With the new Galaxy Watch 5 Series, Samsung has focused on refining an already great watch (the Galaxy Watch 4). Battery performance has been improved, the OS (One UI at the top of Google’s Wear OS) has been streamlined, and the construction has been made more robust with the introduction of sapphire glass and titanium casing in the premium model (Galaxy Watch 5 Pro).
Garmin Forerunner 255, on the other hand, has carried on the legacy of its predecessor (Forerunner 245), offering a great all-around watch for beginner and intermediate runners. However, some remarkable features make the Forerunner 255 stand out, such as the new triathlon mode made possible by the addition of advanced cycling and swimming metrics, improved battery performance (from 7 days to 12 days); and last but not least, two sizes to accommodate different wrists.
Here we will compare Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro vs Garmin Forerunner 255 Music in terms of design, features, performance, and value for money.
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Garmin Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | August 10, 2022 | June 1, 2022 |
| Predecessor | Galaxy Watch 4 Classic | Garmin Forerunner 245 Music |
| Company | Samsung | Garmin |
| Operating System | WearOS (One UI) | Garmin OS |
| Compatible Smartphones | Android (Works best with Samsung) | Android, iOS |
| Competition | Garmin Fenix 7, Garmin Instinct 2, Polar Vantage 2 | FR 955, Garmin Instinct 2, Fenix 7, Fitbit Sense, FR 55 |
| Sensors | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Heart Rate + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor | Multi-Frequency Positioning, Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, Barometric altimeter, Compass, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Thermometer, Pulse OX blood oxygen saturation monitor |
Table of Contents
Price and Value:
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Garmin Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth/GPS | $449 | About $400 |
| LTE | $499 | No LTE Mode |
Garmin Forerunner 255 starts at around $350 and charges an extra $50 for the music variant. However, the company doesn’t give any discount as far as the watch size is concerned. The smaller Forerunner 255S has a small battery, screen size, and resolution, so the fans are right to claim a discount on it.
Samsung released Galaxy Watch 5 Pro in one size (45mm) only with a starting price of a whopping $450. There is an additional cost of $50 if you want the LTE model.
On the surface, Garmin Forerunner 255 Music looks like a better deal, but when you start digging into the features, it’s clear that Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the better value for money.
Winner: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music
Design and Display:
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Garmin Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 45.4 x 45.4 x 10.5 mm | 46mm: 45.6 x 45.6 x 12.9 mm | 41mm: 41 x 41 x 12.4 mm |
| Buttons | 2 Buttons | 2 Buttons |
| Weight | 46.5g | 46mm: 49g | 41mm: 39g |
| Colors | Black Titanium, Gray Titanium | 46mm: 45.6 x 45.6 x 12.9 mm, 49g | 41mm: 41 x 41 x 12.4 mm, 39g |
| Band Size | 20mm (M/L) | 46mm: 22mm (M/L) | 41mm: 18mm (M/L) |
| Casing Material | Titanium | Fiber-reinforced Polymer |
| Strap Material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Screen Size | 1.4 inches | 46mm:1.3 inches | 41mm: 1.1 inches |
| Screen Type | Super AMOLED | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
| Screen Resolution | 450×450 Pixels | 46mm: 260 x 260 pixels, 41mm: 218 x 218 pixels (active area) |
| Screen Protection | Sapphire Crystal Glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Always-on Display | Yes | Yes |
| Rotating Bezel | Touch | No |
| Waterproofing | 5 ATM (up to 50m) | Suitable for Shower, Swimming | 5 ATM (up to 50m) | Suitable for Shower, Swimming |
Forerunner’s plastics casing and 5-button design make it look and feel a little dated when compared to the more premium Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. The bezels on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is thinner, and the overall profile is sleeker. The titanium casing and sapphire glass construction give it an edge over FR255 in terms of durability. As far as aesthetic appeal is concerned, Samsung Watches are always superior to Garmin, and GW5 Pro is no exception.
