Garmin 965 & 955 – new features
Must Read: Garmin Fenix 7 PRO Review & Where to Buy
Garmin has confirmed via dcrainmaker that the Forerunner 955 and its AMOLED sibling the Forerunner 965 will both receive almost all the newly announced Fenix PRO features that don’t rely on new hardware. As a daily 965 user, I’m especially excited by anything new that will take advantage of my whopping 1.4″ (454x45xpx) piece of visual real estate which don’t forget is the same size display as the largest Epix PRO 51mm model.
Thus the newly enhanced map overlays are a welcome boon. I especially check the weather for wind/rain before cycling. My concerns are fourfold 1) I’ve yet to find an accurate weather forecast site (eg YR.no or MET Office or Dark Skies) 2) weather should sync hourly over WiFi, not via Bluetooth 3) These only work on widget maps, not workout maps 4) I’m not yet entirely sure how the on-watch weather forecast image can scroll through time. Part of the improvements to the maps is another overlay which gives shading for elevation during workouts, I’ve used shaded contour maps before, they are generally pretty useful and easy on the eye.
The split screens that jointly show metrics and maps seem like an OK feature, just not for me. The vertically split ones do not look nice and don’t work as I think they should (tap to reveal metrics) however I might use the perimeter metrics and have a few performance metrics showing. I’ve got all that screen real estate so Garmin is giving me a chance to make my usable map smaller!
The new Endurance Score & Activity Impact metric seems to me as a runner/triathlete to be entirely useless. It gives an endurance number as a rating and measure of progress and that number includes non-triathlon sports. Again some concerns here 1) Are there any non-triathlon sports? I certainly wasn’t aware of any 🙂 Seriously tho I rarely do them 2) to have an aerobic/endurance impact in a non-triathlon sport you will need to do it fairly seriously eg a 90-minute soccer game might be equivalent to a 5k or 10k run.
The Enhanced Hill Score metric is definitely going to be useful to some of you but probably not for me. That said if it motivates me to run up some of the hills in nearby Richmond more often then that will be good, the only downer there at the moment is that I tend to run with my dog now and I have two more months of it needing to be on the lead in Richmond Park because of the deer birthing season.
when will they be added?
These are likely for August 2023 and likely on beta in July 2023
- Endurance Score Metric
- Hill Score Metric
- Weather overlays (rain, wind, clouds, temperature on widget map)
- Shaded Relief on maps
- TBC Vertically split map+data screens
- TBC new sports profiles
These are possible for November 2023 and possible for October 2023 beta
- Perimeter maps data metrics
these are unknown
- Redshift light mode
- Recent widgets
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This great news. I just ordered the 965 right before I saw this article. This definitely makes the 965 an attractive option from a price perspective.
Is there any hint towards having the Weather overlays also brought to the Edge series of devices?
oooh
that’s a good question
considering my response you might guess that i have no idea!!
it would make very good sense tho and I’m now vaguely excited by the prospect of your suggestion coming true!
955 user here, got it at launch, thanks for the update, I am jealous of the 965 screen, but at least it is good to hear we will get some of these new features
You are exited about the weather overlay on your 965 to check before you go cycling?
So, you are still at home and have a phone, laptop or maybe an iPad, but want to use the tiny watch screen.
That makes. Euhh. Sense?
I wish garmin spend more attention to software quality. Get rid of the different softwareteams. Have 1 garminOs and bring it to all their watches at once.
This backporting is so stupid and errorprone.
you and a million other people probably wish the same thing (or would if asked).
if you include User Experience/User Interface in your catch-all ‘software quality’ then I’ll certainly be wishing away with you too.
I have Google Home devices too. “OK Google which way is the wind blowing today”
I have an Apple Watch and the MyRADAR app.
doesn’t make sense, I agree. However neither does the number of devices I own 😉
I know I know
I have half a Applestore at home.
There is this thing with gadgets that doesn’t make is, but we make sense out of them.
When will Garmin offer the ECG function on more of their watches?
once they get regulatory approval. the new gen 5 elevate is ecg-ready.
955/965 do not have that
In the first line of this post, I think meant to swap FR965 and FR955 around.
ty
I have found Open Weather Map as the most accurate source for Weather available, at least where I am in Australia, and I have tried many if not every source and App around.
Hi, does using the map with perimeter data display during a hike drain considerably more battery than just using a data screen with no map?
Also, could you comment on the shaded relief map – does that drain even more battery?
idk for sure
my guess would be that the perimeter display makes no difference.
for the shaded relief then it’s perhaps only a tad worse than a normal map – results would vary based on how often the screen is redrawn and the detail that is redrawn.
How it she situation with software (maps) right now?
Did the schedule you were wishing for came true? It’s november now 🙂 .
I’m replacing my vivoactive4, mainly for the maps and battery life, and I cant decide if I should go for Fenix7pro or FR955.
I’m mostly using it for hiking, so maps and battery life are the most important for me.
I just think, FR955 should be nicer to have all day and night on. Fenix seems too big. Also Fenix is now around 200 – 300€ higher than 955.
Not concidering AMOLED, because I hate turnig it on by tapping or gestures, also the battery life is worse.