Garmin Forerunner 965 review: Raising the game
Garmin brings an AMOLED display to its excellent Forerunner line, so it looks better than ever - but how does it perform?
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a multisports watch firmly aimed at runners, with an all-new AMOLED screen that gives Garmin something to better rival the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
It takes all of the good stuff from the Forerunner 955, like Garmin's great multiband GPS mode, preloaded Topo maps and crucially, still promises to offer the kind of battery life that will get you comfortably through a marathon or a marathon cycling session.
Adding that AMOLED screen has seen Garmin bump up the price though, so does the Forerunner 965 deliver the goods? Here's our take.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Recommended
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a great running watch and sports watch in general. It takes the excellent smarts from the Forerunner 955 and gives it a superb AMOLED screen a more refined look all while still delivering solid battery life.
Garmin Forerunner 965 review
We tested the Garmin Forerunner 965, offering top-end Garmin features with a bright, beaming OLED watch face.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a brilliant watch that merges the most mainstream and hardcore sides of Garmin’s wearables beautifully.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is the natural conclusion of what Garmin has been playing around with for the last couple of years. It takes the OLED screen tech of the Venu watches, and combines it with the high-end features of the Forerunner 955.
The best bit of all: it’s far less pricey than the Garmin Epix 2, which is based on a similar idea, and gets close to making that watch redundant for big swathes of the audience. This earned it a place in our guide to the best fitness trackers.
Garmin Forerunner 965 (Black) at Amazon for $599.99
The Garmin Forerunner 965 combines our favorite bits of traditional best Garmin watches, with the gloss of more smartwatch-style tech. It’s a good combo.
Last year I ditched my Apple Watch after strapping the Garmin Forerunner 955 to my wrist, enjoying the many fitness features that Garmin's watch offers. Since then, I've tried a few other Garmin Watches, like the Enduro 2, but the 955 always ended up back on my wrist -- until the Apple Watch Ultra came around. There's a lot to like about both watch ecosystems, but one of the things that ended up bugging me about the Forerunner 955 was the display and how hard it could be at times to see in direct sunlight.
Earlier this month, Garmin announced the Forerunner 965, which builds on the features I loved in the 955 and brings a new AMOLED display along with it. That display is brighter and substantially more legible, and it makes Garmin's new watch faces pop. It's especially helpful for quick glances during my workouts.
Even though that display is a welcome improvement over last year's model, tradeoffs in the watch's battery life and the removal of the solar charging feature are worth noting for fans of previous Garmin watches. You'll want to keep those differences in mind, but for many the enhanced display could be worth the changes.
The Forerunner 965 at $600 (£600, AU$999) is priced the same as last year's Forerunner 955 Solar, but it doesn't have the solar charging option. With the move to AMOLED, Garmin is not offering a solar charging variant of this year's top of the line running watch, which is a definite bummer to me. I wore the watch all of last summer in great sunny conditions and it was nice to never worry about charging the watch -- the sun was doing it for me.
While I would have loved to see solar charging in the current model, the improved display mostly makes up for it. I also appreciate that Garmin made the move to a lightweight titanium for the bezel. It not only makes the watch feel more premium, but look it as well.
Garmin brings an AMOLED display to its excellent Forerunner line, so it looks better than ever - but how does it perform?
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a multisports watch firmly aimed at runners, with an all-new AMOLED screen that gives Garmin something to better rival the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
It takes all of the good stuff from the Forerunner 955, like Garmin's great multiband GPS mode, preloaded Topo maps and crucially, still promises to offer the kind of battery life that will get you comfortably through a marathon or a marathon cycling session.
Adding that AMOLED screen has seen Garmin bump up the price though, so does the Forerunner 965 deliver the goods? Here's our take.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Recommended
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a great running watch and sports watch in general. It takes the excellent smarts from the Forerunner 955 and gives it a superb AMOLED screen a more refined look all while still delivering solid battery life.
Garmin Forerunner 965 review
We tested the Garmin Forerunner 965, offering top-end Garmin features with a bright, beaming OLED watch face.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a brilliant watch that merges the most mainstream and hardcore sides of Garmin’s wearables beautifully.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is the natural conclusion of what Garmin has been playing around with for the last couple of years. It takes the OLED screen tech of the Venu watches, and combines it with the high-end features of the Forerunner 955.
The best bit of all: it’s far less pricey than the Garmin Epix 2, which is based on a similar idea, and gets close to making that watch redundant for big swathes of the audience. This earned it a place in our guide to the best fitness trackers.
Garmin Forerunner 965 (Black) at Amazon for $599.99
The Garmin Forerunner 965 combines our favorite bits of traditional best Garmin watches, with the gloss of more smartwatch-style tech. It’s a good combo.
Last year I ditched my Apple Watch after strapping the Garmin Forerunner 955 to my wrist, enjoying the many fitness features that Garmin's watch offers. Since then, I've tried a few other Garmin Watches, like the Enduro 2, but the 955 always ended up back on my wrist -- until the Apple Watch Ultra came around. There's a lot to like about both watch ecosystems, but one of the things that ended up bugging me about the Forerunner 955 was the display and how hard it could be at times to see in direct sunlight.
Earlier this month, Garmin announced the Forerunner 965, which builds on the features I loved in the 955 and brings a new AMOLED display along with it. That display is brighter and substantially more legible, and it makes Garmin's new watch faces pop. It's especially helpful for quick glances during my workouts.
Even though that display is a welcome improvement over last year's model, tradeoffs in the watch's battery life and the removal of the solar charging feature are worth noting for fans of previous Garmin watches. You'll want to keep those differences in mind, but for many the enhanced display could be worth the changes.
The Forerunner 965 at $600 (£600, AU$999) is priced the same as last year's Forerunner 955 Solar, but it doesn't have the solar charging option. With the move to AMOLED, Garmin is not offering a solar charging variant of this year's top of the line running watch, which is a definite bummer to me. I wore the watch all of last summer in great sunny conditions and it was nice to never worry about charging the watch -- the sun was doing it for me.
While I would have loved to see solar charging in the current model, the improved display mostly makes up for it. I also appreciate that Garmin made the move to a lightweight titanium for the bezel. It not only makes the watch feel more premium, but look it as well.
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