Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey Review: The Ultimate Entry-Level Running Companion?

There comes a moment in every new runner’s journey when the simple act of lacing up your shoes is no longer enough. You start wondering: How far did I actually go? Was I faster than last time? Is my heart rate in the right zone? Suddenly, the smartphone app you’ve been using feels clunky and inaccurate, a distraction you have to carry in your hand or strap awkwardly to your arm. I remember this phase vividly. I was hungry for data but completely overwhelmed by the market of so-called “smartwatches” that promised to do everything from answering calls to paying for groceries, all with a battery life that could barely survive a long run. I didn’t need a wrist-based computer; I needed a dedicated training partner. The real challenge was finding a device that offered serious, reliable running metrics without the intimidating price tag and a dizzying array of features I would never use. This is the precise void that the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey was designed to fill.

What to Consider Before Buying a GPS Running Watch

A GPS running watch is more than just a timepiece; it’s a key solution for transforming unstructured jogging into focused, data-driven training. It solves the fundamental problems of inconsistency and guesswork by providing accurate, real-time feedback on pace, distance, time, and heart rate. This allows athletes of all levels to track their progress, structure their workouts, and stay motivated. The main benefits are empowerment through data, the freedom to run without a phone, and access to structured training tools that can genuinely help you improve. It’s about turning a simple activity into a measurable and rewarding journey towards your personal fitness goals.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone who is either beginning their running journey or is a seasoned runner who values simplicity and core performance over superfluous smart features. They are individuals facing the challenge of wanting to improve but lacking the tools to measure that improvement accurately. It’s for the person training for their first 5K, the parkrunner looking to beat their personal best, or the marathoner who needs a reliable daily driver for training miles. Conversely, it might not be the best fit for elite multi-sport athletes who require advanced metrics for swimming, cycling, and triathlon transitions, or for tech enthusiasts who want a smartwatch that fully integrates with their digital life with features like on-device music storage, contactless payments, and a high-resolution AMOLED touchscreen. For those users, higher-end models from Garmin or other brands might be more suitable.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Weight: A running watch should feel like an extension of your body, not a burden. The size of the case and its weight are paramount for comfort during long runs. A bulky, heavy watch can become a noticeable annoyance, chafing your wrist or affecting your arm swing. Look for a lightweight design, typically under 50 grams, with a case diameter that suits your wrist size for a secure, unobtrusive fit.
• Performance & GPS Accuracy: This is the heart of the device. Key performance metrics include how quickly the watch acquires a GPS signal (satellite lock), and how accurately it tracks your route, especially in challenging environments like dense cities or tree-covered trails. Beyond GPS, consider the reliability of the wrist-based heart rate monitor and the breadth of running-specific features like interval training, cadence alerts, and recovery advisors.
• Materials & Durability: Runners expose their gear to sweat, rain, and occasional bumps. The watch case should be made from a durable polymer or fibre-reinforced composite, with a lens crafted from chemically strengthened glass to resist scratches. The strap, most commonly silicone, needs to be flexible, comfortable against the skin for long periods, and robust enough to withstand daily use and cleaning. Water resistance, typically rated in ATM (atmospheres), is crucial for running in all weather conditions.
• Ease of Use & Battery Life: A complex interface can be frustrating, especially mid-run. Many runners, ourselves included, prefer physical buttons over touchscreens for their definitive, tactile feedback that works flawlessly with sweaty fingers or gloves. Equally important is battery life. You need a watch that can last through a week of training, including several long GPS-tracked runs, without you constantly worrying about finding the charger. Look for specs that list both a “smartwatch mode” and a “GPS mode” battery life.

While the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is an excellent choice for runners, it’s worth noting that Garmin’s expertise in GPS technology extends far beyond personal fitness devices. Their navigation systems are trusted by professionals and adventurers in various fields. For a broader look at how they apply this technology to vehicle navigation, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Unboxing a Pure Running Tool

Unboxing the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is a refreshingly straightforward affair. There are no excessive frills, just the watch itself, a proprietary USB charging cable, and some documentation. The first thing that struck me was its incredible lightness. At just 37 grams, it’s practically unnoticeable on the wrist, a massive plus for any runner. The grey resin case and matching silicone band have a functional, sporty aesthetic that doesn’t scream for attention. It feels solid and well-constructed, a sentiment echoed by users upgrading from older models like the Forerunner 35, who appreciate Garmin’s consistent build quality. Unlike many modern smartwatches that chase a premium, metallic look, the Forerunner 55 is unapologetically a piece of athletic equipment. The 1.04-inch, 240×240 pixel colour display is bright and legible in direct sunlight—a critical feature for outdoor running. We noted that some product listings incorrectly mention a touchscreen; rest assured, the device is operated by five tactile, responsive physical buttons, which we consider a significant advantage for all-weather use and control during intense activity. Setup is seamless through the Garmin Connect app, which quickly syncs the watch and allows for immediate customization, a process one user found “more or less automatic.”

