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FR955: the unwanted *** child of the Fenix-Family! grrr....

pietpeterson

Dear Forerunner Team, 
please don't offer a FR955 if you are not willing to commit to making it work. 

It really really sucks to have for my purposes the best hardware out there, with the worst software. Features that are working on other watches since month(!) cant be that hard to fix for the Forerunner team. I have had the 935 and 945 and observed the same negligence on it compared to Fenix. 

It really hurts my engineering heart. Such a nice piece! But you really take away the hapiness with the unit...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rename the watch "plastic Fenix/Epix" and let the Fenix/Epix - Team handle this product!!!!

Sorry had to get this out...

  • 0 in reply to Martin Serafín

    @Serafin

    You are the only one talking about beta testing! Thread starter and others are just talking about their disappointment with 955 :-)

  • 0 in reply to Grumpy Old Man

    Oh yeah. That's probably because I'm also going through the beta forum and people are just cursing everywhere ;-)

  • 0

    I do agree with your comment, very poor software.

    I'm wondering why they do not push the Fenix software (updated for the 955) to this watch instead of developing a new firmware...

  • 0

    I agree.

    The internals of the watches, must be similar, the sensor array, button hardware, screen etc. Why they on insist of having 2 development streams for similar hardware boggles my mind. Even things like different weather widgets, different activity overview screens - what a waste of development time and resources...!

    This is where Apple have it right, with 'watchOS', now its nothing compared to Garmin in terms of fitness tracking, but it doesn't matter which model you have, a Alu one, a stainless one or a big or little one - you get all the same user experience and features.

    I was really happy with the 945 and the software progression it made since it was launched - we got loads of features and it was almost a different watch by the time the 955 came along - we then had the Fenix7 and Epix releases and I was tempted - but the reviews of the 955 appeared to show it  having all the features of the Fenix but in a lighter case - so stayed with the forerunner line - but now it (as the OP says) we have drifted and I'm getting 645 and 945 LTE vibes about the 955 and it being quickly forgotten about - especially considering the rumours of the 965 coming shortly... 

    So yeah, hoping the guys and gals of Garmin are reading all the displeasure about the 955

  • 0

    The adding of 200 and 400€ on price base of forerunner (500€)  are above all for the software and for the service offered.  Were it only for the hardware side, the price difference would be minimal.

    What you really pay for is the software. I have tried many other devices but I wouldn't complain so much, there are some bugs on Forerunner 955, but nothing compared to other device, above all on functionality. Of course Fenix Team are more efficient, but you pay 30% more for it, so more people work on it.

    In my case I don't find the forerunner so disastrous, it can be improved but it is an excellent device.

    Cheers!

  • 0

    Just today my v13.23 FR955 refused to connect to GPS. 

    Rebooted it, no luck.

    Sync it with my phone, no luck.

    I switched it off, usually after resting for an hour, watch connects to GPS.

    What a mess!

  • 0 in reply to Deiv

    @Deiv

    Quote "Of course Fenix Team are more efficient, but you pay 30% more for it, so more people work on it."

    This makes no sense to me. Why should Fenix team be more efficient because of the price???? 

    Imo if you sell a product it should work with no or almost no bugs. Otherwise don't sell it. Garmin didn't tell me that I was buying an inferior product, which they didn't care to work on. They said I would get top of the line quality in plastic casing.

    Had I known that Fenix had way less bugs and was prioritized, I would have bought that instead even if it's heavier.

  • 0

    Because of this big mess in Garmin product lines, at this moment I have a FR955 and a Fenix7 (solar). Still not fully satisfied with any and not fully decided which one to keep, cos each line has its pros and cons, when they both could have it all. 

    Hardware:

    FR955 is really better hardware in terms of functionality. Lighter body and lighter and more comfortable strap. Screen is better and brighter, specially standard screen (solar screen is reflective mess in both lines, much worse visibility). 

    The plastic body with spring pins avoid GPS interference and specially the compass problem in the Fenix7. 

    The 955 touch screen mechanism seems more modern. It somehow "detects" when the watch is not in your wrist or hand so touch stops. It is less affected by water than the F7. I mean you can have your watch wet in the shower with less chance of screen going crazily messing around menus.

    Fenix 7 is better looking and more resistant (100m, military tests etc), despite being heavier. 
    The F7 line big con is that if you want 32GB + multi band GPS you have to go for a crappy (and expensive) solar/sapphire screen with much worse visibility.

    Software:

    The 955 is not 100% worse than the F7. 

    Forerunner 955 pros:

    - Software UI is more polished in some visual aspects, with more black background.
    - When in post activity summary, going through the options under "all stats", the 955 shows glances like average HR before you click it.
    - With last beta, the 955 shows a nice battery + hour icon in the middle of the options menu (long press light button). 
    - Back swiping on IQ Glances is working fine on the 955 for months. In the F7  it was only corrected now in the latest alphas. 

    Fenix 7 pros: 

    - More sport modes like sailing, kite board, boat. And more glances like tides and stocks.
    (I see no reason why keep this out of the 955 when it already has outdoor stuff like ski, tennis and golf.)
    - Better watch face with many data fields with touch to go to widget.
    - More menu options like power profiles and GPS general system profile setting. 
    - Nicer sunrise / sunset widget.
    - Better working ABC widget with smoother and better looking compass. 

    - Better screen flashlight with 3 modes and shortkey (double tap light button).

    - Faster alpha / beta updates with complete info in the forums and backdating software download option.


    What I mean is they don't have to completely discard actual 955 software / firmware. But they definitely should unite it all in one single software / OS. This is like any other brand does since smart devices evolved to hardware running OS, like smartphones do.
    Such a waste of resources to keep separate teams doing the same thing and porting to one another.

  • 0 in reply to 9970217

    Thank you for setting that out so clearly. An interesting read!

  • 0

    +1 really disappointed with software support

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