Garmin pops solar power onto its fancy Forerunner running watch – TechCrunch

Garmin simply introduced solar energy to its Forerunner line, a cult-favorite amongst runners.

Together with another units, the corporate took the wraps off its new Forerunner 995 Photo voltaic at this time. The $600 working watch packs a brand new touchscreen show, bodily buttons, as much as 20 days between fees through its “Energy Glass” charging lens, multiband GPS and a brand new coronary heart fee variability function, amongst different issues. Garmin can also be promoting a regular 955 (sans photo voltaic), which shaves $100 off of the value and 5 days off of the efficient battery life.

Towards the decrease finish, Garmin additionally introduced the Forerunner 255. Because the Verge identified, it isn’t all that completely different from the sooner Forerunner 245. The $350 machine provides multiband GPS, contactless funds and a few new software program options. It is available in two sizes, every with optionally available music options that’ll set you again one other 50 bucks. The entire new watches can be found as of June 1.

Photo voltaic-powered digital watches date again to at the very least the early 70s, so this isn’t what you’d name a groundbreaking launch. Garmin launched its first GPS watch with solar energy again in 2019 and expanded its photo voltaic lineup a 12 months later. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly thrilling to see photo voltaic on new feature-packed watches, partly as a result of maintaining them charged continues to be a ache.

Although specialised watches like Garmin’s can go quite a bit longer than generalist smartwatches between fees, by no means having to plug one in once more is the dream. Plus, wearables usually require proprietary cables to juice up — the kind that may simply get buried in a drawer someplace. It’d be good to lose these, too.

Sadly, you’ll nonetheless want a cable when you determine to snag a 955 Photo voltaic. In Garmin land, solar energy merely stretches out every cost by just a few days. For the 955 Photo voltaic, Garmin says the additional $100 for the charging lens can enhance its life by as a lot as 5 days, with caveats: It assumes the wearer will spend three hours in 50,000 lux situations per day — that’s about three hours spent outdoors in oblique daylight. Workplace-bound metropolis dwellers received’t hit these numbers 12 months spherical, at the very least not in locations like New York.