Meet Garmin Forerunner 55 - Beginner's running watch pick

Almost four months after its arrival in the Philippines, we are now ready to share our thoughts with you about the Garmin Forerunner 55.

Meet Garmin Forerunner 55

To recap, the Forerunner 55 is Garmin's way of encouraging Filipinos to pursue good health through running. This fitness watch offers detailed running data, daily suggested workouts, and additional built-in sports apps. 

On paper, Garmin Forerunner 55 can last up to two weeks on smartwatch mode and 20 hours on GPS mode. It is also packed with essential features and can easily be connected to the Garmin Connect app.

Let's see how it fares in real life.

Meet Garmin Forerunner 55

The accessories

The running watch arrives in a slim, gray box with the product render and brand printed on top. Inside are the following: the unit, USB-A to 4pin port cable charging cord, stickers, and a paper manual. 

In terms of build material, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is made from a comfortable silicone watch band with a lens made from what the company describes as "chemically strengthened" glass. The unit that was loaned to us is the Black variant with a metal buckle.

Metal buckle and a black strap

Sporty, lightweight build!

The Garmin Forerunner 55 doesn't look overly obvious that it's meant for running. The lens looks clean with a metal bezel and three function buttons on the left side and two on the right.

Sensors at the back

At first, it looks like it has a manly design but as soon as it had it on my wrists, I realized that the Forerunner 55 effortlessly complements a woman, too. 

Of course, the watch faces are present. There are several watch faces on the unit itself. We're also able to download any of the what seemed unlimited choices of free watch faces from the Garmin Connect IQ app. A customized watch face is also available through the app.

Connect to Garmin Connect IQ app for a wide array of watch faces

At 42 mm diameter and only 11.6 mm thick with a weight of 37 grams, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is one of the most comfortable fitness watches we've tested. Although it has a pretty huge screen, it is not a touchscreen. The buttons around it are easy to navigate. 

Once connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth and Garmin Connect app, the watch supports push notifications like text and Messenger messages, Instagram, Viber, and more. The Forerunner 55 gently vibrates every time we receive a notification.

Left side buttons include light, up, and down

Although it doesn't have a built-in music player, Forerunner 55 can control my phone's music as long as it's connected. 

The Garmin Forerunner 55 has a built-in GPS that tracks where you run and provides accurate stats, including distance, intervals, and pace. 

Extensive sports tracking features!

It also has a cadence alert feature paired with a helpful recovery advisor that analyzes biometric and performance data the watch collects through the user's activities.

Running watch

Before Garmin Forerunner 55 arrived, I barely had workouts. For me to test this watch effectively, I needed to run (oh, the things we do for a review). As soon as I started running, the watch keeps track of the distance, time, and pace. It vibrates whenever I push the start/stop button. Afterward, I have the choice to save or discard the record of my sport. 

Of course, it is not limited to running only. It also has built-in sports trackers for running, of course, treadmill, track run, bike, walk, cardio, and more. Note that the Forerunner 55 doesn't have the Garmin Pay feature.

Right side buttons include start/stop and back

The Garmin Forerunner 55 also has Daily Suggested Workouts. This feature provided us with personalized run recommendations based on our training history, fitness level, and recovery time (which is tracked during continuous usage).

I also tried doing Cardio at home and after an almost 12-minute workout, Garmin Forerunner 55 recorded a total of 11 minutes and 35 seconds of cardio, 151bpm, and 102 calories. It promptly showed on my screen a suggested 15-hour recovery time. 

The Garmin strap lock has branding on it

Following the cardio, I tried the in-watch breathing exercise. During the 5 minutes and 34 seconds or breathe in and out plus holding my breath twice, Garmin Forerunner 55 recorded a 4bprm and 118bpm.

Spending a month with the Garmin Forerunner 55, we can say that this has nice stamina. It was advertised to last up to 14 days and we're happy to report that in real-life experience, it lasted up to almost 16 days. The Garmin Forerunner 55 is an efficient running watch. 

Over two weeks of use on a single charge!

Charging time takes around over an hour using the provided 4pin port cable.

Garmin Forerunner 55 Specs

Display: 26.3mm diameter chemically strengthened glass sreen w/ 208 x 208 resolution, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Battery: Smartwatch mode: Up to 2 weeks; GPS mode: Up to 20 hours

Connectivity: Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, ANT+

Sensors: Accelerometer, Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor

Others: LiveTrack, Live Event Sharing, Incident Detection during select activities, Assistance, 5 ATM water resistance Colors: Graphite, Flame Red, Graphite Camo (premium version)

Dimensions: 42 x 42 x 11.6 mm

Weight: 37 g

Price: PHP 11,395

Quick thoughts

Beginner's running watch pick

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a fantasy-turned-reality for running beginners or someone like me trying to get back on track. It has many features despite its affordable and reasonable price.

As we mentioned in the title description, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is a beginner's running watch pick. This is true and this is something we would easily recommend for anyone new to the sport. 

For under PHP 11,500, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is a nice investment you can consider as soon as you receive your 13th-month pay—if you're trying to get into sports or if you are already.

What do you think, guys?