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Garmin Forerunner 55
Editor’s Conclusion
If you often feel overwhelmed by the features of smart fitness watches, but still want something that will track your cadence, speed, steps, and overall fitness, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is a great option.
It has all the features you need, but nothing over the top. You can receive smart notifications on the watch, but you can not reply to them. While this would be a great convenience, it’s not necessary in my book.
This is an affordable and reliable watch. It is stylish enough to wear every day, to the office, to the bar and everyone in between.
It is primarily a running watch, but also has profiles for swimming, cycling, Pilates, HIIT, and more. Keep reading to find out if it checks all the boxes for you.
It has all the features you need, but nothing over the top. You can receive smart notifications on the watch, but you can not reply to them. While this would be a great convenience, it’s not necessary in my book.
This is an affordable and reliable watch. It is stylish enough to wear every day, to the office, to the bar and everyone in between.
It is primarily a running watch, but also has profiles for swimming, cycling, Pilates, HIIT, and more. Keep reading to find out if it checks all the boxes for you.
Garmin Forerunner 55 Review Facts
Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros
Customizable
Unisex
Lightweight
Easy to configure
Great for running
Good battery life
Cons
Pixelation could be improved
Display brightness is not adjustable
No cellular data
Key Features
Comfort
The silicone wrist strap is flexible, comfortable, and highly adjustable. It will fit any wrist between 126mm to 203mm. There are many slots that allow you to find the ideal tightness for you. Keep in mind that the tighter you wear it, the more accurate the heart rate monitor will be.
The Forerunner 55 weighs in at only 37 grams, or 1.31 ounces. It feels like next to nothing on your wrist. The 42mm case is big enough to be read easily, but not overpowering on your wrist.
Features
The 1.04 inch, 26.3mm, display provides a decent amount of info at just one glance. However, one thing that could definitely be improved is the pixelation. Similar to the previous version, the 55 has 208 x 208 pixels. This isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s not overly impressive.
It should also be noted that there is no touchscreen. There is no way to adjust the brightness but the LCD screen is easily read in the sun and there is a backlight. That there is also a color display.
The watch is highly customizable. You can download many different faces from the Garmin Connect IQ library. There are five labeled buttons around the bezel that easily allow you to select, scroll, and switch pages. You can choose from three different colors- black, white, or aqua.
In terms of sports modes and features, you can use this watch in many ways. It has a step counter, tracks calories burned, tracks cadence, respiration tracking, provides suggested workouts, and more.
There are workouts for cycling, swimming, running, Pilates, HIIT, and more. While you are engaging in these activities, the watch will track your body vitals and adjust your body battery. After you finish the exercise, you will receive a suggestion of how long your body needs to recover.
Seeing as how this watch is geared towards running enthusiasts, let’s talk more about those features. One of the most notable features is the Pacepro strategy. This allows you to enter a distance and the desired finish time.
While you are running, the watch will advise you if you need to adjust your cadence to reach your goal. There are also different running profiles that will help you to increase your strength and durability.
A couple of other fun features include a fitness age guesstimate, music controls, body battery, and women’s health tracking. The fitness age tracks your resting heart rate, your activity, and more and allows you to see how the age of your body matches your actual age.
The body battery alerts you to when you should rest or be active, and also tracks your sleep. After setting up the watch, it takes a few weeks for the body battery to stabilize.
GPS and Connectivity
The GPS functions very well. It uses three different systems- GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. There’s a safety feature that detects incidents during some activities and will send your location to your emergency contacts if the watch senses you have fallen or are gravely hurt.
There’s also a feature you can use manually to send your location to your emergency contacts if you feel that you are in danger.
The Forerunner 55 has Bluetooth and ANT + connectivity, but not cellular data. You can receive smartphone notifications on the watch but you can not reply to them. You can dismiss or read the messages.
Battery Life
The battery lasts in GPS mode for up to 20 hours. In battery smart mode, with limited usage, it lasts up to two weeks. All of this depends on which apps you are using, how many smart notifications you receive, and the settings.
Durability
This Garmin watch can handle a few bumps and scratches but might not outlast truly intense situations. With normal wear and tear, you’ll be fine.
The wrist strap is made from silicone, the bezel is made from durable plastic, and the face is made from chemically strengthened glass.
It has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM. This means that it can handle water depths and pressures up to 50 meters. This makes it ideal for swimming, surfing, or snorkeling.
Remember that after you wear it in salt or chlorine water, you should rinse it with tap water and pat it dry to keep it in good condition.
Additionally, Garmin offers a one-year warranty on this watch.
Value
Remembering that Garmin is a great brand, and this watch has plenty of great features that function well, it’s well worth the price.
It is much cheaper than other Garmin smart/fitness watches, but it also has fewer features. However, if you’re looking for a step up from your Fit Bit or a watch focused on running, this is a great option.
Garmin often releases firmware upgrades that add up-to-date features to their watches. This also adds to the value because it means that you don’t always need to buy the newest version to enjoy the perks.
The silicone wrist strap is flexible, comfortable, and highly adjustable. It will fit any wrist between 126mm to 203mm. There are many slots that allow you to find the ideal tightness for you. Keep in mind that the tighter you wear it, the more accurate the heart rate monitor will be.
The Forerunner 55 weighs in at only 37 grams, or 1.31 ounces. It feels like next to nothing on your wrist. The 42mm case is big enough to be read easily, but not overpowering on your wrist.
Features
The 1.04 inch, 26.3mm, display provides a decent amount of info at just one glance. However, one thing that could definitely be improved is the pixelation. Similar to the previous version, the 55 has 208 x 208 pixels. This isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s not overly impressive.
