Both the Garmin Fenix 7 and the Garmin Forerunner 265 are the latest smartwatches you can get in the Fenix and Forerunner series. Garmin added multiple improvements to these devices compared to their predecessors, making them a perfect choice for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
So we decided to take a deep dive into the comparison of these smartwatches in terms of pricing, design, display, health and fitness tracking, features, and battery life to help you choose the one that fits your needs.
Quick Overview
At a glance, the Garmin Fenix 7 has visible screw rugs on the front and a slightly bulkier, sporty look appealing to athletes and adventure seekers. In contrast, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is slimmer, with a little styling element appealing to both casual users and athletes.
The Forerunner 265 comes in two sizes — 42mm (Forerunner 265S) and 46mm (Forerunner 265), and both are priced at $449. In comparison, the Fenix 7 comes in three sizes — 42mm (Fenix 7S), 47mm (Fenix 7), and 51mm (Fenix 7X Pro), and in three editions — Standard, Sapphire Solar, and Pro Solar. The price starts at $649 and goes all the way up to $999.
Both have Garmin Elevate V4 sensors, providing faster and more accurate readings compared to their predecessors. But the Fenix 7 offers way more health and fitness features than the Forerunner 265, making it an ideal choice for athletes and adventure seekers. It also has more battery life, and the solar version offers even more juice to survive for multiple days on a single charge.
Comparison
| Device name | Garmin Forerunner 265 | Garmin Fenix 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Smartwatch | Smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Release date | March, 2023 | January, 2022 |
| Versions | Standard edition | Standard edition |
| Body | ||
| Dimension | 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm | 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm |
| Weight | 47 grams | 79 grams |
| Shape | Circular | Circular |
| Case material | Fiber-Reinforced Polymer | Fiber-Reinforced Polymer |
| Strap material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Bezel material | Fiber-Reinforced Polymer | Stainless Steel |
| Strap size | 22mm | 22mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM | 10 ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.3 inch | 1.3 inch |
| Display type | AMOLED | transflective memory-in-pixel |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 pixels | 260 x 260 pixels |
| Pixel density | 453 PPI | 200 PPI |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | Touchscreen | Touchscreen |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth calling | No | No |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Garmin Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Memory | ||
| RAM | — | — |
| Internal Storage | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| Cellular Connectivity | ||
| Technology | None | None |
| SIM type | None | None |
| Band | — | — |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | No | No |
| Ambient light | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | No | No |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse oximeter (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery capacity | — | — |
| Battery life | 13 days | 18 days |
| Charging type | Plug Charger | Plug Charger |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
Do they differ in looks?
If we talk about the look and feel of both of these smartwatches, the Fenix 7 offers a more premium finish with a metallic build to survive extreme beatings and conditions, while the Forerunner 265 offers a lighter watch with a more stylish factor suitable for more casual users.
The Garmin Fenix 7 is slightly bulkier, with visible screw lugs on the front. The 1.3-inch, 200 PPI, 260 x 260-pixel transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display is surrounded by a stainless steel bezel and a fiber-reinforced polymer case with corning gorilla glass to protect the watch from scratches.
At 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm and weighing 79 grams, the Fenix 7 comes in multiple colors and quick-fit silicone bands, but you can choose between Leather, Fabric, and Metal bands. The straps are 22 mm in length.
The Fenix 7 battery life lasts for around 18 days in smartwatch mode. In battery-saving watch mode, it can go up to 57 days and up to 57 hours in GPS mode. Even with all satellite systems, you get over one day of battery life, or 40 hours.
The Garmin Forerunner 265, on the other hand, is less bulky compared to the Fenix 7. The 1.3-inch, 453 PPI, 416 x 416-pixel AMOLED display is surrounded by a fiber-reinforced polymer bezel and casing with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, protecting the watch from wear and tear.
Measuring at 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm and weighing 47 grams, the Forerunner 265 comes in Whitestone, Black, Aqua, and Light Pink colorways. It also comes with a quick-fit silicone band as standard. The straps are 22 mm in length.
