Garmin 755 LTE Inbound?

More: Garmin Forerunner 165 listed on Amazon

There is no intel around for a dual launch of Forerunners next week but several factors do point to it happening. There is a decent chance that February could be an interesting time for all things Forerunner. Here’s why.

Edit: Garmin FR165 is now confirmed as a single-product launch for Tue 20 Feb 2024. Garmin starts sponsoring the Transition area of PTO’s T100 Triathlon Race Series on 10 March, possibly setting the stage for a related triathlon watch launch on either Tuesday, March 5 or Tuesday, March 12 (again, speculation)

1. Forerunner 165 – A Garmin Forerunner 165 is about to be announced and will be launched on Tuesday, February 20. The FR165 AMOLED is the new name for what otherwise would have been the FR65 and is the entry-level Forerunner, although the AMOLED screen will boost its price tag to a mid-range level, i.e. about $300.
2. It is unlikely that FR165 can justify the marketing expense of being launched alone. It’s possible, of course, but I would still make a small wager on a dual launch with ‘something else’
3. On June 2nd 2021, the Forerunner 55 and Forerunner 945 LTE were jointly launched.
4. Towards the end of 2023, Garmin announced its new CIQ 7 features. These features often indicate the capabilities planned for new watch models in the following year and beyond. CIQ7 included some mysteriously named cloud service improvements, which I took to be related to LTE.
5. Garmin Forerunner 965 currently lacks Elevate Gen 5 and was released a year ago, ditto the Forerunner 955, released 20 months ago. A new heart rate sensor BY ITSELF would not justify a next-gen name (ie 975)
6. When the 945 LTE was released, it gained the obvious LTE features but also the latest-gen OHR sensor (Elevate 4)
7. In 2021, dcrainmaker interviewed Garmin staff and noted a likely future for further LTE development by the company. It’s been quiet for too long since then.
8. The Forerunner 745 represents a small format and more affordable triathlon watch. The 955 and 965 are larger format watches that are too big for many. However, Garmin’s Forerunner 265s may well represent the small-format triathlon watch in Garmin’s stable, albeit a lowly-featured one.

Here’s What We Will See

• A small format, top-end triathlon watch.
  • Probably with AMOLED,
  • Definitely, with ELEVATE 5 and
  • Perhaps with LTE.
• The harder question is what Garmin will call it on earth! FR965s LTE AMOLED? FR955s LTE? FR755 LTE AMOLED?
• Forerunner 965 PRO is a more likely if we look at the naming applied to the Fenix range. But then that would imply 2 or 3 case size options ie 965s PRO AMOLED and 965 PRO AMOLED.

Take Out

Yes, it seems like the Forerunner 965 was only released yesterday.

Whatever is launched alongside the FR165 will hopefully give us a good insight into how, and if, Garmin proposes to take LTE forward. It requires separate commercial negotiations with carriers and support for Category M1 technology, but that’s not quite as hard as the number of negotiations required to make Garmin PAY work globally. There will probably be an inability to use Apple’s core voice and text messaging.

How to Guide: use Garmin PAY with most banks – here

After LTE, the next big tech bumps are microLED displays and optical/NIRS sensors that will start to detect many more things than HR/ECG/HRV/SpO2. Neither of these will happen in 2024, and perhaps not even in 2025. To remain exciting in 2024, Garmin almost HAS to do something with a proven technology like LTE despite its many technological limitations and limited commercial appeal. Failing that, where is the next super-software feature??? Hint: They must have all been pretty much invented.

Me? I’m happy with the Forerunner 965. It does the job.

Garmin Fenix 7 gets CIQ 7 – Epix too – Big Connect IQ Boost for 2024