The long-awaited Garmin Forerunner 955 has appeared in a listing on a US government website, proving that the long-awaited watch is finally just around the corner – but it looks like one edition is missing.
Any device that can send wireless communications must be registered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) before it can be sold in the United States, and eagle-eyed writers at the5krunner have now spotted details of both the Forerunner 955 and 255 on the agency's website.
Last week, the two watches also appeared on the website of the Singaporean government's telecom licensing system, but their listing on the FCC's site is the first sign that Garmin is readying them for a full global release.
In fact, that release date might be just a few days away. Earlier this month, a Reddit user claimed to have seen an email from Garmin to retailers, stating that the new watches were set for release on June 1. The claim is impossible to verify, but the timings so far appear to line up.
No LTE edition?
There are listings for two versions of the Forerunner 955 – one with music playback capability and one without – but there's no mention of an LTE model that would allow you to download apps, get extra maps, and sync data with your Garmin Connect account without a Bluetooth connection to your phone. That's surprising.
Earlier this year, an unfinished page appeared on Garmin's Australian website showing a price for a Forerunner 955 LTE bundle, which would presumably include the watch, plus a chest strap heart rate monitor like previous Forerunner bundle packages. The price tag of AU$1,049 (about $750 / £550) sounded plausible, but there's been no sign of this particular edition since, and if an LTE watch was on the cards we'd expect it to have its own listing with the FCC.
However, we wouldn't rule it out completely just yet. Garmin launched the Forerunner 945 LTE several months after the standard 945, so it's possible that we might just have to wait a little longer.
There was no mention of a solar edition of the Forerunner 955 on the FCC's website either. This could be due to the watch being essentially the same as the standard edition save for the addition of photovoltaic glass to keep its battery charged up with a regular dose of sunlight. Alternatively, it could mean that the Forerunner 955 has an OLED display like the Venu 2 and Epix, and therefore isn't compatible with Garmin's Power Glass.
We think that the latter is less likely due to its impact on battery life. The Forerunner series has always focused on practicality, and although Garmin has applied for patents for a solar OLED display, the tech likely isn't ready for consumer product just yet. A memory-in-pixel (MIP) screen like that of the Forerunner 945 might be less attractive, but it's also less power hungry and will allow the watch to run for far longer between charges.
We're keeping our ear to the ground for more news on the next-gen Forerunner, which could be one of the best GPS watches of 2022, and will bring you further information as soon as we have it.
