Garmin Forerunner 101 vs Garmin Forerunner 165

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Forerunner 101 compared with Forerunner 165

	GarminForerunner 101	GarminForerunner 165
Overview
Released
Released	2004	February 2024
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	83 mm	43 mm
Panel
Panel	–	OLED
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	Backlit 36.49 × 23.35 mm monochrome display, 100 × 64 pixels, operated with physical buttons. Garmin does not identify the panel technology.	1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display; five physical buttons
Screen protection
Screen protection	–	Chemically strengthened glass
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	No	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	No
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	No
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	No	No
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	No	No
Crash detection
Crash detection	No	No
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	–	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Twelve-channel GPS receiver with built-in patch antenna; no heart-rate or cadence sensor support.	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo
Health features
Health features	–	Continuous heart rate with high/low alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; stress, respiration and blood oxygen; advanced sleep and sleep score; sleep coach and nap detection; Health Snapshot; hydration and women's health tracking; no ECG app
Fitness features
Fitness features	Time, distance, pace and calorie tracking; Virtual Partner, interval training, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and pace, time and distance alerts.	Daily suggested running workouts and Garmin Coach plans; training effect and recovery time; wrist-based running dynamics and running power; PacePro; VO2 max and race predictions; pool and open-water swimming; running, cycling, strength, HIIT, yoga, Pilates, tennis, pickleball and padel profiles; point-to-point and breadcrumb course navigation, back-to-start and TracBack; no full offline maps or dedicated triathlon mode; no training readiness, load or status (Wareable and Tech Advisor)
Safety features
Safety features	Stores 100 locations and offers basic route display and navigation back to the start; no detailed base maps.	Incident detection during selected activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible smartphone and connectivity; live event sharing is Android-only
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 15 hours	Up to 11 days
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	–	Up to 20 days
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	No	No
Works with
Works with	No phone pairing	iPhone and Android
Storage
Storage	–	4 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Two replaceable 1.5 V AAA batteries; fourteen to fifteen hours of typical use according to the owner's manual.	Smartwatch up to 11 days; battery saver smartwatch up to 20 days; GPS-only up to 19 hours; all-systems GNSS up to 17 hours; actual life depends on display settings, enabled features and use
Charging
Charging	–	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in battery
Connectivity
Connectivity	No computer interface or direct phone pairing; history is viewed on the watch.	Bluetooth and ANT+ ; controls smartphone music without offline playback; no Wi-Fi; Garmin Pay; Connect IQ apps, watch faces and data fields; smart notifications; Android-only text responses and notification images; Garmin Share and Garmin Messenger; no cellular connection or multi-band GNSS
Storage
Storage	Up to 5,000 laps and approximately two years of training history.	4 GB memory/history ; standard model has no offline music player
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	74 g	39 g (better)
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	High-impact plastic alloy housing; IPX7 immersion protection, one metre for thirty minutes. This is not a swimming watch.	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; chemically strengthened glass; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating
Size
Size	83 × 43.5 × 23 mm; 74 g including batteries, according to Garmin's series datasheet. Width is used as the case size.	43 x 43 x 11.6 mm; Garmin lists 39 g without a separate body-only weight
Bands
Bands	Adjustable wrist strap.	20 mm quick-release silicone bands; fits 126–203 mm wrists
Colours
Colours	–	Black/Slate Grey; Mist Grey/Whitestone
In the box
In the box	–	Forerunner 165; charging/data cable; documentation