Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Forerunner 970

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Forerunner 265 compared with Forerunner 970

	GarminForerunner 265	GarminForerunner 970
Overview
Released
Released	March 2023	May 2025
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	42 mm or 46 mm	47 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	OLED
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	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	1.4″ (35.3 mm) AMOLED colour touchscreen, 454 x 454 pixels; five buttons
Screen protection
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Sapphire crystal lens
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	Yes
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	Dual-band (L1 and L5)	Dual-band (L1 and L5)
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	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	Garmin ECG App (atrial fibrillation); Pulse Ox spot checks, with optional all-day acclimation and sleep readings; skin temperature; high and low heart rate alerts; HRV status; health status; sleep score, sleep coach, sleep alignment and nap detection; breathing variations; Body Battery; all-day stress; Health Snapshot; lifestyle logging; women's health tracking with past ovulation estimates; jet lag adviser
Fitness features
Fitness features	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	Training readiness and training status; running tolerance; running economy and step speed loss (with HRM 600); wrist-based running dynamics and running power; VO2 max, endurance score and hill score; race predictor and projected race time; PacePro; ClimbPro; real-time stamina; Garmin Coach and Garmin Triathlon Coach plans; daily suggested workouts; quick workouts; built-in maps with turn-by-turn directions, dynamic round-trip routing and Up Ahead; triathlon and multisport profiles
Safety features
Safety features	Incident detection during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; spectator messaging; live event sharing (Android only); these features require a paired phone	Incident detection during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; live event sharing (Android only); LED flashlight
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 15 days	Up to 15 days
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	No	No
Works with
Works with	iPhone and Android	iPhone and Android
Storage
Storage	8 GB	32 GB (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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	Smartwatch mode up to 15 days; GPS only up to 26 hours; SatIQ (AutoSelect) up to 23 hours; All-Systems + Multi-Band up to 21 hours; with music up to 14, 13 and 12 hours in the same modes
Charging
Charging	Garmin proprietary plug charger; USB-C charging/data cable included	Garmin charging cable with proprietary plug
Connectivity
Connectivity	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	Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; multi-band GPS with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou and SatIQ; Garmin Pay; speaker and microphone for calls and the phone's voice assistant with a paired phone; hands-free voice control
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	39 g	–
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating	Titanium bezel; sapphire crystal lens; 5 ATM water rating (swim); operating temperature –20 °C to 60 °C
Size
Size	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	47 x 47 x 12.9 mm; 56 g (Garmin doesn't give a case-only weight)
Bands
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	22 mm silicone band; takes QuickFit 22 bands; fits 135–205 mm wrists
Colours
Colours	–	Carbon Grey DLC Titanium with Black case and Black/Translucent Whitestone band; Titanium with Whitestone case and Whitestone/Translucent Amp Yellow band; Soft Gold Titanium with French Grey case and French Grey/Translucent Indigo band
In the box
In the box	Forerunner 265 or 265S, USB-C charging/data cable, documentation	Forerunner 970, charging cable, documentation