Both the Garmin Forerunner 965 and the Garmin Epix 2 are rugged watches designed to survive in extreme conditions. They both offer a metallic build, a crisp AMOLED display, excellent battery life, and so much more.
In this article, we’ll compare these watches on price, design, display, health and fitness tracking, smartwatch features, and battery life to help you make an informed decision.
Key Takeaways
The Forerunner 965 resembles a circular, sporty shape designed for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, while the Epix 2 is a rugged watch designed for adventure seekers and extreme sports enthusiasts. Ultimately, the choice between the two comes down to your personal preference and budget.
Comparison
| Device name | Garmin Forerunner 965 | Garmin Epix 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Smartwatch | Smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Release date | March, 2023 | January, 2022 |
| Versions | Standard edition | Standard edition |
| Body | ||
| Dimension | 47.2 x 47.2 x 13.2 mm | 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm |
| Weight | 53 grams | 76 grams |
| Shape | Circular | Circular |
| Case material | Fiber-Reinforced Polymer | Fiber-Reinforced Polymer |
| Strap material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Bezel material | Titanium | Stainless Steel |
| Strap size | 22mm | 22mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX | Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM | 10 ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.4 inch | 1.3 inch |
| Display type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 454 x 454 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels |
| Pixel density | 459 PPI | 350 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 | 32 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 | 23 days | 16 days |
| Charging type | Plug Charger | Plug Charger |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
Price
The Epix 2 is $200 more expensive compared to the FR 965. It is priced at $799 for the standard and $899 for the sapphire edition. In contrast, the Forerunner 965 is priced at $599, and users can buy HRM Pro (a heart rate monitor) for an extra $100, totaling $699.
Design and Display
The Epix 2 resembles a rugged, circular design appealing to sports enthusiasts and adventure seekers, while the Forerunner 965 resembles a wristwatch style appealing to individuals with bigger wrists or athletes. Both come with a five-button setup and a silicone band as standard, but in the Epix 2, you can choose between Fabric, Metal, or Leather band according to your style.
Measuring at 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm and weighing 76 grams, the Epix 2 comes in only slate steel colour, while the Forerunner 965 measures at 47.2 x 47.2 x 13.2 mm and weighs 53 grams, It comes in Black and Whitestone colourways.
Although both devices have the same measurement, the FR 965 features a 1.4 inch, 459 PPI, 454 x 454 pixels AMOLED display surrounded by a titanium bezel and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX on top, making it durable enough to survive wear and tear. In contrast, the Epix 2 features a 1.3 inch, 350 PPI, 416 x 416-pixel AMOLED display surrounded by passivated stainless steel and Corning Gorilla Glass on top.
Health and Fitness Tracking
When it comes to health and fitness tracking, both devices offer all the typical Garmin’s health features, but the Epix 2 excels at this.
Both devices can perform all the tasks you get on other Garmin devices, including heart rate tracking, SpO2 (blood oxygen) monitoring, respiration rate, stress monitoring, hydration, and women’s health. Plus, they also feature body battery energy monitoring, breathwork to relieve stress, and a health snapshot (tracks key health metrics in two-minute sessions).
However, the Epix 2 offers two additional added features — a skin temperature monitor that can help detect temperature, which could be due to activity, illness, or other activity, and a jet lag advisor that provides recommendations to help you feel better.
Both feature advanced sleep tracking that can track sleep in multiple stages, including light, deep, and REM stages. Plus, they can also detect when you fall asleep using your heart rate and body movements and log them into the Garmin Connect app. They can also track disturbances and nuances in your sleep.
They also feature nap detection, which can detect your naps and provide personalised insights and recommendations to get the most out of your naps. They also provide sleep scores based on multiple nights to help you determine your sleep, with scores ranging from 0–100. The higher means you are getting perfect sleep, and the lower means you need to work on your sleep schedule.
Both can track basic activities such as steps, calories burned, distance travelled, floor climbed, and intensity minutes.
In terms of activity tracking, both have multiple sports modes, including swimming, running, biking, cycling, and ring sports like boxing and mixed martial arts, among others. They also offer various features for runners and athletes, such as VO2 max tracking, recovery time, HRV status, real-time stamina, load ratio, training load, training effect, and much more.
Both feature a virtual partner, which lets you compete against yourself by comparing your current running pace to your previous runs. They also offer training plans, cardio, strength, pilates, and HIIT workouts, plus on-screen workout animations and muscle maps.
One feature that the Epix 2 lacks is the multi-band GPS that you get on the Forerunner 965. It uses multiple frequencies to provide faster and more accurate readings in challenging situations. They also offer additional features for ultra runners, including back-to-start, tracback, ultratrac mode, up ahead, elevation profiles, preloaded trail and road maps, and much more.
Smartwatch Features
When it comes to smartwatch features, the Garmin devices are not designed for this, so you don’t get many features like you get on other watches on the market. But both offer smart notifications, text response and reject phone calls with text, view images for notifications, morning reports, calendars, weather forecasts, smartphone music control, find my phone, find my watch, and more.
Plus, both let you download third-party music apps like Deezer and Spotify and let you stream music from your own digital files or downloaded playlists from these supported apps. You can also pair wireless headphones and earphones to listen to music on your smartwatch.
The Forerunner 965 offers 32GB of internal storage to download and store data, maps, and songs, while the Epix 2 only has 16GB of storage to do the same. Plus, you can also make contactless payments via Garmin Pay on both of these devices. Additionally, both can connect to a wide range of iOS and Android devices and offer Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ connectivity as well.
Battery Life
When it comes to battery life, both offer excellent battery life that can last for several days. In smartwatch mode, the Garmin Forerunner 965 can last for up to 23 days, compared to 16 days in the Epix 2. However, with GPS enabled, the Epix 2 can last for up to 42 hours, while the FR 965 can last for up to 31 hours. See the chart below for a full comparison:
| Device name | Garmin Forerunner 965 | Garmin Epix 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Smartwatch Mode | Up to 23 days | Up to 16 days |
| Battery Saver Smartwatch Mode | — | Up to 21 days |
| GPS-Only mode | Up to 31 hours | Up to 42 hours |
| All-Systems GNSS mode | Up to 19 hours | Up to 32 hours |
| Max Battery GPS | — | Up to 75 hours |
| Expedition GPS | — | Up to 14 days |
Verdict
The device you choose between the Garmin Epix 2 and Garmin Forerunner 965 comes down to your personal preference and needs. Both are excellent watches designed for athletes and adventure seekers who want a metallic watch with a scratch-resistant screen that can survive extreme conditions and wear and tear.
Buy the Garmin Forerunner 965 if…
If you want a bigger screen size, higher resolution, advanced GPS tracking, and excellent battery life at a lower price, then the FR 965 might be a better choice for you.
Buy the Garmin Epix 2 if…
If you want advanced health tracking, a rugged build, longer battery life, and don’t have budget restrictions, then the Epix 2 might be the way to go.