Faisal Ghaffar 
Garmin has developed a watch for almost all price points, but the Garmin Forerunner 255S has been designed for those who are serious about running. It is the successor of the Forerunner 245 and incorporates the new multiband GNSS mode introduced in Garmin’s top-end watches. However, it also has a successor in the form of Forerunner 265 that comes with an AMOLED screen. But, the 255S is still worth checking out because it has a similar feature set, only without the AMOLED.
Design and build
If you are looking for a watch that is not too big on your wrist, the 41mm-sized 255S is the perfect fit, as the 255 is also available in 46mm. In fact, it also has music and non-music editions available. The former has a higher price tag, but comes with a 32GB built-in music player for storing offline playlists for purchased audio.
Like other Garmin Forerunner watches, polymer is used for the case and it is paired with an 18mm silicon strap, which is great for exercise and you have the option of removing it if you want something colorful or stylish. Other than the usual physical buttons, the display is smaller than the 245 at 1.1 inch with a resolution of 218 x 218. There is no touchscreen either, but the screen is still a good size and gives you good viewing angles.
You can take the watch swimming, as it can be submerged in about 50 meters. Garmin’s optical sensor is also on the back that offers heart rate data during exercise and measures blood oxygen throughout the day. The charging port is also found there. The 255S is unobtrusive and light, so you will feel comfortable wearing it.
Health and fitness tracking
The 255S comes with the tracking features and sensors for tracking cycling, swimming and there are also profiles for snowboarding, skiing, hiking and various other outdoor pursuits. The sports profile available with the 255S has gotten a boost because it has an open water swimming mode, along with a dedicated mode for triathlon. There is plenty to find for running, such as track running and ultras. You can also sync your workouts from various programs.
The biggest addition is the SATIQ technology and the new GNSS mode. The latter is the same as Apple Watch Ultra’s dual band mode, which is capable of providing greater accuracy, especially when you are near mountain ranges, trees or tall buildings. While it uses more battery than GPS tracking mode, it does provide more accurate data. As for the former, it is for automatically determining the level of satellite support should be used, depending on the location and surroundings.
The Garmin Forerunner 255S also packages the data in better and more efficient way. It also comes with features that were found in the 245.
Smartwatch features
Even if you do not use 255S for exercise tracking, it functions as a smartwatch. It can be used on both iOS and Android devices and the Garmin Connect phone app makes it easy to set up. It has decent apps, extra widgets, data fields and watch faces. You can also view notifications easily, but only respond to them on Android and not iOS. It also offers support for Garmin Pay.
The Verdict
Even though it might not be the latest model in the Forerunner range, the 255S offers a bigger battery and offers a comprehensive experience, especially to runners, but to others as well.
