Garmin 955 Release Date and Rumors – A variety of dates have been thrown around on the internet but nothing is concrete. We expect, October 2021 is the month to watch. Garmin has released this line of watches on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Based on this info I like the following dates for an announcement, October 5th/6th, or 12th/13th . Originally Garmin had a 3-year release cycle, for the two most recent releases it was a 2-year cycle. Fall 2021 a pretty good time to set your sights on.
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Garmin 955 Overview
The Garmin Forerunner 955 is a follow up to the flagship Forerunner 945. As it stands, everything we can report is based on an informed guess.
This watch is geared for endurance and multi-sport athletes. The long battery life, is one of the key features that sets this watch apart from the Forerunner options. If you are competing in an all day event such as an Ironman, the Leadvillle 100 (A 100 mile mountain bike race) then you want as much battery life you can get.
Garmin 955 Rumors
The Garmin Forerunner 955 is a follow up to the flagship Forerunner 945. As it stands, everything we can report is based on an informed guess.
BMI, Water Percent & Bone Mass Calculations
The popular site Gadgets & Wearables, wrote about the Garmin index s2 scale (currently available for purchase) and found documentation that would point towards a watch that will calculate your weight, BMI, muscle mass, water percentage, bone mass and body fat percentage, heart rate and blood pressure.
Corre Run Maraton is reporting the following (https://www.correrunamaraton.com/en/garmin-enduro-forerunner-955-lte-details/):
- LiveTrack straight from the watch without using a connected phone. It can be useful not only for training but also for racing, depending on the battery life offered
Incident notifications in case of fall, etc. - Music streaming (such as Spotify), without having to download music beforehand
- Sending and receiving SMS messages
- Activity sync straight to Garmin Connect as soon as we finish our workout
We don’t believe the watch will be smaller in size when considering the 945. They may save on a few millimetres in thickness. The reason we believe this is because of the battery. The 945 can currently go weeks on one charge (depending on GPS, music and other battery draining needs), so Garmin will want to better this as it will be important for new sales.
There is also the big selling point of touch or a high-res screen. Although Garmin may opt to not compromise battery life keeping physical buttons intact. Athletes might also find touch screens frustrating especially when wet and sweaty.
Garmin 955 FCC Applications
Garmin sent a unit to the FCC to pass relevant tests. One of these tests is radiofrequency exposure for the different frequencies used, including LTE.
This is not Garmins first LTE watch, however, the previous LTE watch needed a physical sim card inserted. Rumours are that the 955 will have an e-sim, which would be digitally added using a smartphone app.
Garmin FCC Applications
A few aspects of smart watches require applications to the FCC. These applications can be very telling when it comes to tech product companies and what they are working on.
In the past year Garmin has submitted dozens of application including these for smart watches.
- All Garmin FCC Wireless Applications
- September 28, 2020 Smart Watch Application
- July 8, 2020 Smart Watch Application
955 Features We Hope to See
Cool Colors
Not so much a technical feature, but we would love to see some cool colors for the watch. Garmin has a great system for swapping bands but having the watch body in a couple colors is always nice.
LTE / Cellular Connection
How awesome would it be to get text messages without having to carry a phone. The other advantage of getting LTE / Cellular / Mobile connection for emergencies.
Solar Charging
Would be very cool to have your watch be partially powered from the sun. I am sure you will still have to charge it from time to time but with solar charging, the time between charges would be longer.
Garmin 9XX Release cycle
- Garmin 945 – April 30, 2019 (Tuesday)
- Garmin 935 – March 29, 2017 (Wednesday)
- Garmin 920XT – October 1, 2014 (Wednesday)
- Garmin 910XT – October 4, 2011 (Tuesday)
As you can see there are 3 years between the 910xt and 920xt. Then from the 920xt to the 935 it was about 2.5 years. then from the 935 to the 945 it was 2 years and one month.
For the day of the week Garmin likes to announce these watches on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Similar Watches
If you are in the need of a new watch now and can not wait for the unknown. Here are a few watches you can consider.
Garmin 945
Even though the 955 may be out soon, this is still a fantastic watch.
Garmin 745
This watch was released 1 year and 4 months after the 945 so there are several features this one has that the 945 does not. The 745 is a little lighter and has less battery life than the 945.
Fenix Series – These are a little bigger and heavier than the 945 and very cool watches.
745 Colors
Black
Neo Tropic
Magma Red
Whitestone