Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Venu 2 Plus

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Forerunner 165 compared with Venu 2 Plus

	GarminForerunner 165	GarminVenu 2 Plus
Overview
Released
Released	February 2024	January 2022
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	43 mm	43.6 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	OLED
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	1.3-inch (33 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 416 x 416 pixels, with optional always-on mode.
Screen protection
Screen protection	Chemically strengthened glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	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	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and ambient light sensor; tempe accessory needed for temperature.
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	Wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox blood oxygen, sleep score, stress, Body Battery and Health Snapshot. Garmin's ECG app arrived in 2023 and requires supported region and current software.
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, cycling, pool swimming, hiking, climbing and more than 25 sports apps; animated workouts, muscle maps and Garmin Coach.
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	Incident detection, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired phone.
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 11 days	Up to 9 days
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	Up to 20 days	Up to 10 days
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	No	No
Works with
Works with	iPhone and Android	iPhone and Android
Storage
Storage	4 GB	8 GB (better)
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	Up to nine days in smartwatch mode, ten days in battery saver, 24 hours with GPS or eight hours with GPS and music.
Charging
Charging	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in battery	Garmin proprietary charging cable; Garmin claims ten minutes of charging can add a smartwatch day.
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, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; paired-phone calls and voice assistant through built-in speaker and microphone, smart notifications, Garmin Pay, Connect IQ and on-watch music.
Storage
Storage	4 GB memory/history ; standard model has no offline music player	8 GB of memory/history.
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	39 g (better)	51 g
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; chemically strengthened glass; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating	Stainless-steel bezel and rear cover, fibre-reinforced polymer case and silicone band; 5 ATM water rating.
Size
Size	43 x 43 x 11.6 mm; Garmin lists 39 g without a separate body-only weight	43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm; 51 g.
Bands
Bands	20 mm quick-release silicone bands; fits 126–203 mm wrists	Quick-release 20 mm band; fits wrists 125–190 mm.
Colours
Colours	Black/Slate Grey; Mist Grey/Whitestone	Black case and silicone band with slate stainless-steel bezel.
In the box
In the box	Forerunner 165; charging/data cable; documentation	–