Garmin’s Forerunner 165 is one of Garmin’s most affordable OLED watches, and the entry-level point if you want OLED and a good selection of pro-grade runner’s features.
Until now the closest we had was the Forerunner 265, which is significantly more expensive. The Forerunner 165 starts at $249, the Forerunner 265 at $449.
At first glance there’s not all that much to justify such a price disparity. But under the surface, there are quite a lot of differences. These are the key ones.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Music paid versus included
Garmin’s Forerunner 265 has music support as standard. This lets you stream tunes from your watch to your wireless earphones, using your own digital files, or ones downloaded from Spotify or Amazon Music Unlimited.
The Forerunner 165 has this too, but only in the “With Music” edition, which costs an additional $50. You also get double the storage in the 265, 8GB instead of 4GB, which doesn’t go all that far.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Multi-band GPS
The Forerunner 265 was an important trickle-down moment for one of Garmin’s more recent features, multi-band GPS.
This is where the GPS can operate at two frequency bands, allowing for greater signal strength. In plenty of locations this isn’t all that useful. Garmin even devised a smart switching mode in to turn it off when not needed, as it uses more battery power.
However, it can be highly useful when you are in trickier environments. Massive skyscrapers all around? Stuck under heavy tree cover? This is when dual-band GPS can shine.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Higher-quality display glass
The Forerunner 165 and 265 initially look quite similar. Sure, there’s a choice of sizes in the 265, where the 165 is 43mm in diameter only. Forerunner 265’s come in 46mm and 42mm (265S) flavors. But they have plastic casings and 5ATM water resistance.
They do not use the same display glass, though. The Forerunner 265 has Gorilla Glass 3, the Forerunner 165 an unspecified kind of “chemically strengthened glass” just like the Forerunner 55.
It’s likely to be less scratch resistant, although an unfortunate incident risks putting a scrape on either, as they aren’t as hard as Sapphire crystal.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Performance condition/training load
The Forerunner 165 has a lot of fairly advanced fitness features, like the ability to create routes in Garmin Connect on your phone and send them to the watch for on-wrist navigation. However, it lacks a few bits still only found on step-up models: performance condition and training load being the key ones.
Performance Condition looks at your relative running performance compared to your baseline, largely based on your pace versus your heart rate. It can be a good indicator you’re hungover, ill, tired or losing fitness.
Training Load analyzes the volume of your workout, to give you an idea of whether you’re in the “green zone” that indicates a good level of effort to maintain or improve your fitness. It can also show what intensity of exercise your routine is currently missing.
These are handy for features for more serious athletes and efficiency-focused hobbyists.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Better accessory support, inc turbo trainers
The Forerunner 265 has better accessory connectivity support than the Forerunner 165. My personal favourite is the ability to control smart turbo trainers for bikes.
This means your watch can completely run a training routine, including altering the resistance on-the-fly. It’s a neat extra missing from the Forerunner 165.
The cheaper watch also appears to lack support for Garmin Virb, a discontinued series of action cameras. No biggie there then. Neither watch supports Varia bike lights, which would be much more useful in 2024.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Longer battery life
While the battery disparity between these two is not vast, it is significant. Garmin says the Forerunner 165 lasts up to 11 days, the Forerunner 265 15 days in its more comparable 42mm iteration or (perhaps surprisingly) 13 days in the larger 46mm version.
I found most watches tend to last a little under half this figure when you actually use them for significant tracking and switch on the desirable “always on” display mode.
A pessimistic estimate is four days for the Forerunner 165, 5 days for the Forerunner 265S, based on my own testing.
Forerunner 165 vs 265: Workout animations
You can send workouts and planned courses to either of these watches, for navigation or an as in-gym guide. However, only the Forerunner 265 provides workout animations and muscle maps.
This, oddly enough, makes the pricier Forerunner 265 a better fit for novices than the entry-level sibling. If you’re a pro, you likely don’t need a visual prompt to know what an exercise looks like, or which muscle groups it works out.
Verdict
For shoppers keen on getting great value, the Forerunner 165 may do all you need. It has a lot of advanced features, including plenty not seen in more expensive but less athlete-led watches.
Still, if you want to use your watch with a turbo trainer, are keen on having the deepest stats, will appreciate the longer battery life and the better GPS, the upgrade to the Forerunner 265 may be worth it.
