Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Forerunner 301

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

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Forerunner 265 compared with Forerunner 301
GarminForerunner 265GarminForerunner 301
Overview
ReleasedMarch 20232005
Display
Case sizes42 mm or 46 mm82.8 mm
PanelOLED–
Always-on displayYesYes
Display detailForerunner 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 modeBacklit monochrome screen, 36.49 × 23.35 mm and 100 × 64 pixels; physical button controls. Panel technology is not specified in Garmin's manual.
Screen protectionCorning Gorilla Glass 3–
Health and fitness
ECGNoNo
Blood oxygenYesNo
Skin temperatureNoNo
Sleep apnoea alertsNoNo
High blood pressure alertsNoNo
Body compositionNoNo
Fall detectionNoNo
Crash detectionNoNo
GPSDual-band (L1 and L5)Single-band
Water resistance50 m–
SensorsGarmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensorTwelve-channel GPS receiver and included digitally coded heart-rate chest strap; no optical wrist sensor.
Health featuresHigh 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 featuresTraining 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 AheadRunning, biking and other-sport profiles; advanced and interval workouts, Virtual Partner, Auto Pause, Auto Lap, Auto Scroll and heart-rate, pace, time and distance alerts. AutoLearn adjusts heart-rate zones as fitness changes.
Safety featuresIncident detection during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; spectator messaging; live event sharing (Android only); these features require a paired phoneBasic map display, up to 100 stored locations and navigation back to the start or a saved location; no base maps.
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 15 daysUp to 14 hours
Mobile data optionNoNo
Works withiPhone and AndroidNo phone pairing
Storage8 GB–
Battery life detailForerunner 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 respectivelyBuilt-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; fourteen hours of typical use.
ChargingGarmin proprietary plug charger; USB-C charging/data cable includedAC charger and USB connection.
ConnectivityBluetooth, 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 ShareUSB computer interface; supplied Garmin Training Center software for analysing activities and creating workouts. No direct phone pairing.
Storage–Up to 5,000 laps, with approximately two years of training history according to Garmin's series datasheet.
Design
Weight (lightest version)39 g (better)78 g
SoftwareGarminGarmin
Case materialsFibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; 5 ATM water ratingSealed high-impact plastic-alloy housing; IPX7 immersion protection, one metre for thirty minutes.
SizeForerunner 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 weights82.8 × 43.4 × 17.5 mm; approximately 78 g. Width is used as the case size.
BandsQuick-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–
In the boxForerunner 265 or 265S, USB-C charging/data cable, documentationWatch, wrist strap, expander strap, AC charger, USB cable, digitally coded heart-rate monitor, Training Center software and documentation.

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