Galaxy Watch’s dominance in the display department is also evident when you compare the high-resolution, Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. It is brighter, sharper, and much more vibrant than the MIP display on the FR 255. However, the touchscreen interface of the Galaxy Watch is the defining factor that sets it apart from the competition. It is much more user-friendly and easier to navigate than the 5-button interface on the FR 255.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Smart Features:
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | WearOS | Garmin OS |
| Connectivity Options | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz), GPS, LTE | Bluetooth, ANT+ |
| Processor | Exynos W920 | Not Specified |
| RAM | 1.5GB RAM | Not Specified |
| Storage | 16GB | 4G & up to 500 songs |
| Speaker & Mic | Yes | No |
| Companion App | Galaxy Wearable | Connect IQ |
| Contactless Payment (NFC) | Samsung+Google Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Standalone Calling and Texting | Yes (LTE model) | No |
| Voice Assistant | Bixby, Google Assistant | No |
| Timer & Alarms | Yes | Yes |
| Popular Apps | Strava, Spotify, Google Maps, Youtube Music, Google Keep, Google Pay, Nike Run Club | Strava, Spotify, Google Maps, Nike Run Club, Garmin Pay |
The Garmin Watch has one particular advantage over the Samsung Watch: It is compatible with both IOS and Android. Other than this, Forerunner 255 Music has only a handful of smarts to offer that include music storage (500 songs) and streaming (on Spotify and Amazon Music), NFC payments via Garmin Pay, and notification alerts from the connected smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro, especially if you choose the LTE variant, is a lot more independent of the smartphone. It has both Samsung Pay and Google Pay(NFC) support, can browse the internet, and has a voice assistant to boot. You can also download apps from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store.
Moreover, the user interface of the Galaxy Watch 5 brings the best experience you can have on a smartwatch. It is snappy, attractive, and easy to use. For those who don’t know, Samsung is running the Google Powered Wear OS 3 on its latest watches; this brings support for Google Wearable Suite and thousands of third-party apps on the platform.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Health and Fitness Tracking:
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Monitoring | Yes (Advanced) | Yes (Basic) |
| Stress Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| ECG Monitoring | Yes | No |
| Blood Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Body Composition | Yes | No |
| Blood Pressure Tracking | Yes | No |
| Workouts | 30+ | 50+ |
| Automatic Workout Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| GPS Tracking | Yes +Glonass/Beidou/Galileo | Yes + GLONASS, Galileo |
Take aside the ECG and Blood Pressure tracking on the Samsung Watch and we have a complete overlap of health tracking features on both devices.
Both can track heart rate, steps, calories burned, blood oxygen, and sleep. The accuracy and how these watches present and use this raw data to give you actionable insights boils down to their companion app. Garmin Connect app is more user-friendly and has a more comprehensive set of metrics to offer.
The differences start to show when we talk about workout tracking. Though Samsung might have more workouts preinstalled into the watch, Garmin Forerunner 255 offers accuracy and depth in terms of data tracking.
For instance, take running. Samsung’s GPS and Heart Rate accuracy pales in comparison to the Garmin Watch. Whereas the Garmin watch metrics like PacePro, VO2 Max, Heart Rate Zone, Recovery time, Training Readiness, and more give you a lot of information that can help improve your running form and style.
Winner: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music
Battery Performance:
| Galaxy Watch 5 Pro | Forerunner 255 Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Size | 590mAh | Not Specified |
| Expected Battery Performance | Almost 80 hours | Up to 6.5 hours to 14 days (mixed usage) |
| Fast Charging Support | Yes | No |
The above-given table gives you a clear picture of how these two devices fare against each other in terms of battery performance. Even if we believe that the Samsung Watch will be able to last the claimed 80 hours on a single charge, Garmin Forerunner 255’s performance is hard to beat.
It seems natural to link the battery performance of Garmin to its low-resolution MIP display, but we have seen the latest AMOLED Garmin Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus pulling up similar numbers.
Galaxy Watch 5 Pro may have lost the battery marathon here, but its fast charging support is a welcome addition. Where Garmin Watch takes 2 hours to fully charge, Samsung offers a full day of use with only 30 minutes of charge.
Winner: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro vs Garmin Forerunner 255 Music: What should you pick?
The thing is, Garmin watches are laser-shaped and focused on sports tracking which may not be useful for everyone. With the new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, Samsung has hinted that it also wants a share of the pie in the outdoor niche, but that didn’t include stripping down the smartwatch experience which is inextricably linked to its identity.
Thus, the decision of which watch you should buy boils down to what you are looking for in a smartwatch. If you want a fitness-first mid-range smartwatch with great battery life, go for the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music. It’s got all the health tracking features that you could ask for, along with enough smarts to get you by.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a complete smartwatch experience the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the watch for you.