Performance Deep Dive: How the Forerunner 55 Holds Up on the Road

A running watch lives and dies by its performance in the field. It’s not about how it looks on your wrist at the office, but how it functions on mile 10 of a gruelling training run. Over several weeks of testing, we put the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey through its paces across city streets, park trails, and track sessions to see if its performance matches its promise. We focused on the three pillars that matter most to its target audience: its core running intelligence, its all-day health and wellness tracking, and its real-world battery endurance.

Core Running Features and GPS Accuracy

At its heart, the Forerunner 55 is a purpose-built running coach, and this is where it truly shines. The GPS acquisition is impressively fast, typically locking onto satellites within 15-20 seconds in an open area, meaning less time spent shivering on the curb before a run. During our tests, the GPS tracking was consistently accurate, mapping our routes without significant drift or corner-cutting, even when running through moderately dense urban environments. The data—pace, distance, and time—was reliable and matched our expectations on known courses.

What truly elevates the Forerunner 55 from a simple GPS tracker to a training tool is its suite of software features. The “Daily Suggested Workouts” feature is a game-changer for beginners or those who lack a structured training plan. Based on your recent activity, recovery status, and fitness level, the watch proposes a new run each day—be it a long, slow session, a tempo run, or an interval workout. It removes the guesswork and helps prevent overtraining or stagnation. For more advanced users, the PacePro Lite feature provides GPS-based pace guidance for a selected course or distance, helping you manage your effort across hills and flats to hit a target time. We also found the built-in recovery advisor, which suggests how long to rest before your next hard effort, to be surprisingly insightful. While it lacks some of the hyper-detailed metrics of Garmin’s top-tier watches, it provides everything a runner needs to train smarter, a fact you can verify by checking out the full feature breakdown and user experiences available online.

All-Day Health, Wellness, and Smart Connectivity

While running is its primary focus, the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is designed to be worn 24/7, and it offers a solid array of health monitoring features to support that. The Garmin Elevate wrist-based heart rate monitor provides continuous tracking, giving you a clear picture of your resting heart rate trends over time—a key indicator of improving fitness. We found its accuracy during runs to be good for a wrist-based optical sensor, though it can sometimes lag during high-intensity intervals compared to a chest strap. For steady-state runs, however, it’s more than reliable.

Beyond heart rate, the watch tracks steps, calories, and “Intensity Minutes,” encouraging you to stay active throughout the day. The Body Battery feature is a standout, combining data on sleep quality, stress, and activity to give you a score from 1-100 representing your energy reserves. We found this to be an intuitive and genuinely useful metric for deciding whether to push hard in a workout or opt for a recovery day. Sleep tracking is also robust, breaking down your night into light, deep, and REM stages. The “smart” features are intentionally basic but effective. You get smartphone notifications for calls, texts, and apps delivered to your wrist, but there’s no ability to reply, no music storage, and no contactless payments. This is a deliberate design choice: the Forerunner 55 is a fitness watch first, a smartwatch second, keeping distractions to a minimum so you can focus on your training.

Exceptional Battery Life and Everyday Usability

Perhaps the most liberating feature of the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is its phenomenal battery life. Garmin claims up to two weeks in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours in GPS mode. In our real-world testing, these claims are not an exaggeration. With running four to five times a week for about 45-60 minutes per session, and with 24/7 heart rate monitoring and notifications enabled, we consistently got 10-12 days out of a single charge. This performance is simply in a different league compared to mainstream smartwatches that require nightly charging. This reliability is a huge quality-of-life improvement. You can go on a weekend trip without packing the charger, or train for a marathon without ever worrying if your watch will die mid-run. This sentiment is strongly confirmed by user feedback, with one happy owner noting they “use the watch for a week and only charge it once a week.” This incredible endurance, combined with its lightweight comfort and clear display, makes it a device you can truly put on and forget about—until you need it. It’s this hassle-free experience that solidifies its position as a top-tier running tool, and you can check the latest pricing and see more reviews to confirm its value.

