Garmin Epix 2 vs Forerunner 955 Solar

Epix 2 and Forerunner 955 Solar are interesting smartwatches from Garmin. Both watches were released in 2022 and continue to command a good market share.

We already discussed Forerunner 955 and Epix 2 watches in the other comparison study. In this one, we look at the solar watch variant and Epix 2 standard edition.

Smartwatch features covered in this post

Main differences

Epix 2 standard edition costs $899.99 while the Forerunner 955 Solar costs $599.99. There is a $300 difference in costs between the two watches.
Forerunner 955 Solar edition has multi-band GPS while the Epix 2 standard edition lacks it.
Forerunner 955 Solar is a solar watch. So, the battery can be charged through sunlight. Epix 2 is not a solar watch.
Forerunner 955 Solar has better device storage than Epix 2 standard edition.
Epix 2 standard edition has a better water rating than Forerunner 955 Solar.
Epix 2 standard edition has an AMOLED display while the Forerunner 955 Solar continues to use the MIP or memory in pixel screen.
Epix 2 has an ambient light sensor.
Forerunner 955 Solar provides the safety feature of spectator messaging.

We will look at these feature details below.

Display

Forerunner 955 Solar has a better display lens. It has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX while the Epix 2 has Corning Gorilla Glass.

DX coating is a special anti-reflective coating on the regular Gorilla glass. The DX coating on 3rd generation Corning Gorilla Glass improves screen brightness, display screen readability, and contrast ratio.

However, Forerunner 955 Solar lacks the AMOLED display. Epix 2 standard edition comes with an AMOLED display.

Due to the AMOLED display, the display resolution of Epix 2 is almost 50% higher than Forerunner 955 Solar. Additionally, Epix 2 supports the Always-on-display or the AOD mode.

We share the display specifications of both watches below.

Display specifications	Forerunner 955 Solar	Epix 2
Display lens	Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX	Corning Gorilla Glass
Display type	MIP (Memory in pixel)	AMOLED
Display size	1.3″ or 33 mm	1.3″ or 33 mm
Display resolution	416 x 416 pixels	260 x 260 pixels
Pixel density	283 ppi	350 ppi
Color display	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes
LED Flashlight	No	No
Ambient light sensor	No	Yes

Clearly, Epix 2 standard edition has a much improved display experience on account of the AMOLED display.

Physical specifications

Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 standard share quite a few hardware specifications. Both watches are of almost similar size.

We look at the physical specifications of Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 below.

Specifications	Forerunner 955 Solar	Epix 2
Watch size	46.5 x 46.5 x 14.4 mm	47 x 47 x 14.5 mm
Thickness	14.4 mm	14.5 mm
Watch weight	52 g	53 g
Watch body	Fiber-enforced polymer	Fiber-enforced polymer with steel rear cover
Bezel	Fiber-enforced polymer	Passivated stainless steel
Band	Silicone	Silicone
Band material options	Silicone	Silicone, Metal, Fabric and Leather
Band size	22 mm	22 mm
Recommended wrist circumference for silicone band	130-220 mm	125-208 mm
Device storage	32 GB	16 GB
Water rating	5 ATM (50 meters)	10 ATM (100 meters)
Swimming profile	Pool Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Swimming/Running	Pool Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Swimming/Running
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
NFC Support	Garmin Pay	Garmin Pay
Wireless connectivity	ANT+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	ANT+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Garmin Elevate Heart sensor	Yes	Yes
Thermometer	Yes	Yes
Primary Charging device	Garmin wire charger	Garmin wire charger
Secondary charging	Solar charging	None

You can notice that the bezel of Epix 2 is made of passivated stainless steel while the Forerunner 955 Solar’s bezel is made of fiber-enforced polymer.

Epix 2 is a fancier looking watch in comparison to the Forerunner 955 Solar smartwatch.

In terms of physical specifications, both watches have strong points. Epix 2 has 100 meters water resistance while the Forerunner 955 Solar has double the device storage of Epix 2.

