Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 are the latest series of Fenix and Forerunner watches from Garmin. We look at the main points of differences between the Fenix 7 and the Forerunner 955 Garmin watches below.
For the purpose of this study, we have picked the Fenix 7 Standard Edition watch and the Forerunner 955 Standard Edition (non-solar) watch variant.
Table of content:
- Size and weight
- Display Lens
- Swimming
- Multi-point Frequency Sensor
- Device Storage
- Battery
- Spectator Messaging
- Costs
- Summary
Size and weight
The Fenix 7 is significantly heavier than the Forerunner 955 smartwatch. Forerunner 955 is designed for runners. In terms of physical attributes and size, the significant differentiators between the Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 are:
- Fenix 7 has a watch weight of 79 g and the Forerunner 955 has a watch weight of 52 g. This can be explained easily in terms of the steel body of the Fenix 7.
- Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 have almost similar physical size and display size. Fenix 7 is a 47 mm watch while the Forerunner 955 is a 46.55 mm watch. Both watches have almost the same display size of 33 mm.
- The body of Fenix 7 is made of fiber-enforced polymer with a metal rear cover. The bezel is of stainless steel. Forerunner 955 is made of fiber-enforced polymer completely.
Display Lens
Fenix 7 standard edition’s glass is made of Corning Gorilla Glass and the Forerunner 955 glass is made of the Corning Gorilla Glass DX. This is a significant difference between the two watches.
The Corning Gorilla Glass DX has an anti-reflective coating that helps in improving sunlight readability by almost 75%. The DX coating also improves the contrast ratio of the display screen.
Corning Gorilla Glass DX has a better optical clarity. You can read more about the Corning Gorilla Glass DX on the Corning website.
Swimming
Fenix 7 has a water resistance rating of 10 ATM. This essentially means that the Fenix 7 can withstand a depth pressure of 10 atmospheres. In other words, the Fenix 7 watch is safe under water up to a depth of 100 meters or 330 feet. Fenix 7 is, therefore, appropriate for pool swimming and open water swimming. It is not suitable for diving.
Forerunner 955 has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM. It can take a depth pressure of 5 atmospheres and you can wear it up to a depth of 50 meters or 165 feet below the water surface level. Forerunner 955 is fine for pool water swimming and shallow water swimming.
Multi-point Frequency Sensor
One of the advancements on the Forerunner 955 series is the introduction of the multi-frequency positioning sensor on the watch. Fenix 7 standard edition does not have it. The Sapphire edition of the Fenix 7 do have multi-frequency positioning feature.
The multi-frequency positioning sensor allows you to take GPS coordinates from multiple satellites of the same satellite system. Technically speaking, multi mode GPS allows you to take GPS readings on L1 and L2 bands on the watch.
The multi-band frequency on the Forerunner 955 and Forerunner 955 Solar helps in improving reliability of the GPS data.
Device Storage
The internal memory on Fenix 7 standard edition watch is 16 GB and on Forerunner it is 32 GB. In terms of storing personal audio content, both watches can store up to 2000 songs. The Forerunner 955 comes with a lot of preloaded topo, trail and golf maps.
The incremental device storage on Forerunner 955 equips you to download additional topo and trail maps for different regions.
From a practical point of view, 16 GB device storage on Fenix 7 standard edition is quite sufficient. Other Fenix 7 editions do have 32 GB on-device storage. So, it essentially comes down to incremental expenditure in getting a 32 GB device storage Fenix 7 device with higher configuration.
Battery
Fenix 7 has a marginally better battery backup than the Forerunner 955.
- On the smartwatch mode, Fenix 7 can last for up to 18 days. Forerunner 955 can do up to 15 days of backup.
- On the GPS mode, Fenix 7 can do 57 hours in comparison to the Forerunner 955 doing 42 hours.
The battery different may look trivial. But, for a fact, the Fenix 7 watches do offer one of the best backups on full battery charge.
Spectator Messaging
Forerunner 955 has the spectator messaging safety feature. It allows your followers to send text messages as part of live tracking feature on the Forerunner 955. These messages are delivered to your watch through the paired smartphone.
On the Forerunner 945 LTE, the spectator messaging feature involved sending or receiving text messages through a LTE connection. The Forerunner 955 rides on the paired smartphone’s network for delivery of spectator messages.
Spectator messaging on Forerunner 955 is a safety feature. You can enable or disable spectator messaging as per your convenience.
Costs
Fenix 7 standard costs $699.99 and upwards. Forerunner 955 standard edition costs $499.99.
Summary
In our opinion, you must focus on the core competencies of both watches in deciding between a Forerunner 955 or a Fenix 7 smartwatch.
Forerunner 955 is a well-thought of product that will tick all the boxes for aspiring or pro athletes.
Fenix 7 has a much wider audience. It is a sturdy watch with a rich set of features. For a use case scenario that goes beyond triathlon or running, a Fenix 7 watch is a more
You may like to read more content related to Fenix 7 and Forerunner 955 smartwatches below:
- Fenix 7 Solar vs Forerunner 955 Solar
- Garmin Fenix 7 vs Forerunner 945
- Garmin Forerunner watch with elite running
- Garmin Forerunner for Golf
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].