What Other Users Are Saying

Across the board, the sentiment for the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is overwhelmingly positive, especially among its target audience of new and intermediate runners. Many users, like one who upgraded from an old Forerunner 35, praise the seamless transition within the Garmin ecosystem. They noted that the “Garmin software… switched over to the new watch more or less automatically and the data capture was seamless.” This speaks to the strength and user-friendliness of the Garmin Connect platform. Another common point of praise, reflected in several non-English reviews, is the excellent battery life, with one user stating, “Muito bom o relógio uso a semana só carrego uma vez por semana” (“The watch is very good, I use it all week and only charge it once a week”).

However, no product is perfect. We did find isolated reports of technical glitches. One user detailed a frustrating experience where their brand-new watch froze completely after just over a week of use: “hoje o relógio travou” (“today the watch froze”). While this appears to be a rare defect rather than a widespread issue, it’s a valid concern and a reminder that electronics can occasionally fail. For any such issue, a hard reset (holding the power button for 15 seconds) usually resolves the problem, but it’s something potential buyers should be aware of.

How Does the Garmin Forerunner 55 Compare to the Alternatives?

The Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey occupies a specific niche, but it’s important to understand how it fits within the broader market of GPS devices. Here, we compare it to three distinct alternatives to help clarify who might be better served by a different model.

1. Garmin fēnix 7S Smartwatch Multisport Touchscreen

The Garmin fēnix 7S represents a significant step up in both features and price. It’s a premium multi-sport watch built for serious athletes and outdoor adventurers. Compared to the Forerunner 55’s focused running toolkit, the fēnix 7S offers advanced tracking for dozens of sports, superior build materials (like stainless steel bezels), topographical maps for navigation, and a more advanced suite of performance analytics. It also adds premium features like music storage and Garmin Pay. You should choose the fēnix 7S if you are a triathlete, trail runner, hiker, or data-obsessed athlete who needs the absolute best in durability and analytical depth, and for whom budget is a secondary concern.

2. Garmin epix PRO Gen 2 51mm Smartwatch AMOLED Touchscreen

The Garmin epix PRO Gen 2 is all about the display. It takes many of the high-end features of the fēnix line and combines them with a stunning, vibrant AMOLED touchscreen. This display makes maps, charts, and everyday watch faces look incredibly sharp and colourful, offering a user experience more akin to a high-end consumer smartwatch. It also boasts an extremely long battery life for an AMOLED device and includes a built-in flashlight. The epix PRO is the choice for the user who wants the best of both worlds: top-tier Garmin performance metrics and a beautiful, modern smartwatch display. If you value screen quality above all else and want a no-compromise feature set, the epix PRO is the model to consider, provided it’s within your budget.

3. Garmin eTrex 10 Handheld GPS

The Garmin eTrex 10 is an entirely different class of device and serves as an excellent counterpoint. It is not a watch; it’s a dedicated, rugged, handheld GPS unit. It offers no fitness tracking, no heart rate monitoring, and no smart features. Its sole purpose is navigation and location tracking. With a monochrome display, button operation, and incredible battery life from AA batteries, it’s built for hikers, geocachers, hunters, and anyone who needs a simple, bombproof GPS device for off-grid adventures. You should choose the eTrex 10 if your primary need is navigation in the backcountry and you have no interest in tracking your athletic performance on a daily basis.

Final Verdict: Our Recommendation on the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey

After extensive testing and analysis, our verdict is clear: the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey is a resounding success and arguably the best entry-level running watch on the market today. It masterfully strips away the distracting, non-essential features of more expensive smartwatches and doubles down on what truly matters to a runner: accurate GPS, insightful training tools, all-day health monitoring, and a battery that simply refuses to quit. Its lightweight design makes it a joy to wear, and the tactile five-button controls are a testament to function-first design.

While it may lack the premium feel of a Fēnix or the dazzling display of an Epix, it delivers exceptional value and performance where it counts. We wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone starting their running journey, training for a 5K or half-marathon, or any experienced runner who craves a simple, reliable, and powerful training partner. If you want to stop guessing and start training with purpose, this is the tool that will help you do it. For a focused, powerful, and affordable running companion, you will be hard-pressed to find a better option. You can get the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch Grey and start your journey today.