Both Amazfit and Garmin offer various smartwatches for casual users and athletes as well. The Amazfit GTR 4 and the Garmin Forerunner 265 are two exceptional models that offer a wide range of features and functionality.
In this comprehensive comparison, we’ll be comparing these two models in pricing, features, battery life, and design to help you make an informed decision.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Price
When it comes to pricing, the Amazfit GTR 4 retails for a budget price of $199. It comes in Superspeed Black, Vintage Brown Leather, and Racetrack Grey. It is a good choice for buyers who want an exceptional watch at a very reasonable price. Plus, multiple colour and band options can help you choose a watch that fits your style and mood. It comes with three strap materials: Silicone, Nylon, and Leather to match your style preference while adding comfort and allowing you to wear it for an extended period of time.
In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is available in two sizes: 42mm (Forerunner 265s) and 46mm (Forerunner 265) and costs the same $449. In terms of colors, the 42mm model has a black bezel with whitestone, black, and light pink casing. The 46mm model also has the same black bezel with whitestone, black, and aqua casing. This model is good for those individuals who want multiple-colour watches to match their mood and style. It comes with a silicone strap, providing comfort for an extended period of time.
Overall, both devices offer multiple colors to choose from, but the GTR 4 provides budget pricing along with multiple strap options, whereas the Forerunner 265 has two available sizes along with more color options to customise the watch appearance according to your mood and feel.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Comparison
| Specifications | Amazfit GTR 4 | Garmin Forerunner 265 |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand | Amazfit | Garmin |
| Model Name | GTR 4 | Forerunner 265 |
| Design and Body | ||
| Weight | 34 grams | 47 grams |
| Material | Aluminium Alloy | Fiber-reinforced Polymer |
| Shape | Round | Round |
| Display | ||
| Type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Touch | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 1.43 inches | 1.3 inches |
| Resolution | 466 x 466 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels |
| Features | Always-on Display | Always-on Display |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Extra | ||
| Sensors | Pedometer, Heart Rate Monitor, SpO2 (Blood Oxygen) Monitor, Calorie Count, Step Count, Sleep Monitor | Pedometer, Heart Rate Monitor, SpO2 (Blood Oxygen) Monitor, Calorie Count, Step Count, Sleep Monitor |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | ||
| Camera | No | No |
| Technical | ||
| Compatibility | Android, iOS | Android, iOS |
| Multimedia | ||
| Music | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Backup | Up to 14 days | Up to 13 hours |
| Features | ||
| Water Resistant | Yes | Yes |
| Water Rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Water Depth | 50m | 50m |
| Extra Features | Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, Timer, Reminder | Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, Timer, Reminder |
| Price | $199 | $449 |
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Design and Build
In terms of design, the Amazfit GTR 4 offers a slimmer and more aesthetic premium design to look stylish on your wrist, along with providing comfort and feel. It uses a lightweight aluminium alloy middle frame and a high-gloss sprayed PC bottom shell, providing durability and protecting it from wear and tear. It has a dimension of 46 x 46 x 10.6 mm and weighs only 34 grams, meaning you can wear this watch for an extended period, plus you can wear it while sleeping too without any interference. It uses tempered glass, an anti-fingerprint coating, and an anti-glare bezel, which protects the watch from scratches as well as finger marks.
In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner 265 has a bulkier, sporty look suitable for hardcore athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It uses a fiber-reinforced polymer bezel and casing, which is also a very lightweight material, so you can wear your watch while working out and not feel it on your wrist. It has a dimension of 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm and weighs 47g. For lens material, it uses Corning Gorilla Glass 3, providing added safety and scratch resistance to survive in hardcore conditions and beatings.
In terms of buttons, the GTR 4 has a functional crown for navigation and toggling between menus, plus a button for back action and to open the Recent Apps menu. It has a 5 ATM rating for water resistance, meaning you can use this watch while swimming. It comes with a 22-mm fluoroelastomer band, but you can choose better nylon and leather bands too, according to your mood and preference. The band uses a classic pin buckle to keep the watch secure on your wrist, eliminating the risk of falling down.
The Forerunner 265, on the other hand, has Garmin’s typical five-button setup, with three on the left and two on the right side. The buttons provide more convenience to navigate the watch’s UI, menus, and functionalities, plus they also make it easier to use the watch while wearing gloves or during workouts. Additionally, it is a touch-screen watch, so you can either use the buttons or touch to toggle between functionalities and maps. In terms of straps, it also comes with a 22mm quick-release silicone band, meaning you can easily swap the watch straps according to your style. It also has the same 5 ATM water resistance rating and can withstand being submerged underwater up to 50 metres, so you can wear it while swimming too.
Overall, both devices are lightweight and durable enough to survive extreme conditions without compromising on comfort. The lens is also protected with durable material, so you can go on adventures without worrying about wear and tear. They also have a quick-release band to switch according to your style preference. Atlast’s 5 ATM water resistance rating provides an extra layer of safety in wet areas or during swimming.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Display
If we talk about screens, both devices offer an AMOLED display and a decent screen size, providing readability and more content at a glance. The Amazfit GTR 4 boasts a 1.43-inch AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 466 x 466 pixels and a pixel density of 326 PPI. The display is bright and crisp and provides excellent details and colours to read content and use watch functionalities, even in direct sunlight.
In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner 265 boasts a 1.3-inch AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 416 x 416 pixels. It also has an excellent, colorful and vibrant display, which makes scrolling through the UI and maps easier in direct sunlight. It also features an always-on display mode that will show something on your screen rather than staring at a black, blank screen.