In terms of battery life, it can last for up to 13 days on a single charge. With GPS-only GNSS mode, it only lasts for around 20 hours, and all-zystems GNSS mode + multi-band drops it to 14 hours.
The Fenix 7 has a higher water rating of 10 ATMs compared to 5 ATMs on the Forerunner 265. But both are suitable for swimming.
Health, Fitness, and Activity Tracking
When it comes to health and fitness tracking, both smartwatches offer various advanced health features, but the Fenix 7 excels at this.
Both can track heart rate, resting and abnormal heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen), respiration rate (24×7), stress, hydration, and women’s health. But the Fenix 7 takes the lead with two additional features — skin temperature and a jet lag advisor. The smartwatch measures your skin temperature at night, and any changes in temperature can be related to activity, illness, or other factors. The Jet Lag Advisor offers insights and suggestions and works according to them, such as dimming the screen light and turning grayscale mode on to help you feel better.
Both have body batteries that use heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), stress, and sleep to help you make an informed decision about your health. Plus, a health snapshot tracks multiple metrics in 2 minute intervals to get detailed insights into your health.
In terms of sports modes, both devices offer multiple sports profiles and even track ring sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. Both can track basic features like steps, calories burned, distance traveled, floor climbed, and intensity minutes.
Apart from that, both the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Garmin Fenix 7 offer VO2 tracking, recovery time (which uses multiple data points to show your recovery time), load ratio, training load (which calculates the post-exercise oxygen consumption in the last seven days), and more. You can use all this data to get deeper insights into your health and recovery, which makes it worth considering for athletes.
There are various features for ultra runners, such as back-to-start (helps you get back from where you started), ultratrac mode (helps save battery life by periodically turning off GPS), up ahead (shows upcoming destinations like aid stations, water stations, course points, and more), and much more.
If we talk about GPS tracking, the Forerunner 265 takes the lead with multi-band GPS, which is only available in the Fenix 7 Pro edition. It uses multiple frequencies to provide more accurate readings in challenging situations, like areas with many buildings and trees that hinder the GPS readings.
What about sleep tracking?
When it comes to sleep tracking, both devices excel at it. Both can track sleep in multiple stages, including deep, light, and REM. They use multiple data metrics, such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and body movement, to track when you fall asleep and the stages of sleep you are in. They can also track nuances in your sleep and offer insights to help you understand your sleep better.
Garmin also added a sleep score, which uses sleep data from multiple nights and provides a score from 0–100. The higher score means excellent sleep, and the lower score means you need more zzz time which is also important for recovery and overall health.
Additionally, they can also track naps and offer personalized insights and suggestions to get the most out of them. Plus, it syncs all data into the Garmin Connect app, which you can use to get better insights into your overall health.
What else can they do?
What else can they do apart from health and fitness activities? Both smartwatches offer few features, and they are not designed for functionalities that you get on other devices; rather, they are for athletes and fitness enthusiasts who want better health and fitness tracking.
But they do offer a few features, such as smart notifications, the ability to view images from notifications, a calendar, a morning report (which shows multiple metrics one hour before your actual wakeup time), weather forecasts, smartphone music control, find my phone, and find my watch.
If we talk about compatibility, both devices are compatible with both iOS and Android devices, making them suitable choices for wider audiences. Both have Bluetooth, ANT+, and Wi-Fi connectivity as well.
Which should you choose?
Which device you choose between the Garmin Fenix 7 and the Garmin Forerunner 265 depends on the features you want. Both smartwatches have various differences catering to different audiences. But let me help you decide which smartwatch you need.
If you are looking for a watch with excellent display quality with a bright and colorful screen, multi-band GPS, but shorter battery life doesn’t bother you, then you can go for the Garmin Forerunner 265.
But if you are looking for a smartwatch with more size options, excellent health tracking, advanced GPS tracking (Pro edition), longer battery life, and you don’t have any budget restrictions, the Garmin Fenix 7 will be a better choice for you.
Choose the smartwatch according to your budget and needs, as both devices showed excellent capabilities. So whichever smartwatch you choose, you get a step closer to achieving your health and fitness goals.