Garmin Forerunner 25 vs Garmin Forerunner 265
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| GarminForerunner 25 | GarminForerunner 265 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 2015 | March 2023 |
| Display | ||
| Case sizes | 43.9 mm or 47 mm | 42 mm or 46 mm |
| Panel | Memory-in-pixel | OLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | 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. | Forerunner 265S has a 1.1″ (28.1 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 360 x 360 pixels; Forerunner 265 has a 1.3″ (32.5 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 416 x 416 pixels; five buttons; optional always-on mode |
| Screen protection | – | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Health and fitness | ||
| ECG | No | No |
| Blood oxygen | No | Yes |
| Skin temperature | No | No |
| Sleep apnoea alerts | No | No |
| High blood pressure alerts | No | No |
| Body composition | No | No |
| Fall detection | No | No |
| Crash detection | No | No |
| GPS | Single-band | Dual-band (L1 and L5) |
| Water resistance | 50 m | 50 m |
| Sensors | Built-in GPS and accelerometer; heart rate requires an optional ANT+ chest strap, and an optional foot pod is supported. | Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor |
| Health features | Daily steps, automatic step goal, inactivity bar and sleep monitoring; heart-rate zones require a paired chest strap. | High and low heart rate alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; all-day stress; sleep score, sleep coach and nap detection; breathing variations; respiration rate; Health Snapshot; menstrual cycle and pregnancy tracking; jet lag adviser |
| Fitness features | Running pace, distance, personal records, Virtual Pacer, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and time, distance and run/walk alerts; indoor distance from its accelerometer. | Training readiness and training status; training load, load ratio and load focus; training effect, VO2 max and recovery time; wrist-based running power and dynamics; PacePro; race predictor; Garmin Coach running, cycling and strength plans; daily suggested running and cycling workouts; triathlon and open-water swimming; course navigation with a breadcrumb trail, TracBack and Up Ahead |
| Safety features | Live Tracking shares a run through a paired compatible smartphone. | Incident detection during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; spectator messaging; live event sharing (Android only); these features require a paired phone |
| Battery and connections | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 70 days | Up to 15 days |
| Mobile data option | No | No |
| Works with | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| Storage | – | 8 GB |
| Battery life detail | 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. | Forerunner 265S up to 15 days in smartwatch mode, 24 hours GPS only, 18 hours SatIQ (AutoSelect), 15 hours All-Systems + Multi-Band; with music up to 7.5, seven and six hours respectively. Forerunner 265 up to 13 days in smartwatch mode, 20 hours GPS only, 16 hours SatIQ, 14 hours All-Systems + Multi-Band; with music up to seven, 6.5 and six hours respectively |
| Charging | Rechargeable lithium-ion battery; charging and data cable supplied. | Garmin proprietary plug charger; USB-C charging/data cable included |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth Low Energy syncs to Garmin Connect Mobile and displays paired-phone notifications; ANT+ supports optional heart-rate and foot-pod accessories. | Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; multi-band GPS with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and SatIQ; Garmin Pay; offline music from Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music (premium subscription required); Connect IQ; notifications and Android text responses; Garmin Share |
| Storage | Seven activities of on-watch history. | – |
| Design | ||
| Weight (lightest version) | 31 g (better) | 39 g |
| Software | Garmin | Garmin |
| Case materials | Silicone band and 5 ATM water rating. | Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating |
| Size | 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. | Forerunner 265S is 41.7 x 41.7 x 12.9 mm and 39 g; Forerunner 265 is 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm and 47 g; Garmin does not publish case-only weights |
| Bands | – | Quick-release 18 mm bands for the 265S, fitting 115–178 mm wrists; quick-release 22 mm bands for the 265, fitting 135–205 mm wrists |
| Colours | Large versions in black/blue and black/red; small versions in black/violet and white/pink. | – |
| In the box | Watch, charging/data cable and manual; some bundles also included a heart-rate chest strap. | Forerunner 265 or 265S, USB-C charging/data cable, documentation |
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