watch, including playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music or Deezer (subscription required), and connect with your wireless headphones for phone-free listening
Morning report summarizes your sleep, HRV status and daily workout suggestion in one place as soon as you wake up (This device is intended to give an estimate of your activity and metrics)
Get ready for your next race with training tips, personalized daily suggested workouts and completion time predictions based on course details, weather and performance
View your entire week of daily suggested workouts, which adapt after every run to match your performance and recovery
HRV status tracks your heart rate variability while you sleep, giving you greater insight into your overall wellness, recovery and training performance (This device is intended to give an estimate of your activity and metrics)
Get free adaptive training plans from Garmin Coach for a 5K, 10K and half-marathon, or create your own custom workouts in the Garmin Connect smartphone app
Evaluates your current training status to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it; offers additional performance monitoring features, including recovery time after your workouts
When using a Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Pro monitor (sold separately), get a continuous measurement on your wrist of how much power you’re applying to the road as you run, so you can manage your effort
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.5 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.7 ounces |
| ASIN | B09WTV6MMY |
| Item model number | 010-02641-20 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Customer Reviews |
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars
916 ratings
4.6 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #7,247 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #187 in Smartwatches |
| Date First Available | June 1, 2022 |
| Department | Unisex-Adult |
| Manufacturer | Garmin |
| Item Weight | 1.7 Ounces |
| Standing screen display size | 1.3 Inches |
| Memory Storage Capacity | 4 GB |
Top reviews from the United States
MannyB
Great training tool for runners.
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2024
MannyB
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2024
Activity tracking is light years beyond Fitbit and also stock Apple Watched. Hell, having 5 buttons blows any Apple Watch out of the water for running. You can just hit an activity and go, or take a recommended workout. You can also make your own routines and upload to to the watch. I had some workouts from when I last owned a Garmin that I designed 10 years ago, and was able to upload and run them. I principally use it for running and strength training. For running I can’t find any faults for me. For strength training my complaint is the list of strength exercises is missing common exercises, like any read deltoid exercises…. It has an exhaustive list of odd ones too. Worst of all, you can’t make new ones. You can just use an existing one that is close enough and make a note that exercise X is really the one you did…. The watch also does a good job tracking indoor runs and both indoor and outdoor walks. It is pretty accurate in automatically detecting activities like impromptu walks, as well.
The MIPs screen is amazing outdoors and way better at night when you would don’t want to blast your face looking at the time. In mixed-level indoor lighting, it lacks compared to AMOLED. It doesn’t have the pretty colors nor the contrast indoors, but I like a more serious looking watch anyway and find AMOLED to look like a game. The battery life is amazing. To get this sort of life on the 265 you have to let face go dark when inactive and use gestures to wake it. Not a big deal, but nice to be able to see the watch with a side glimpse without having to raise hand all the time.
Customization is great. I downloaded a watch face that allows me to put all the metrics I need and have the time highly visible. Data screens are also very customizable. I have downloaded a custom data screen for running and for strength training to supplement the default screens.
This isn’t a Pixel watch or an Apple Watch. As a smart watch it has limited ability and that’s fine. It reliably shows notifications. If you have your phone with you, you can initiate contact with an emergency contact. For example, you can send a message to come get picked up. If you have a compatible bank or credit card, you can use Garmin pay. I do find my financial institutions don’t currently support it, though.
The music functionality is flawless. I use it with Spotify and a pair of JBL earbuds. It’s nice to be able to run with just the watch and earbuds and not have to carry a phone for music.
I was able to use my ANT heart rate strap and foot pod from 13 years ago with no issues. They sync quickly and stay synced. The onboard wrist heart rate and running dynamics functionality have been very good when I haven’t used my ANT accessories. So there is no need to get an HR strap, but if you have or want one, they work flawlessly.
The Garmin ecosystem; the watch, Garmin Connect App, and the website are great. Highly customizable and reliable. I had most recently used Fitbit and found the experience with the app and its website to be headed in a negative direction this last year.
Overall, I highly recommend this watch. If the price difference between this and the 265 is around $50, it’s a hard decision. It boils down to how you feel about AMOLED versus MIPS, and maybe the chance that 265 feature set continues to get updated a bit longer than the 255. When the price delta is above $50…. The 265 becomes hard to justify and the 255 is the obvious choice. To reiterate, training readiness isn’t worth much at all. It’s a combination of other metrics that are already on both watches. So the decision is simply AMOLED vs MIPS display versus price.
Images in this review
Amazon Customer
Slight overkill for the non-elites
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024Ryan Niebuhr
Great watch!
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024Speedy Gonzales
The best watch for a runner yet!
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024Amazon Customer
The watch that finally replaced my Pebble
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024Amazon Customer
Perfect for what i need and more
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2024Skye Baron
Avid Runner Loves This!
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2024