The low-cost Garmin Forerunner 165 is here to obliterate pricier smartwatches with its amazing value

Who said that budget smartwatches need to be rudimentary?

Make no mistake, that 1.2-inch display is no pushover in the resolution department, at 390 x 390 pixels, not to mention that it also supports “always-on” functionality… with the typical adverse effects on battery endurance. Another feature that can obviously greatly reduce this thing’s running times between charges is standalone GPS, which is also a field where the $450 Forerunner 265 holds an important advantage over its younger and cheaper brother with “multi-band” technology and thus superior positioning accuracy.

Is that enough to justify a price gap of $200 (or $150 if we consider the $299.99 Forerunner 165 Music)? It certainly doesn’t seem so at a first glance of the feature set of the new Android and iOS-supporting Garmin Forerunner 165 Series, which includes everything from “constant” wrist-based heart rate monitoring to all-day stress tracking, blood oxygen saturation, women’s health supervision, body battery energy tech, and “advanced” sleep tracking with nap detection.

But wait, there’s more

While hardcore Garmin fans probably already know exactly what all of these things mean and precisely how they can help you run faster, better, and smarter, those not very familiar with the company’s Forerunner product roster will likely be pleasantly surprised by the utility and sophistication of the aforementioned tools, especially considering the aforementioned $250 price point.

Granted, the Forerunner 265 can do even more stuff, providing insight into training readiness and training status in addition to training effects, but again, the differences don’t seem significant enough to justify the spending of 450 bucks right now on the slightly better-equipped device. 

The Forerunner 165 is predictably overall smaller, lighter, and thinner than the 265 while rocking a reasonably durable (although certainly not exactly rugged) fiber-reinforced polymer build with a “chemically strengthened” glass designed to protect the AMOLED display against scratches and a simple but always popular silicone strap.