Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Fenix 7S
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: 2024
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: 2022
🏃 Activity
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Garmin Forerunner 165 is an accessible GPS running watch designed for new and casual runners, offering essential activity tracking. It precisely records steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, with a strong focus on core running metrics like pace, distance, and cadence using built-in GPS. It provides valuable data for monitoring and improving running performance.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Garmin Fenix 7S is a high-performance multisport GPS smartwatch designed for demanding outdoor activities and comprehensive fitness tracking, specifically scaled for smaller wrists. It meticulously records steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with personalized daily goals. Its robust activity profiles and performance metrics are tailored for a wide range of sports and adventures, offering detailed insights into every movement in a more compact form factor.
❤️ Health Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: This device provides continuous wrist-based heart rate monitoring, stress tracking, and sleep tracking for insights into daily well-being and recovery. It includes Pulse Ox for blood oxygen saturation monitoring, contributing to a more complete picture of overall health alongside its running features.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: This device provides continuous heart rate monitoring, advanced physiological metrics including VO2 max estimation, performance condition, and training status. It also tracks respiration rate, Pulse Ox for blood oxygen saturation, and sleep analysis, offering critical health and recovery data essential for optimizing training and overall well-being in challenging environments, adapted for a smaller size.
🔋 Battery Life
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 offers practical battery life for runners, providing up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours with continuous GPS tracking. This ensures sufficient power for regular runs and daily wear without constant recharging.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S offers strong battery longevity for its size, providing up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 37 hours with continuous GPS tracking. This extended battery life is crucial for multi-day expeditions and ultra-endurance events, minimizing the need for frequent recharging.
😴 Sleep Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Detailed sleep tracking on the Forerunner 165 monitors sleep stages and provides insights into sleep quality and patterns, helping users understand their recovery for optimal training and daily performance.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: Advanced sleep monitoring on the Fenix 7S tracks detailed sleep stages and utilizes the Pulse Ox sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep. This provides valuable data for assessing recovery quality and informing training decisions, especially important for athletes pushing their limits, with comfortable wear during the night.
📍 GPS Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Forerunner 165 provides accurate outdoor activity tracking for running, walking, and cycling without needing a paired smartphone. It delivers reliable pace, distance, and route data essential for runners.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: Equipped with advanced built-in GPS capabilities, the Fenix 7S provides highly accurate outdoor activity tracking and navigation without requiring a paired smartphone. It supports multiple satellite systems and offers detailed mapping features, essential for exploring remote areas and navigating complex routes, even in a compact device.
🏋️ Workout Modes
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: While primarily a running watch, the Forerunner 165 supports additional activity profiles including cycling, pool swimming, HIIT, and cardio, providing relevant metrics for these exercises alongside its core running features.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S supports an extensive range of multisport and individual workout modes, including running, biking, swimming, hiking, trail running, skiing, snowboarding, strength training, and more. Its customizable profiles and real-time data screens provide comprehensive metrics for performance analysis across diverse activities.
💫 Exercise Recognition
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities such as walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring these basic movements are captured in your activity log seamlessly.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities like walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring seamless recording of basic movements within the overall activity log, even during varied training days.
🍎 Compatibility
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications.
📲 App Support
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app is central to the Forerunner 165 experience, providing detailed analysis of running data, activity metrics, health statistics, and sleep insights. The app allows for setting goals, reviewing training history, and connecting with the Garmin community.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app is central to the Fenix 7S experience, providing in-depth analysis of all tracked data, performance metrics, training insights, and recovery recommendations. The app allows for creating and syncing detailed training plans, courses, and customizing device settings.
💡 Smart Features
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Beyond its running focus, the Forerunner 165 includes essential smart functionalities such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It also supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments (on the Music version, if applicable, but the data for 167 is just Forerunner 165, so sticking to basics) and allows for controlling music on a paired smartphone.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: Beyond its primary focus on outdoor and sports performance, the Fenix 7S includes practical smart functionalities such as on-wrist notifications, Garmin Pay for contactless payments, and on-device music storage with support for streaming services, offering convenience during training and daily use in a smaller form factor.
💦 Water Resistance
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: With a water resistance rating of 50 meters (5 ATM), the Forerunner 165 is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a durable companion for triathletes and those who incorporate swimming into their fitness routine.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: With a robust water resistance rating of 100 meters (10 ATM), the Fenix 7S is engineered to withstand swimming, showering, and various water activities, making it suitable for serious water sports and providing durability in wet environments, without compromising its compact size.
⌚ Display Quality
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 features a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) color display, offering good readability in various lighting conditions, especially bright sunlight, which is ideal for outdoor running. The display technology is also power-efficient.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S features a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) color display with a compact screen size optimized for smaller wrists while maintaining readability. This display technology offers excellent visibility in bright direct sunlight and is power-efficient, crucial for extended outdoor adventures.
👌 Ease of Use
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The device utilizes a five-button interface, which is reliable and easy to operate during runs or workouts. The user interface is designed for straightforward navigation and quick access to running data and essential features.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The device offers a reliable five-button interface, which is highly functional for navigation and data access during activities, especially in challenging conditions where touchscreen interaction may be difficult. The interface is designed for intuitive use and quick access to critical information on a smaller watch face.
✨ Design and Comfort
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 features a lightweight and comfortable design with a soft silicone band, making it ideal for extended wear during training sessions and everyday activities, prioritizing a secure and comfortable fit for runners.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S features a compact and lightweight rugged design with a high-quality stainless steel or titanium bezel, built to withstand extreme conditions while maintaining a comfortable fit for smaller wrists during all-day wear and extended outdoor use. The design balances robust construction with wearability.
🩸 SpO2 Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep and spot-checks, providing valuable data related to acclimatization and overall physiological well-being, complementing its health tracking suite.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for on-demand spot checks and continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation levels, particularly valuable for acclimatization at altitude, monitoring sleep quality, and assessing overall physiological status during demanding activities, integrated into a smaller device.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: It is important to note that the Garmin Forerunner 165 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: It is important to note that the Garmin Fenix 7S does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
🧘 Stress Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote overall well-being.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The Fenix 7S tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote mental well-being alongside physical training and recovery.
🩹 Recovery Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Body Battery energy monitoring feature provides insights into the body's energy reserves based on activity, stress, and sleep data, helping users understand their physiological readiness for training or the need for rest, contributing to optimized recovery for runners.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: The device provides advanced recovery insights, including a daily readiness score, recovery time advisor, training status, and training load focus, offering detailed guidance to help athletes understand their recovery needs and optimize their training schedule to prevent overtraining and improve performance in demanding activities.
💳 Subscription
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all core features and data tracked by the Forerunner 165 are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for essential running metrics, activity tracking, or health insights, providing comprehensive value for an entry-level running watch.
2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Fenix 7S are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality or advanced training analysis, providing comprehensive value for a premium compact device.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: $349.00
Check Garmin Forerunner 165 Price *2️⃣ Garmin Fenix 7S: $649.99
Check Garmin Fenix 7S Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you