Overall, both devices offer an excellent screen size and an AMOLED display to read content and scroll without compromising users’ experiences. Plus, they also feature an Always-On display mode, thanks to their AMOLED display.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Health and Fitness Features
Both devices offer hearty options for health and fitness tracking. The Amazfit GTR 4 is equipped with a BioTracker 4.0 PPG sensor that uses 2 LEDs and 4 photodiodes to provide faster and more accurate health readings. It tracks 24×7 heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and stress level, plus you can also manually track these activities with a single tap. It also has advanced sleep tracking capabilities (including deep, light, and REM), daytime naps, sleep schedule, sleep breathing quality, and every morning provides a sleep score too.
Plus, it also has a PAI health assessment that tracks your health metrics for a 7-day period and provides a view of how fit you are; the higher the number, the better your overall health is. Additionally, it also has health reminders, including abnormal heart rate, low blood oxygen, and a high stress level, and prompts breathing exercises to relieve stress and perform better.
The Garmin Forerunner 265, on the other hand, has a wrist-based heart rate sensor, a daily resting heart rate, abnormal heart rate alerts, a 24 x 7 respiration rate, pulse ox blood oxygen saturation, a body battery, a stress tracker, relaxation reminders, breathwork to relieve stress, advanced sleep tracking, nap detection, hydration, women’s health tracking, and a health snapshot. Additionally, it also has a step counter, move alerts, calories burned, floor climbed, distance travelled, and true up.
In terms of activity tracking, both devices can track over 150 sports modes, including running, swimming, cycling, hiking, snowboarding, basketball, and so much more. Plus, they can automatically detect multiple activities and start tracking them right away. Additionally, they also feature VO2 max and training load to provide detailed information on your health and prompt how recovered you are before your next activity.
Overall, both devices have awesome health tracking capabilities and track usual activities like heart rate, SpO2, stress, sleep, and women’s health. However, both devices lack ECG capability, which is a crucial health feature to have these days in every watch. Apart from that, they offer multiple sports tracking features to help you stay fit and healthy and become a better version of yourself.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Smartwatch Features
There’s not much in this segment; the Amazfit GTR 4 has smart notifications, dual-band GPS, and it is pretty accurate, or 99% to be precise; Zepp OS (getting regular updates); a built-in native app (calendar, weather, cycle tracking); you can multitask with the help of Zepp OS; it lets you switch between apps running in the background through a flashing icon that runs in the background; from that, you can go back and forth between two apps. Additionally, it also has a Bluetooth calling feature that requires a connection to your phone but offers a clear sound on both ends. However, it doesn’t have NFC for contactless payments, which I would love to have. Other than that, you can play music, connect to Wi-Fi (through the Zepp app), and change watch faces.
In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner 265 has multi-band GPS, Garmin Pay, music storage to download and store music, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, smart notifications, the ability to view images from notifications, a morning report, a calendar, weather forecasts, control smartphone music, and much more. Additionally, it can connect to both Android and iOS and offers Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ connectivity as well. It also has a few safety features, like incident detection, assistance, and live tracking.
Overall, both devices have their own set of features but also share some similarities, like Wi-Fi, music storage, GPS tracking, and smart notifications. You have to sacrifice something to get something. You can’t use NFC on the GTR 4, but it has Bluetooth calling support. With the Forerunner 265, you can’t use Bluetooth calling but can use NFC (Garmin Pay). However, if you want to use both features on a Garmin’s watch, you can go for the Gamrin Venu 2 Plus.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Battery Life
If we talk about battery life, both devices offer excellent battery life of 13–14 days under typical usage, but things change when it comes to GPS mode. The Amazfit GTR 4 features a 475 mAH battery capacity, which can last for about 14 days under typical usage. It also has a battery-saving mode that can extend the battery life to 24 days. With heavy usage, which means heart rate, SpO2, sleep tracking, and an always-on display, it can last up to 7 days, which is pretty good in my opinion. In GPS mode, the battery drops to 25 hours, plus you can power-save GPS mode, which extends it to 52 hours.
On the other hand, the Garmin Forerunner 265 can last for about the same in smartwatch mode, or 13 days. In GPS-only mode, it can only last for around 20 hours, which is too low compared to other watches on the market. With GPS and music, the battery cuts down to only 7 hours. For charging, it comes with a Garmin proprietary plug charger, which takes approximately 1.5–2 hours to fully charge the device.
Overall, both devices offer decent battery life under typical usage, but with heavy usage, the GTR 4 takes the lead with 7 days of battery life, whereas the Forerunner 265 can only last for around 2–3 days. Charging speed is also fast in Amazfit; in just 8 minutes of charging, the watch can survive for a whole night with sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, and blood oxygen tracking enabled.
Amazfit GTR 4 vs Forerunner 265: Verdict
Both smartwatches shared many similarities as well as many differences. The Amazfit GTR 4 offered a bigger screen size, more battery life, Bluetooth calling, excellent health tracking, accurate GPS tracking, and above all, budget pricing. The features you are getting on this watch at this price are awesome; it would have been awesome to get an ECG feature as well.
In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner offered multiple color options, excellent health and fitness features, and Garmin Pay for contactless payments, but the only downside is the pricing, which is twice the amount of the GTR 4. Even if we compare all the features, the GTR 4 wins by a great margin, and it also has a more durable aluminium body, providing more screen resistance and protection.