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Garmin Forerunner 255S is not exceptional, but worth it (for runners)
By Andrey Demiyanov, Jordan News
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A part from a few
minor changes, the Garmin Forerunner 255S lineup is nearly identical to its
predecessor. The most noticeable difference with the Forerunner 255S is that
Garmin now offers four versions of the watch rather than two. The focus is not
so much on big updates but rather on a slew of small ones that improve on the
core experience with the Forerunner 255S series. اضافة اعلان
To help highlight the changes, we took a look at the 255S. The watch has a 41mm case and weighs 39 grams. If you have a larger wrist, a 46mm version that weighs 49 grams is also available. It is comparable to an Apple Watch and is significantly lighter than flagship GPS watches like the Polar Grit X Pro (79g) or the Coros Vertix 2 (89g).
While the watches are not the most fashionable wearables on the market, they are also not a fashion faux pas. And if you choose a more subdued color, the watch can easily transition from a day-outfit staple to a night one.
The Forerunner 255S also has a more accurate heart rate sensor, a barometric altimeter, a compass, multiband GPS, and an NFC chip for contactless payments.
The battery life has also been improved slightly to an estimated 12 days on a single charge. In 25 days of use, with roughly 30 minutes of GPS activity per day, users only had to charge the Forerunner 255S once.
It also helps that the 255S employs a memory-in-pixel display rather than a power-hungry OLED for better visibility in direct sunlight. A wise choice, as the watch targets outdoor runners that clearly prioritize battery life over fancier features like a vibrant touchscreen.
However, the most significant update is the multiband GPS.
Not only are multiband GPS’ a relatively new feature in the space of wearables, but they are also typically found on high-end fitness watches.
Heart rate tracking on the 255S is comparable to that on the Series 7 and the Polar H10 chest strap, which averages 3–5 beats per minute. Sleep tracking is mostly sufficient, though it was not as sensitive in tracking all the times we found ourselves waking during the night.
So, if you are looking for accurate sleep tracking, Garmin’s offering should probably not be your go-to. That is because, at its core, the Forerunner 255S is not a health wearable like the Oura Ring or Apple Watch. It is meant for training, and it is best suited to runners.
The 255S comes with two new racing widgets and Garmin’s Morning report feature. The Racing Calendar widget displays a list of your upcoming events, your estimated finish time, and the weather forecast for race day.
Meanwhile, the Race widget generates daily workout recommendations based on your personal training requirements. The Morning Report appears on the watch first thing in the morning and provides a summary of your sleep, weather, and some of your recovery metrics.
Overall, these are useful tools for runners, but triathletes can also benefit now that Garmin has added the triathlete activity to the Forerunner 255S lineup. So, you can switch between running, swimming, and cycling in a single workout.
But this is no easy feat, especially considering Garmin remained with their standard five-button menu navigation, which can be a difficult interface. Garmin veterans are probably used to the routine, but for newcomers, it surely can be intimidating, especially if you are coming from another platform or touchscreen watch.
However, with the less-than-intuitive interface and accuracy errors on the side, the 255S is ideal for runners’ requirements and would be useful for training insights and metrics.
The only thing users may have wished for the 255S to feature is the Fenix 7 series’ real-time stamina monitoring. Having said that, we would not recommend paying twice the price just to get it.
To summarize, we strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a comfortable, no-frills, long-lasting GPS watch that will not break the bank.
It costs around JD250, about JD30 more than its predecessor, but you have to consider that you are getting multiband GPS at a discount.
Read more Technology
Jordan News
To help highlight the changes, we took a look at the 255S. The watch has a 41mm case and weighs 39 grams. If you have a larger wrist, a 46mm version that weighs 49 grams is also available. It is comparable to an Apple Watch and is significantly lighter than flagship GPS watches like the Polar Grit X Pro (79g) or the Coros Vertix 2 (89g).
While the watches are not the most fashionable wearables on the market, they are also not a fashion faux pas. And if you choose a more subdued color, the watch can easily transition from a day-outfit staple to a night one.
The Forerunner 255S also has a more accurate heart rate sensor, a barometric altimeter, a compass, multiband GPS, and an NFC chip for contactless payments.
The battery life has also been improved slightly to an estimated 12 days on a single charge. In 25 days of use, with roughly 30 minutes of GPS activity per day, users only had to charge the Forerunner 255S once.
It also helps that the 255S employs a memory-in-pixel display rather than a power-hungry OLED for better visibility in direct sunlight. A wise choice, as the watch targets outdoor runners that clearly prioritize battery life over fancier features like a vibrant touchscreen.
However, the most significant update is the multiband GPS.
While the watches are not the most fashionable wearables on the market, they are also not a fashion faux pas.In a nutshell, multiband GPS (also known as dual-frequency GPS) enables a watch to connect to multiple major satellite systems simultaneously. The advantage is that you will have greater accuracy in difficult environments. And finding a multiband GPS at this price is insane.
Not only are multiband GPS’ a relatively new feature in the space of wearables, but they are also typically found on high-end fitness watches.
Heart rate tracking on the 255S is comparable to that on the Series 7 and the Polar H10 chest strap, which averages 3–5 beats per minute. Sleep tracking is mostly sufficient, though it was not as sensitive in tracking all the times we found ourselves waking during the night.
So, if you are looking for accurate sleep tracking, Garmin’s offering should probably not be your go-to. That is because, at its core, the Forerunner 255S is not a health wearable like the Oura Ring or Apple Watch. It is meant for training, and it is best suited to runners.
The 255S comes with two new racing widgets and Garmin’s Morning report feature. The Racing Calendar widget displays a list of your upcoming events, your estimated finish time, and the weather forecast for race day.
Meanwhile, the Race widget generates daily workout recommendations based on your personal training requirements. The Morning Report appears on the watch first thing in the morning and provides a summary of your sleep, weather, and some of your recovery metrics.
Overall, these are useful tools for runners, but triathletes can also benefit now that Garmin has added the triathlete activity to the Forerunner 255S lineup. So, you can switch between running, swimming, and cycling in a single workout.
But this is no easy feat, especially considering Garmin remained with their standard five-button menu navigation, which can be a difficult interface. Garmin veterans are probably used to the routine, but for newcomers, it surely can be intimidating, especially if you are coming from another platform or touchscreen watch.
However, with the less-than-intuitive interface and accuracy errors on the side, the 255S is ideal for runners’ requirements and would be useful for training insights and metrics.
The only thing users may have wished for the 255S to feature is the Fenix 7 series’ real-time stamina monitoring. Having said that, we would not recommend paying twice the price just to get it.
To summarize, we strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a comfortable, no-frills, long-lasting GPS watch that will not break the bank.
It costs around JD250, about JD30 more than its predecessor, but you have to consider that you are getting multiband GPS at a discount.
... If you are looking for accurate sleep tracking, Garmin’s offering should probably not be your go-to.While this watch is geared toward runners, the addition of triathlete support makes it a compelling option for those looking for a multisport watch on a budget. The Forerunner 255S is not the most flashy Garmin device, but it’s the one that gives you the most bang for your buck.
Read more Technology
Jordan News