Solar watch

Forerunner 955 Solar is a solar watch. It can use bright sunshine to charge the battery capacity.

For solar charging to be effective, Garmin expects a couple of underlying conditions to be understood. These stipulations are:

You must expose your solar watch to bright sunlight for at least 3 hours a day.
Solar charging will succeed if you have bright sunshine with a luminosity of 50000 lux or higher.

If you spend less time outdoors, you may not be able to make use of solar charging for building the battery charge.

However, if you spend a fair part of the day under the sun, solar charging of Forerunner 955 Solar could help in quick charging the battery.

GPS

Forerunner 955 Solar focuses on keeping the runners happy. The GPS data and connectivity of Forerunner 955 Solar is top notch.

This has been made possible by the introduction of a multi-frequency positioning sensor within the watch.

The multi-frequency positioning sensor helps in providing the multi-band GPS feature on Forerunner 955 Solar.

Multi-band GPS allows you to take GPS signals and data from multiple satellites at the same time. This feature is very useful when the quality of GPS signals is poor.

So, the Forerunner 955 Solar offers more reliable GPS data than the Epix 2 standard edition watch. Epix 2 does not have a multi-frequency positioning sensor.

Since multi-band GPS consumes substantial battery capacity, Garmin added the SatIQ technology on the Forerunner 955 Solar.

SatIQ technology can toggle on or off the multi-band GPS mode. If the quality of GPS signal is poor, SatIQ will turn on the multi-band GPS to get reliable GPS data.

However, if the GPS signal is of good quality, SatIQ will turn off the multi-band GPS mode and use the simple GPS mode.

The primary goal of SatIQ technology is to optimize the usage of the battery of the Forerunner 955 Solar smartwatch.

Forerunner 955 Solar offers better GPS quality because of the multi-band GPS support.

Battery

Forerunner 955 Solar can use solar energy to build the charge in the battery. Epix 2, for now, uses the Garmin plug charger.

However, you will notice that there is not much of a difference in battery backup offered by the Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 smartwatch.

Watch mode	Forerunner 955 Solar backup	Epix 2 backup
Smartwatch mode	Up to 15 days/20 days with solar	Up to 16 days (6 days always-on)
GPS mode without music	Up to 42 hours/49 hours with solar	Up to 42 hours (30 hours always-on )
All Systems GPS Mode without Music	Up to 31 hours	Up to 32 hours (24 hours always-on)
GPS mode with music	Up to 10.5 hours	Up to 10 hours (9 hours always-on)
All + Multi-Band GPS Mode without Music	Up to 20 hours	Multi-band not available
All + Multi-Band GPS Mode with Music	Up to 8.5 hours	Multi-band not available
Ultratrac mode without music	Up to 80 hours/110 hours with solar
Max Battery GPS		Up to 75 hours
Expedition GPS		Up to 14 days

Although Forerunner 955 Solar has the ability to use solar energy for charging the battery, the battery backups of Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 are of similar time duration.

Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 have decent battery backup. There is no clear winner when it comes to battery backup.

Miscellaneous features

There are some features that are only available in either watch. We look at some of these small differences below.

Forerunner 955 Solar has the safety feature of spectator messaging. With spectator messaging, your followers can send a text or audio message.
Epix 2 has an ambient light sensor.
Epix 2 has additional profiles in outdoor recreation and cycling.
Epix 2 has a jet lag advisor.

Final verdict

The difference in cost between Forerunner 955 Solar and Epix 2 is almost $400. For the incremental money spent in getting Epix 2, the main benefits that accrue to you include:

AMOLED display
Ambient light sensor
Decent battery backup

Forerunner 955 Solar, on the other hand, is priced well. For the cost incurred on getting the Forerunner 955 Solar, you will get:

Multi-band GPS
SatIQ technology
Solar watch
Slightly better battery backup

Eventually, runners and triathletes will like the Forerunner 955 Solar because of the functionality offered by the watch.