Garmin Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 smartwatches end up on most people’s shortlists. Both watches are within a tight price range. Which of these two watches would you buy?
We look at the details of each watch to help you pick the proper smartwatch in your budget.
Main differences between Forerunner 265 and Venu 2
This comparison is between Forerunner 965 and Venu 2 (Standard edition) smartwatches. The Venu 2 series has many variants that include the Venu Sq 2 and Venu 2 Plus series smartwatches as well.
The main differences between Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 (Standard edition) are shared below for ready reference:
- Forerunner 265 costs $449.99 and Venu 2 comes at a list price of $399.99. So, there is a $50 difference in cost between these two smartwatches.
- Forerunner 265 has multi-band GPS, a missing feature on Venu 2.
- Forerunner 265 also has a spectator messaging safety feature. This feature is missing on Venu 2.
- Forerunner 265 has additional activity profiles for cycling, swimming, and running. Venu 2 has additional profiles in outdoor recreation.
- Forerunner 265 was released in March 2023 and Venu 2 was released in January 2022.
We look at the main features of Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 below.
Display
The display features and capabilities of Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 are identical to a great extent. Some display attributes of Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 are listed hereunder.
Display specifications | Forerunner 265 | Venu 2 |
---|---|---|
Display lens | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
Display type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
Display resolution | 416 X 416 pixels | 416 X 416 pixels |
Display screen diameter | 1.3″ | 1.3″ |
Always on display | Yes | Yes |
Color display | Yes | Yes |
Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
Both watches have an AMOLED display, touchscreen capability, and a color display. The parity in the display resolution of Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 makes for a similar display experience on both of these smartwatches.
The display is not a differentiating factor between these two smartwatches.
Physical specifications
There is a marginal difference in Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 smartwatches’ sizes. The hardware specifications of both watches are shared hereunder.
Specifications | Forerunner 265 | Venu 2 |
---|---|---|
Watch size | 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm | 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm |
Watch thickness | 12.9 mm | 12.2 mm |
Weight | 47 g | 49 g |
Watch body | Fiber-enforced polymer | Fiber-enforced polymer |
Watch Bezel | Fiber-enforced polymer | Steel |
Band size | 22 mm | 22 mm |
Band material | Silicone | Silicone |
Water rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
Device storage | 8 GB | 8 GB |
Recommended wrist circumference | 135-205 mm | 135-200 mm |
Charger | Plug charger | Plug charger |
The differentiator between Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 is the steel bezel of Venu 2.
GPS
The most significant difference between Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 is the availability of a multi-frequency positioning sensor in the Forerunner 265 smartwatch.
Multi-frequency positioning sensor brings in the multi-mode GPS capability to the Forerunner 265 smartwatch. With multi-band GPS, you can get GPS data from multiple satellites at the same time.
Multi-mode GPS is very useful in remote areas or in areas with tall structures.
Apart from the multi-mode GPS, Forerunner 265 also supports SatIQ technology. SatIQ helps to toggle between multi-mode GPS and simple GPS modes to conserve battery usage on the smartwatch.
SatIQ technology is not available on the Venu 2 series.
For serious runners, Forerunner 265 offers a better GPS experience.
Battery
The battery backup offered by Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 is comparable. We did not find much difference in the battery life on various GPS modes.
Below, we capture the battery backup of Forerunner 265 and Venu 2 smartwatches in different modes of the watches.
Watch mode | Forerunner 265 backup | Venu 2 backup |
---|---|---|
Smartwatch mode | up to 13 days | up to 11 days |
GPS mode | up to 20 hours | up to 22 hours |
GPS mode with music | up to 7 hours | up to 8 hours |
Battery saver mode | NA | up to 12 days |
All Systems + Multi-Band Mode without Music Battery Life | up to 14 hours | Multi-band not available |
SatIQ (AutoSelect) Mode with Music Battery Life | up to 6.5 hours | Multi-band not available |
All Systems + Multi-Band Mode with Music Battery Life | up to 6 hours | Multi-band not available |
On most watch modes, the battery life is comparable between Forerunner 265 and Venu 2.
Activity profiles
Forerunner 265 has additional activity profiles for cycling, swimming, and running. Venu 2 has additional profiles in outdoor recreation. We list these additional profiles for Forerunner 265 below.
- Cycling profiles – Forerunner 265 has additional profiles for Mountain Biking, eBiking, eMountain Biking.
- Swimming – Forerunner 265 has an additional profile for open water swimming.
- Running – Forerunner 265 has additional profiles for Outdoor Track Running, Trail Running, Virtual Running, and Ultra Running.
- Outdoor recreation – Venu 2 has additional profiles for Indoor Climbing, Bouldering, XC Classic Skiing, and Disc Golf
Final verdict
For an additional cost of $50, I will pick a Garmin Forerunner 265 over Venu 2 for the following two reasons:
- Multi-band GPS on Forerunner 265 is a game changer in GPS performance.
- The spectator messaging safety feature is handy for trail runs and hiking tours.
Also, Forerunner 265 is a relatively new watch. It makes sense to go with the newer smartwatch variant, whenever possible.