On February 20, 2024, Garmin officially unveiled its latest mid-range GPS running watch, the Forerunner 165. The Forerunner 165 is anticipated to become Garmin’s new popular running watch, replacing the Forerunner 255. It is poised to be a main competitor to the Coros Pace 3.
1. Design
It can be seen that the Forerunner 165’s design does not differ much from its predecessor, the Forerunner 265, but it still retains the distinctive features of this model such as patterns, strap colors, and a flat watch face, addressing issues found in the Forerunner 265 and 965.
The Forerunner 165 has a 43mm case size, making it suitable for a variety of wrist sizes for both men and women. Additionally, the watch is extremely lightweight, weighing only 39g including the strap.
2. Battery Life
What sets the Forerunner 165 apart is its incorporation of a touchscreen display with a vivid and sharp 1.2-inch AMOLED panel. It’s quite surprising to see a mid-range running watch like the Forerunner 165 equipped with a premium AMOLED display.
3. Sensors
The Forerunner 165 comes equipped with nearly all of Garmin’s current sensors, including: standalone GPS, optical heart rate monitor, blood oxygen saturation, compass, accelerometer, thermometer, barometric altimeter, and ambient light sensor.
However, one slight downside is that the Forerunner 165 does not feature Garmin’s most accurate multi-band GPS sensor; instead, it relies on multi-satellite technology. It seems Garmin is targeting the Forerunner 165 towards casual users, so the multi-band technology may not be deemed essential for this demographic.
4. Health Tracking
Despite being a sports-focused watch, the Forerunner 165 still boasts a comprehensive set of health features from Garmin. These include 24/7 heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation, HRV (heart rate variability) status, calorie expenditure, stress level, respiration rate, body energy, and sleep tracking with sleep score.
Moreover, the Forerunner 165 also receives the latest Garmin feature update for nap tracking.
5. Sports Features
It can be said that the primary strength of the Forerunner 165 lies in its exceptional sports activity tracking, particularly running. Additionally, this watch supports over 25 different sports activities, including popular ones such as running, trail running, cycling, pool swimming, open water swimming, gym workouts, yoga, tennis, and more.
In addition, the Forerunner 165 features a comprehensive set of running analysis metrics, including:
- VO2max estimation
- Predicted race times for distances: 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon
- Recovery time after workouts
- Running power estimation
- Running dynamics measured at the wrist
Alongside these metrics, the Forerunner 165 also boasts advanced features typically found only in Garmin’s dedicated running watches. These include daily run suggestions and on-wrist navigation guidance, enhancing the overall running experience.
Finally, the Forerunner 165 will be available in two versions: the standard version with a retail price of $249 USD and the Music version with a retail price of $299 USD