The Garmin Forerunner 265/265S | Everything You Need to Know

• This Garmin Forerunner has a brighter AMOLED display
• The FR 265/265S is now a touchscreen like the higher-end Garmin Forerunner 965, the fēnix 7 series, epix (Gen 2), and Enduro 2 GPS watches. Don’t worry, you still have the traditional 5-button operation as well. And you can disable the touchscreen if you’re running in the rain, swimming, or wearing gloves.
• Now you get Training Readiness on the FR 265 series. Originally offered only on Garmin’s more expensive multisport watches, the Training Readiness feature gives you a score and a short message that helps you determine how ready you are for training each day. The score is continuously calculated and updated throughout the day using these factors:
• Sleep score (last night)
• Recovery time
• HRV status
• Acute load
• Sleep history (last 3 nights)
• Stress history (last 3 days)
• Due to the AMOLED screen, the Forerunner 265 series has slightly less battery life than the previous FR 255. However, it still offers a lot more than an Apple watch and is highly competitive with other top brands like Polar and COROS. Plus, you can manage your settings to control and save battery life.
• Unlike with the previous Forerunner 255, this series offers on-watch music storage in every watch. That means you can download up to 500 songs plus playlists from your Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music accounts (subscription required) and go phone free!
• This Forerunner with the new AMOLED and touchscreen technology is going to cost you more. But the good news is … it’s only $50 more.

Put a gorgeous AMOLED display on a running watch and you’re going to lose a little battery life. But it’s by no means a dealbreaker!

Forerunner 265 Battery Life:

• Smartwatch Mode: Up to 13 days
• GPS Mode: Up to 20 hours

Forerunner 265S Battery Life:

• Smartwatch Mode: Up to 15 days
• GPS Mode: Up to 24 hours

Compare it to the original Forerunner 255 series:

Forerunner 255 Battery Life:

• Smartwatch Mode: Up to 14 days
• GPS Mode: Up to 30 hours

Forerunner 255S Battery Life:

• Smartwatch Mode: Up to 12 days
• GPS Mode: Up to 26 hours

You won’t get full-blown color maps—but you shouldn’t expect to at the midrange price point. What you will get is a really reliable real-time bread crumb trail and point-to-point navigation. And, if you lose your way out there, you’ve got great Garmin navigation features like back to start, TracBack®, and up ahead.

The Garmin Forerunner 265 series has built-in multi-frequency or multi-band positioning (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS).

Multi-band systems use multiple frequency bands and allow for more consistent tracklogs and improved positioning when using the device in challenging environments. This means the receiver tracks more than one radio signal from each satellite on different frequencies, which can reduce errors caused by environmental interference.

The advantages of this technology include:

• More consistent tracklogs and improved positioning when using the device in challenging environments (e.g., around tall buildings in urban canyons as well as tree cover).
• Can achieve accuracy within about +/- 2 meters or 6 feet under ideal conditions versus the +/- 3 meters or 10 feet accuracy of other models.
• Detect (and reject) reflected satellite signals better than a single frequency receiver which improves accuracy.
• Better equipped to account for and correct errors that can be introduced by atmospheric effects (e.g., ionosphere errors).

The new Forerunner 265 lineup offers two sizes—which is a nice option in a running watch. Runners come in all shapes and sizes and may or may not want a larger watch on their wrist. The FR 265 has a 46 mm case, is 12.9 mm thick and weighs 47 g. That gives you a 1.3” display. The smaller size option, the FR 265S, features a 42 mm case, is also 12.9 mm thick, and weighs just 39 g. You’ll get 1.1” of display out of this one.

As for color options in each size, there are three different options for each, which are:

• FR 265: 
• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Powder Gray Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Tidal Blue Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Aqua Case and Aqua/Black Silicone Band
• FR 265S: 
• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Amp Yellow Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Neo Tropic Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Light Pink Case and Light Pink/Powder Gray Silicone Band

Since the Garmin Forerunner 255 made a giant leap into the multisport category, these mid-level Forerunner running watches have nearly all the training tools as Garmin’s higher-end watches.

Most notably, this new model has thrown Training Readiness into the mix, which after learning about you, tells you when you are primed for a productive session.

You’ll also get wrist-based running power, VO2 Max for run and trail run. Overnight HRV status tracking, Morning Report (summarizes HRV, Sleep, workout plans, etc.), race prediction widget plus race calendar and countdown, Training Status, Load, and Effect along with daily suggest workouts—all because this watch gets to know you—make this watch pretty special for someone looking to reach some goals and set some PRs.

Garmin is known for their Elevate optical heart rate sensor technology and its accuracy and reliability. Our go-to sport watch reviewer, Dave at Chase the Summit, finds it to be one of the best out there—and this ultra runner has put many Garmin watches to the test!

Leave your cash and cards at home; Garmin Pay™ contactless payments let you pay for purchases on the go (with a supported country and payment network).

Never miss a call or text from your paired Android™ or Apple® smartphone with smart notifications.

Safety and tracking features, including incident detection (during select outdoor activities) and Assistance, send a message with your live location to emergency contacts when paired with your compatible smartphone; requires setup and your smartphone to be in an area with network coverage where data connectivity is available.

See your health and fitness information, connect and compete with friends, sign up for challenges to earn badges and more—all in the free, zero-subscription Garmin Connect™ app.

Case Size/Weight:

• FR 265: 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm / 47 g
• FR 265S: 41.7 x 41.7 x 12.9 mm / 39 g

Display Size/Type:

• FR 265: 1.3” AMOLED Touchscreen display
• FR 265S: 1.1” AMOLED Touchscreen display

Forerunner 265 Battery Life:

• FR 265 Smartwatch Mode: Up to 13 days; GPS Mode: Up to 20 hours
• FR 265S Smartwatch Mode: Up to 15 days; GPS Mode: Up to 24 hours

GPS: Built-in multi-frequency positioning (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS)

Maps & Navigation: Real-time bread crumb trail, point to point navigation, back to start, TracBack, up ahead; No maps

Safety features: Livetrack, Live Event Sharing, Incident Detection during select activities, Incident Detection alert on phone for wearables, Assistance

Water Resistant: Yes

Available Colors:

• FR 265:
• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Powder Gray Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Tidal Blue Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Aqua Case and Aqua/Black Silicone Band
• FR 265S:
• Black Bezel and Case with Black/Amp Yellow Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Whitestone Case and Whitestone/Neo Tropic Silicone Band
• Black Bezel with Light Pink Case and Light Pink/Powder Gray Silicone Band

Garmin Forerunner 265/265S Price: $449.99

You like a running watch that has it all—but won’t break the bank.

The feel you want on your wrist.

An eye-catching display and color options.

Options for how you use it.

Training tools, health-monitoring, and sports apps—that all work together and integrate your workout/recovery history to help you better understand your body and wellbeing, so that you can train or workout optimally.

A running watch that leaps into the multisport category with technology you can trust to be accurate and reliable.

Smart enough so you can leave your phone in your pocket and your wallet behind and still listen to your tunes, receive notifications, and get help if you need it, wherever you are roaming …

If you want all that and still come in under the high end of Garmin watches, then the Forerunner 265 series is likely a great fit for you!