Garmin Forerunner® 255 Music, GPS Running Smartwatch, 46mm, Black

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.

I have had an Oura ring for 5 years, and I have generally viewed Garmin watches as unnecessary as a result. Comparatively, they are large and a bit ugly - they don't blend into an outfit. Instead, they stand out a bit too much. Despite this, I decided to purchase one to improve my running, and it has been nothing short of amazing. Because I only wear it while running or doing breathing exercises, the MIP screen means that I only need to charge every 10 days or so. The built in music and contactless pay mean that I do not need to bring my phone during my runs. The multi-band GPS is accurate and so is the heart-rate sensing. I am in love. There is a bit of a learning curve, to be sure. You'll accidentally click lap when you want to go back, or you'll fumble around menus repeatedly, but once you figure it out, this is an incredible value for anyone training their cardiorespiratory fitness.

I LOVE this watch. I've been debating buying a running watch for so many years now and finally decided to do it. I have been doing marathon training and this watch has aided me plentifully. It has cool features when you record runs where it'll tell you every time you finish a "lap" which you can set the distance for - so during a long 10 mile run I have it set to tell me every time I finish 1 mile and what pace I finished it at. It also has cool badges you unlock when you run certain distances, and it will notify you every time you recorded a new personal best mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon, etc. during any long run. It displays a very accurate heartrate as well which I've tested multiple times and it's always within 5 of what I measure manually. You have to download Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect IQ on your phone which can then be used to download your favorite music app right to your watch (I use Spotify). From there, you can download your music/playlists/podcasts/audiobooks right to your watch. You can leave your phone at home then for long runs and just have your watch and your headphones with you; which is a lifesaver personally lol. The second you get back home from a run, it'll connect back to your phone and send the data over immediately. On your phone you can then see all your runs, as well as the pace, average heartrate, calories burned, and a few other cool measures. It can also record your sleep and give feedback on the quality of it, length, etc. but I have yet to use this feature. I sleep like a rock and can easily tell how well I slept when I wake up haha. I highly recommend this product. If you are on the fence as I was for so long, GET IT

Review of the Garmin 255s Music version (Wrist size 6in) (size small) It was very hard to find a reasonably sized watch for my small wrist. I was looking at this one and the Google Pixel 2. Those were the smallest watches I could find. They’ve been making watches bigger and bigger and I hate the new trend. The battery is fantastic. I came from the Fitbit Versa 2, though it got the white screen of death and never turned back on. After it dying not too long after the warranty was over I decided to look elsewhere. There were several reason I decided for the Garmin over Fitbit again other than its untimely death. Garmin offers a much more robust app, and is much more fitness oriented, offering more activities. Garmin is much better at up keeping the OS system. I didn’t even really consider Apple because I didn’t want to our purchase an Apple phone. Other than that was Samsung, and they keep pushing watches ending their support sooner than I wanted. The pixilation could be better, and the color saturation of faces is dull. This is what keeps the battery running longer though. The watch has a better face in natural lighting than artificial lighting. Theres multiple different apps and this is the Android of smartwatches with a lot of customization. The features I use the most are the Body battery, and my sleep monitor. Playing music drains the battery fast. I still use it anyway, something though to keep in mind. While its annoying there is more than one app, its not impossible. The watch is more compatible with Microsoft computers. When Ive accidentally taken a screenshot I had to connect it to a Microsoft to delete it. I do agree the Music application is definitely outdated and clunky. I personally would get the music version again though. Theres a few smaller things I like, like that it asks your bedtime and then turns off always on display, and has morning updates that informs you of the weather, time slept, etc.

I was using FR245 for three years, when it stopped charging (hope Garmin can do better producity quality control). I was totally happy with FR 245, but I had to replace it. The choices are FR265 ($350 with discount), FR255 with music ($270), and Coro Pace 3 ($230). I first tried Coro, since I was upset that FR245 only lasted for three years. It is cheap, but I found it cheap looking, and the clock faces were also cheap (albeit there are hundres of options). So I returned it. Then I was left with FR265 and FR 255. The former has AMOLED display, while the latter is 20% cheaper. The rest seems the same. Better screen is attractive, but considering that the Garmin watches might not last long, with their poor quality, I didn't want to pay $350. So I went to FR255. I am happy. Yes, it is not a bright AMOLED screen, but it is still better than the screen of FR245 (a bit brighter and larger). The GPS is significantly better (faster to acquire a signal, and be ready, and more precise). It feels more premium quality compared with Coro 3. I don't need Music function, since I do not listen to music with Garmin, so I wish I could have purchased a version weithout music ($250), but the White FR255 which I wanted was only available with music. But I love the white version., Much more elegant looking than white version of FR265 (who thought it is a good idea to add non-white color to the band?) Considering that Garmin watches is of poor build quality and does not last long, I think $280 for a dedicated running watch is reasaonble.

