Watches · Garmin

Forerunner 255

The MIP runner’s workhorse: light, long-lasting and readable in bright sun. A MIP face with a proper palette looks great here; note the smaller 255S has a lower-resolution screen.

255, 255S and Music editions

The display, per variant

The single most important fact about any Garmin for watch faces: what screen it has. MIP variants are always-on and sunlight-first with a limited palette; faces need dedicated MIP rendering to look right.

Variant	Display	Resolution	Character
255 / 255 Music (46 mm)	MIP	260 × 260	transflective MIP
255S / 255S Music (41 mm)	MIP	218 × 218	smallest MIP, tight pixel budget

Changing the face on the Forerunner 255

Hold UP (the middle-left button), then select Watch Face, scroll, confirm with START. New faces come from the Connect IQ store app on your phone; the install guide covers that end, and the per-model switching guide covers every other Garmin.

Our faces on the Forerunner 255

Ours, so we are biased; every claim below is verifiable on the store page.

Quipu

On the 46 mm (260 px). Quipu does not target the 218 px 255S, its dense layout needs the extra pixels.

Store ↗︎ Details

Tessera

Both sizes, including the 218 px 255S.

Store ↗︎ Details

Tessera+

Both sizes, including the 255S.

Store ↗︎ Details

Tifo · not on this model

Not available: Tifo is AMOLED-only; the 255 line is MIP.

Beyond ours: the full catalogue for this watch lives in the Connect IQ store.

Frequently asked

Why do some faces not list the Forerunner 255S?

The 255S has a 218 px screen, the smallest in the modern MIP range. Data-dense faces need more pixels to stay legible, so a developer may target the 260 px 255 but not the 218 px 255S. Our Tessera and Tessera+ support both; Quipu targets the larger screen.

Last verified: 2026-07-18 · SDK 9.1.0 device data + our face manifests