By: Nick Gambino
The new Garmin Forerunner 265 and the Forerunner 965 are here and they sport some cool new features, the most exciting of which is the AMOLED display.
The Forerunners are the company’s midrange GPS running smartwatches aimed at athletes and those who revel in a very active lifestyle. The predecessors to the new Forerunner watches had a memory-in pixel display, so this new AMOLED display is a big step-up. The main thing this will give users is the ability to see colorful maps. It’s a GPS watch after all so there’s a high chance athletes are going to use that function. This makes it easier to do so.
The new display looks crisper and more dynamic all around. There are even little animated transitions that feel like this is a more “now” watch than anything else they’ve put out. Users will probably be happy with the upgrade. Though, there is a downside to the AMOLED display.
These displays don’t traditionally hold up or view very well in the sun. Sure, they look great indoors, but these watches are going to get a lot of outdoor use. The previous memory-in pixel displays are better for that.
That said, I still think it’s an improvement. In addition to the AMOLED display on the Garmin Forerunner 265, the battery is more robust, giving you up to 20 hours on a single charge using GPS mode or 13 whole days if you’re rocking the smartwatch mode. It’s available in two different sizes – the 42mm Forerunner 265S and the 46mm Forerunner 265. The 265S is a bit better on battery, giving you 24 hours on GPS mode and 15 days on smartwatch mode.
The Forerunner 965 is the top model in the new series. You’ll get up to 31 hours on a single charge in GPS mode and 23 days in smartwatch mode. It has a ton of other metrics features that the 265 doesn’t have. This includes the ability to track load ratio, real-time stamina and even climbing metrics.
The Forerunner 265 ($450), Forerunner 265S and Forerunner 965 ($600) are all available to purchase now.