BACKGROUND I am a former serious marathon and ultra runner, cyclist, swimmer, and Ironman triathlete now in my later middle-age period with revised expectations and goals. I've been a Garmin user since the original GPS "watch" that required an arm band receiver, and have used the Forerunner 10 and 235 as well. I had no complaints about the capability or performance of the Forerunner 235, but was interested in the expanded health tracking features of the new 255 model. I also listen to music and podcasts on Spotify quite often, and the Music features of this model appealed to me. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS AND HEALTH MONITORING First, I am impressed with the sleep tracking of this model, which I find mostly accurate except sometimes when it doesn't distinguish the difference between waking and getting up. I find that tracking HRV (heart rate variability) is a very good indicator of sleep quality in addition to the usual deep sleep, light sleep, REM, awake, etc. markers. This also correlates very well with a feature I especially appreciate, that being Body Battery. I have a standalone pulse oximeter and have not activated that function on this watch. WORKOUT AND GPS TRACKING As for GPS and workout performance and tracking, I have found the unit to perform flawlessly thus far, down to the side of the road/lane on which I have run or cycled. GARMIN COACH I have a deep background and understanding of training load and structure, and have coached triathlon professionally in the past. I have also used sites/apps like Training Peaks as a tool, to good effect. I am currently getting back on the road after being sidelined for a long time with back issues and set the goal of completing a half marathon to motivate me and serve as a shorter term goal. Curious about the coaching functions included with this watch, I signed up for one of the plans that is available through the Garmin Connect app, and so far I have found it to be quite good at suggesting workouts and adjusting load and expectations based on completed workouts. It's a really cool bonus for me to have at my current level of fitness, and I would recommend the watch to newer endurance athletes over similar products based on this function alone. BATTERY LIFE Battery life is quite adequate and lasts for days without recharging under normal activity. A very nice bonus aspect is that it recharges very quickly using the supplied connector. SOFTWARE The only negative I've experienced so far is with the software and Music functions. The Garmin Connect app works great and I love being able to configure the displays. As for Music, I am disappointed that the only way to load music to the watch is via the Garmin Express app, which is clunky and outdated. But worse, this app has crashed every single time I try to access the Music Apps tab to connect Spotify. This has happened on both my MacBook Air and iMac, so perhaps it's an issue with iOS. It is due to this issue and the inability to take advantage of having Spotify on the watch that causes me to deduct one star, and I can say without reservation that if I had purchased the regular (non-Music) version of this watch I would give it a 5-star rating. SIZING & CONCLUSION I purchased the smaller (41mm) version of this watch simply because the larger (46mm) size wasn't available. It feels a little small, but I can live with it. If I were to go back and order any of the 255 variations (assuming equal availability) I would definitely get the larger version and probably skip the Music edition, although I'm still hopeful that will be resolved with a software or firmware update. I would recommend this watch to anyone serious about monitoring their health and fitness, who likes to get out on the road and structure their training. It is an excellent training tool and aid, and a great motivator, and although the Music functions do not work at this time for me and I would prefer the larger iteration, I am still very pleased with this watch.

This is a great watch. I've had it for over two years now and just getting around to writing a review because I wanted to see if it stood the test of time. It does. Pros: it's not too big, all the features work flawlessly (music, gps, etc), and most importantly the battery life is spectacular and has not degraded in the years I have owned it. I wear this watch every day and I only charge it maybe once a month. The GPS is accurate, but I did not use it as much as I thought I might (I am a geology student and have to take coordinates regularly, real coordinates, not something on a navigation app). The thing is my iPhone is just as accurate (using specialized geology apps) and much easier to use. I don't use any of my real GSP units either. Guess that is the state of the art of GPS. Cons: I think the rubber band they ship it with leave much to be desired. I bought an aftermarket band with a velcro closure and problem is solved. And, It really does take a while to figure out how to use everything. It is not exactly intuitive and I still get lost in the menus. I'd buy it again.

The only thing I still wish this watch had was the white band and rose gold watch face but other than that, this has everything I was looking for. The 255 has the familiar Garmin 5 buttons. When I switched from the Apple Watch to Garmin, it took me about a week to get familiar using the buttons. So far, I’ve used it hiking, running, standup paddleboarding. Very light. Love the customizable 6 field data screen which can be done on the watch and the phone. GPS now comes multi band and it did very well out in the mountains (ice house trail). Love the color screen (my previous watches 645 music, venu 2S, 745, 245). It’s great Garmin included the altimeter to track those hill elevations (245 doesn’t have that). Love the training stats (venu 2S doesn’t have that). Sleep tracking is informative too (745 doesn’t have that. And the 745 was just more on the heavier side). I had all those other watches and wasn’t happy and kept my Garmin 645 music because of the run stats. Venu 2S was good till I keep accidentally ending runs because of the touchscreen. So Garmin 255s really works well just having the buttons. I’ve used music with Spotify and connected to my aeropex headset and sounds pretty nice. The morning report is a great motivator, nice touch!! The body battery is quite accurate on how I feel throughout the day. As for the watch battery, I charge every 5-6 days depending on activities and that’s tolerable. I plan on doing half marathon races and entered the races and the watch now tells me how many weeks to go to train for the races. Also, for triathletes, this now also includes triathlon for tracking. Before, only 745 has that. Pretty neat! Also, the watch band is easily changeable and I used my previous venu 2S bands, same size. Highly recommended!

Great watch! Interface, response, battery lifeand build quality are all perfect. I used FR 35, 45s and 55 in the past, when compared to this, l can tell the difference. FR 265 seems cool, but not as good as this one :)

Produto excelente, Garmin não decepciona.

So far all goods, only that cannot track indoor bike distance.

I've been using the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. The GPS accuracy is excellent — even in urban areas or wooded trails — which is a huge plus for me as I regularly run and cycle. The interface is smooth and easy to navigate, and the data provided (heart rate, VO2 max, recovery time, etc.) is very detailed and helpful. Battery life is impressive — I only need to charge it about once a week despite training almost daily. The music feature is also a game changer: I can run phone-free while listening to my Spotify playlists through Bluetooth headphones. In short: super reliable, lightweight, packed with features — perfect for dedicated athletes. Highly recommended!

Extremely good, I use it all the time. It makes running fun.