It should also be noted that there is no touchscreen. There is no way to adjust the brightness but the LCD screen is easily read in the sun and there is a backlight. That there is also a color display.
The watch is highly customizable. You can download many different faces from the Garmin Connect IQ library. There are five labeled buttons around the bezel that easily allow you to select, scroll, and switch pages. You can choose from three different colors- black, white, or aqua.
In terms of sports modes and features, you can use this watch in many ways. It has a step counter, tracks calories burned, tracks cadence, respiration tracking, provides suggested workouts, and more.
There are workouts for cycling, swimming, running, Pilates, HIIT, and more. While you are engaging in these activities, the watch will track your body vitals and adjust your body battery. After you finish the exercise, you will receive a suggestion of how long your body needs to recover.
Seeing as how this watch is geared towards running enthusiasts, let’s talk more about those features. One of the most notable features is the Pacepro strategy. This allows you to enter a distance and the desired finish time.
While you are running, the watch will advise you if you need to adjust your cadence to reach your goal. There are also different running profiles that will help you to increase your strength and durability.
A couple of other fun features include a fitness age guesstimate, music controls, body battery, and women’s health tracking. The fitness age tracks your resting heart rate, your activity, and more and allows you to see how the age of your body matches your actual age.
The body battery alerts you to when you should rest or be active, and also tracks your sleep. After setting up the watch, it takes a few weeks for the body battery to stabilize.
GPS and Connectivity
The GPS functions very well. It uses three different systems- GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. There’s a safety feature that detects incidents during some activities and will send your location to your emergency contacts if the watch senses you have fallen or are gravely hurt.
There’s also a feature you can use manually to send your location to your emergency contacts if you feel that you are in danger.
The Forerunner 55 has Bluetooth and ANT + connectivity, but not cellular data. You can receive smartphone notifications on the watch but you can not reply to them. You can dismiss or read the messages.
Battery Life
The battery lasts in GPS mode for up to 20 hours. In battery smart mode, with limited usage, it lasts up to two weeks. All of this depends on which apps you are using, how many smart notifications you receive, and the settings.
Durability
This Garmin watch can handle a few bumps and scratches but might not outlast truly intense situations. With normal wear and tear, you’ll be fine.
The wrist strap is made from silicone, the bezel is made from durable plastic, and the face is made from chemically strengthened glass.
It has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM. This means that it can handle water depths and pressures up to 50 meters. This makes it ideal for swimming, surfing, or snorkeling.
Remember that after you wear it in salt or chlorine water, you should rinse it with tap water and pat it dry to keep it in good condition.
Additionally, Garmin offers a one-year warranty on this watch.
Value
Remembering that Garmin is a great brand, and this watch has plenty of great features that function well, it’s well worth the price.
It is much cheaper than other Garmin smart/fitness watches, but it also has fewer features. However, if you’re looking for a step up from your Fit Bit or a watch focused on running, this is a great option.
Garmin often releases firmware upgrades that add up-to-date features to their watches. This also adds to the value because it means that you don’t always need to buy the newest version to enjoy the perks.
Comparison to Similar Watches
Speaking of Fitbits, the Fitbit Charge 4 offers simple, easy to use running features. The GPS allows you to track your runs and progress clearly. However, the Fitbit GPS is not as precise as the Garmin because it uses only GPS and GLONASS, not Galileo.
It has a touch screen and a couple of buttons but isn’t as intuitive as the Forerunner. It has the same water rating as the Garmin, allowing you to reach 50 meters of depth without harming it. Overall, it’s a decent option if you are looking for an even simpler, cheaper version of the Forerunner 55.
At a similar price point, but with a less stylish design, the Coros Pace 2 weighs in at only 29 grams. This watch also lacks Galileo GPS but it is rumored to be added in a future update. It is packed with plenty of storage and an impressive computer system.
The battery lasts up to 30 hours in GPS mode and about twenty days of use with moderate tracking and activity. It has many built in workouts and activities for all different sports, and even includes a built-in running coach. If any watch is going to give the Forerunner 55 a run for its money, it’s this one.
It has a touch screen and a couple of buttons but isn’t as intuitive as the Forerunner. It has the same water rating as the Garmin, allowing you to reach 50 meters of depth without harming it. Overall, it’s a decent option if you are looking for an even simpler, cheaper version of the Forerunner 55.
At a similar price point, but with a less stylish design, the Coros Pace 2 weighs in at only 29 grams. This watch also lacks Galileo GPS but it is rumored to be added in a future update. It is packed with plenty of storage and an impressive computer system.
The battery lasts up to 30 hours in GPS mode and about twenty days of use with moderate tracking and activity. It has many built in workouts and activities for all different sports, and even includes a built-in running coach. If any watch is going to give the Forerunner 55 a run for its money, it’s this one.
Verdict
At this price point, you’d be hard-pressed to find another watch with these features. While it obviously doesn’t have the advanced features of other Garmin watches, such as Jump Master mode, Incognito mode, and pre-downloaded golf courses, it’s great for the everyday person- even more so if you enjoy running.
One spec that could be improved is the display. It is easy to read and has a backlight, but Garmin has been offering us 208 x 208 pixels on the Forerunner for too long now. In the future, I hope to see at least 230 x 230. Overall, it is comfortable, precise, and easy to use. I think it’s a great option.
One spec that could be improved is the display. It is easy to read and has a backlight, but Garmin has been offering us 208 x 208 pixels on the Forerunner for too long now. In the future, I hope to see at least 230 x 230. Overall, it is comfortable, precise, and easy to use. I think it’s a great option.
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