Garmin Forerunner 265 and 265S are running watches that were released in March 2023. Both watches are identical in many features and functions. However, we will look at some important differentiators of the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S running watches below.
Main differences
Forerunner 265S is a smaller version of the Forerunner 265. All the features of Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265 are similar. There are subtle differences between these two running watches.
- Forerunner 265S has a smaller watch size and display size in comparison to the Forerunner 265.
- Forerunner 265S has a lower display resolution in comparison to the Forerunner 265.
- Forerunner 265 has a better battery life than the Forerunner 265S.
- Forerunner 265S comes with a smaller silicon band than the Forerunner 265.
- Finally, the Forerunner 265S weighs almost 20 percent less than the Forerunner 265.
Apart from these differences, all other features and capabilities of the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S are identical in all respects.
We discuss the main points of distinction between the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S in a phased approach below.
Physical size
- Forerunner 265S has a smaller watch size and display size. Forerunner 265S has a watch size of 41.7 mm diameter and a display screen of 28.1 mm diameter.
- Forerunner 265S comes with an 18 mm silicon band and Forerunner 265 comes with a 22 mm silicon band.
- Forerunner 265S is recommended for a wrist circumference of 115-178 mm and Forerunner 265 is recommended for a wrist circumference of 135-205 mm.
- Both watches have a similar thickness of 12.9 mm.
- Forerunner 265S weighs 39 g and Forerunner 265 weighs 47 g.
You would have noticed that the size of Forerunner 265S is suited for thinner wrists. Forerunner 265S is apt for females.
We do suggest using your wrist circumference as a reference point before deciding about Forerunner 265 or Forerunner 265S smartwatch.
Display
A bigger size of the watch translates into a better display resolution of the Forerunner 265. The actual improvements in the display clarity and resolution can be shared in the light of numbers shared by Garmin.
- Forerunner 265 and 265S have AMOLED displays.
- Both watches support the Always-on-display more or the AOD mode.
- Forerunner 265 has a display resolution of 416 x 416 pixels.
- Forerunner 265 has a display resolution of 360 x 360 pixels.
- In terms of display resolution, the Forerunner 265 has almost 20 percent improvement in the display resolution on account of the bigger size of the watch.
The improved display resolution of the Forerunner 265 can be directly attributed to the larger size of the watch. The display resolution is a function of display technology used and the physical size of the display screen of the watch.
Battery
Forerunner 265S has a smaller size and lower display resolution in comparison with the Forerunner 265. A lower display resolution prolongs the battery life. This fact is amply borne out by the higher battery life of the Forerunner 265.
- On the smartwatch mode, Forerunner 265S has a battery life of up to 15 days and the Forerunner 265 has a battery life of up to 13 days.
- On the GPS mode, Forerunner 265S can go up to 24 hours and Forerunner 265 can go up to 20 hours.
- On the SatIQ GNSS mode, Forerunner 265 can last up to 16 hours and Forerunner 265S can go up to 18 hours.
Understandably, the battery life of the Forerunner 265S is marginally better than the battery life of the Forerunner 265. However, the battery of both devices has a rich life cycle. And you are, practically, back in business by charging both devices for one to two hours.
Price
The interesting thing about the cost of Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S is the fact that both watches are priced equally at $449.99. Price is not the differentiator between the Forerunner 265 and 265S running watches.
This reiterates the fact the Forerunner 265 and 265S are identical running watches with different physical dimensions and size.
Features
Most features of the Forerunner 265 and 265S are the same. We talk about the core features and functions of both watches in the side by side table of comparison below.
| Features | Forerunner 265 | Forerunner 265S |
|---|---|---|
| Watch size | 1.3″ or 46.1 mm | 1.1″ or 41.7 mm |
| Display size | 33 mm | 28 mm |
| Display tech | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 pixels | 360 x 360 pixels |
| Watch band size | 22 mm | 18 mm |
| Display Glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Watch body material | Fiber-enforced polymer | Fiber-enforced polymer |
| Bezel material | Fiber-enforced polymer | Fiber-enforced polymer |
| Water rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Swimming | Yes (includes pool and open water swimming profiles) | Yes (includes pool and open water swimming profiles) |
| Device storage | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Wireless charging | Not available | Not available |
| Health Dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Abnormal heart rate alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Blood oxygenation tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Daily resting heart rate | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Stress monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Body Battery levels | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep score and insights | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS and Galileo | GPS, GLONASS and Galileo |
| Multi-band GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi |
| Barometric altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Incident detection | Yes | Yes |
| Spectator messaging | Yes | Yes |
| Live Track safety feature | Yes | Yes |
| Android compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| iOS compatibility | Yes | Yes |
These features cover the health, safety, display, and physical aspects of the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S smartwatches.
Garmin ECG app
Garmin ECG app received the FDA approval in January 2023.
The Garmin ECG app allows you to take electrocardiogram readings. Both, Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S do not support the Garmin ECG app as of November 2023.
At the point of updating this, Garmin ECG app is available in Venu 2 Plus, Venu 3 series, Fenix 7 Pro series and the Epix 2 Pro series smarrwatches.
Closing thoughts
Having seen the main differences between the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 265S, we believe that the sole criteria for picking one of these two variants has to be the size of your wrist.
If you have thin wrists, the Forerunner 265S will look much better than the Forerunner 265. Remember, the Forerunner 265S has a band size of 18 mm and is recommended for wrist size between 115-178 mm.
On a similar basis, Forerunner 265 will be recommended for a wrist circumference between 135-220 mm. Forerunner 265 ships with a 22 mm band.
In retrospect, you need to factor the band size and the watch size before deciding if you want the Forerunner 265 or the Forerunner 265S smartwatch.
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