Forerunner 255 Series

You can often find the 255 on sale for not much more than the 55. I’d pick up a 255 on sale and get better gps and metrics. Love mine.

Yes, 255 has multi-band gps! Even the best gps will have some issues in some areas with tall buildings, but definitely a step up from something like the 55.

For me a forerunner was 100% worth it but I never liked Apple Watch, never used mine (hand me down from a parent), and didn’t have the same concerns about Garmin that you have. I am not a smart watch person so the fact that my garmin (255) is basically not a smart watch is ideal for me. I don’t care about look. The training metrics are a plus and a big part of why I love it but nothing anyone needs and if the battery life/24/7 wear isn’t going to be THE factor for you then it sounds like Apple Watch is your watch and you don’t need to convince yourself you need Garmin!

I recently swapped my Apple Watch for a garmin forerunner 255 and it’s been great. It was between that and a coros pace 3, and after reading a bunch of reviews I went with garmin, but I probably would have been happy with either. It was a close call.

I switched from Apple Watch & Apple Music to Garmin 255 & Spotify. You can get a yearly Spotify premium gift card from Amazon for $120 to save money, otherwise it's $144 a year from Spotify. I much prefer Garmins watch for running over the Apple Watch. The 2 music subscriptions were about equal to me. They both have their annoyances & pluses.

I have a Garmin forerunner 255s - has an older screen so more muted colours - almost e-ink like. No touch screen, only buttons, so feels very different from a smart watch. Has great health metrics as well!