Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Forerunner 265
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: 2024
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 265: 2023
🏃 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 Forerunner 265: The Garmin Forerunner 265 is engineered for runners and athletes, offering precise tracking of steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with personalized daily goals. It provides advanced running dynamics, giving users deeper insights into their form and performance.
❤️ 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 Forerunner 265: This device features continuous heart rate monitoring, VO2 max estimation for assessing cardiovascular fitness, advanced running dynamics including ground contact time and vertical oscillation, and respiration tracking for a comprehensive view of physiological data.
🔋 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 offers impressive battery life, providing up to 13 days in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours with continuous GPS tracking, ensuring sufficient power for extended training periods.
😴 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 Forerunner 265: Advanced sleep monitoring is included, tracking detailed sleep stages and incorporating a Pulse Ox sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep. This provides valuable data for assessing sleep quality and recovery.
📍 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 Forerunner 265: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Forerunner 265 provides accurate outdoor activity tracking without requiring a paired smartphone. It delivers precise pace, distance, and route data essential for runners and cyclists.
🏋️ 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 supports a wide array of workout modes beyond running, including biking, swimming, cardio, and strength training, with real-time statistics displayed during activities for performance monitoring.
💫 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 Forerunner 265: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities such as walking and running, ensuring seamless recording of these basic movements for a complete activity log.
🍎 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth 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 Forerunner 265: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app provides users with detailed analysis of activity data, performance metrics, and health statistics. The app allows for goal setting, training plan customization, and access to a large online community.
💡 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 Forerunner 265: Beyond its athletic focus, the Forerunner 265 includes practical smart features such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments and allows for on-device music storage.
💦 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 Forerunner 265: With a water resistance rating of 50 meters (5 ATM), the Forerunner 265 is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a durable companion for triathletes and those who incorporate swimming into their training.
⌚ 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 features a vibrant AMOLED color touchscreen display, providing excellent readability in various lighting conditions, including bright sunlight, for clear visibility of data and maps.
👌 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 Forerunner 265: The device offers a user-friendly interface with a combination of traditional buttons and touchscreen navigation, providing quick and easy access to features and data during workouts and daily use.
✨ 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 features a lightweight and comfortable design with a soft silicone band, making it ideal for extended wear during training and everyday activities.
🩸 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 Forerunner 265: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for monitoring blood oxygen levels during sleep, providing valuable data related to sleep quality and acclimatization.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: It is important to note that the Garmin Forerunner 165 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 265: It is important to note that the Garmin Forerunner 265 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 Forerunner 265: The Forerunner 265 includes stress tracking based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress levels throughout the day.
🩹 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 Forerunner 265: The Body Battery energy monitoring feature provides insights into the body's energy reserves based on activity, stress, and sleep data, helping users optimize training and recovery strategies. It also offers a Training Status feature to assess overall training effectiveness.
💳 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 Forerunner 265: A key advantage of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Forerunner 265 are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: $349.00
Check Garmin Forerunner 165 Price *2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 265: $449.99
Check Garmin Forerunner 265 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you