Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Forerunner 25

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Forerunner 165 compared with Forerunner 25

	GarminForerunner 165	GarminForerunner 25
Overview
Released
Released	February 2024	2015
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	43 mm	43.9 mm or 47 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	Memory-in-pixel
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display; five physical buttons	Monochrome transflective memory-in-pixel display, 128 × 128 pixels; 18.5 × 18.5 mm in the small version and 23 × 23 mm in the large version.
Screen protection
Screen protection	Chemically strengthened glass	–
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	No
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	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo	Built-in GPS and accelerometer; heart rate requires an optional ANT+ chest strap, and an optional foot pod is supported.
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	Daily steps, automatic step goal, inactivity bar and sleep monitoring; heart-rate zones require a paired chest strap.
Fitness features
Fitness features	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)	Running pace, distance, personal records, Virtual Pacer, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and time, distance and run/walk alerts; indoor distance from its accelerometer.
Safety features
Safety features	Incident detection during selected activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible smartphone and connectivity; live event sharing is Android-only	Live Tracking shares a run through a paired compatible smartphone.
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 11 days	Up to 70 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	iPhone and Android	iPhone and Android
Storage
Storage	4 GB	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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	Small version up to eight weeks in watch mode or eight hours of GPS training; large version up to ten weeks or ten hours respectively.
Charging
Charging	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in battery	Rechargeable lithium-ion battery; charging and data cable supplied.
Connectivity
Connectivity	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	Bluetooth Low Energy syncs to Garmin Connect Mobile and displays paired-phone notifications; ANT+ supports optional heart-rate and foot-pod accessories.
Storage
Storage	4 GB memory/history ; standard model has no offline music player	Seven activities of on-watch history.
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	39 g	31 g (better)
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; chemically strengthened glass; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating	Silicone band and 5 ATM water rating.
Size
Size	43 x 43 x 11.6 mm; Garmin lists 39 g without a separate body-only weight	Small version 35.9 × 43.9 × 13.9 mm, 31 g; large version 40.2 × 47 × 13.9 mm, 39 g. Longest case dimensions appear in the size comparison.
Bands
Bands	20 mm quick-release silicone bands; fits 126–203 mm wrists	–
Colours
Colours	Black/Slate Grey; Mist Grey/Whitestone	Large versions in black/blue and black/red; small versions in black/violet and white/pink.
In the box
In the box	Forerunner 165; charging/data cable; documentation	Watch, charging/data cable and manual; some bundles also included a heart-rate chest strap.