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Garmin Forerunner 165 Music · Photo source

Garmin Forerunner 165 Music
Photo 1 of 29

Garmin Forerunner 165 Music · Photo source

Garmin · Forerunner

Forerunner 165 Music

Released February 2024

Forerunner 165 Music is a 43 mm AMOLED GPS running watch with offline music, Wi-Fi, Garmin Pay and wrist-based running power.

Type
Smart and sports
Sizes
43 mm
Movement
–
Power reserve
–
Display
OLED
Battery
11 days
Water
50 m
GPS
Single-band
Weight
39 g

What reviewers say

Reviewers praise the light, comfortable design, bright screen and dependable GPS tracking. Tech Advisor finds music playback and headphone pairing straightforward; iRunFar finds initial pairing awkward and reports occasional implausible heart-rate spikes. Both find battery life useful for daily training, while music and an always-on display shorten it. Tech Advisor misses the training tools of higher-end Forerunners.

From techadvisor.com and irunfar.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Display

Case sizes
43 mm
Panel
OLED
Always-on display
Yes
Display detail
1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display; five physical buttons
Screen protection
Chemically strengthened glass

Health and fitness

ECG
No
Blood oxygen
Yes
Skin temperature
No
Sleep apnoea alerts
No
High blood pressure alerts
No
Body composition
No
Fall detection
No
Crash detection
No
GPS
Single-band
Water resistance
50 m
Sensors
Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo
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
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)
Safety features
Incident detection during selected activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible smartphone and connectivity; live event sharing is Android-only

Battery and connections

Battery life (maker's claim)
Up to 11 days
In low-power mode
Up to 20 days
Mobile data option
No
Works with
iPhone and Android
Storage
4 GB
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; GPS-only with music up to 7 hours; all-systems with music up to 6.5 hours; actual life depends on display settings, enabled features and use
Charging
Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in battery
Connectivity
Bluetooth and ANT+ and Wi-Fi; stores music for Bluetooth headphones; Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music downloads require compatible subscriptions; 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
Storage
4 GB memory/history; offline music playback

Design

Weight (lightest version)
39 g
Software
Garmin
Case materials
Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; chemically strengthened glass; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating
Size
43 x 43 x 11.6 mm; Garmin lists 39 g without a separate body-only weight
Bands
20 mm quick-release silicone bands; fits 126–203 mm wrists
Colours
Black/Slate Grey; Mist Grey/Whitestone; Turquoise/Aqua; Berry/Lilac (currently not sellable on the UK maker page)
In the box
Forerunner 165 Music; charging/data cable; documentation

Pros and cons

Pros

  • AMOLED touchscreen and five physical buttons
  • Daily suggested workouts, running power, HRV status and recovery time
  • Offline music and Garmin Pay

Cons

  • No multi-band GPS or full offline maps
  • No training readiness, training load or dedicated triathlon mode
  • Music playback reduces GPS battery life

Closest rivals

Model
TypeSizesMovementPower reserveDisplayBatteryWaterGPSWeightReleased
GarminForerunner 165
Smart and sports43 mm––OLED11 days50 mSingle-band39 gFeb 2024
GarminApproach S44
Smart and sports43 mm––OLED10 days50 mSingle-band42 gJan 2025
GarminApproach S50
Smart and sports43 mm––OLED10 days50 mSingle-band29 gJan 2025

Sources

  1. garmin.com/en-GB/p/1611937
  2. support.garmin.com
  3. www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-607F08F6-33FC-40BF-9727-84E54043D82D/EN-GB…
  4. garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/sports-fitness/light-up-your-run-with-t…
  5. techadvisor.com/article/2257476/garmin-forerunner-165-review.html
  6. irunfar.com/garmin-forerunner-165-music-review

Photo: res.garmin.com

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