The Garmin Forerunner 165 is a new, reasonably priced entry in Garmin's roster of fitness watches. But is it worth its price tag compared to other options?
Garmin Forerunner 165 MSRP $250.00 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “The Garmin Forerunner 165 is a great little fitness watch, delivering excellent running features at a fantastic price.” Pros Cons Adding a new model to an existing range can be tricky, but that’s just what Garmin is trying to do with the Forerunner 165.
The strap is made from silicone and has plenty of holes for a precise fit. I’ve worn a variety of fitness watches now, and I can happily say the in-box strap supplied with the Forerunner 165 is one of the most comfortable I’ve used. I’m several weeks in now, and there’s no sign of skin irritation from prolonged wear. It got a little itchy after one workout, but a quick wash of the watch and wrist fixed that.
The Forerunner 165’s software and performance The Forerunner 165 runs on Garmin’s proprietary operating system, and it’s much improved here. I wasn’t a huge fan of it in the Vivoactive 5, but I’ve found it much more palatable this time around. I much prefer the design offered on the Forerunner series, and this is paired with a much faster and snappier performance. Before this, I hadn’t realized how slow the Vivoactive 5 could be and how much it had soured me on Garmin’s software.
There are also some personal safety features here, including emergency assistance, automatic incident detection, and a real-time location-sharing tool . When triggered, all of these notify a number of selected contacts, giving you some peace of mind while out running at night or in secluded areas. Had a hard night? It’ll go easy on you. Coming out of a long period of rest? Then it’ll shoot for the horizon and really push you. When you’re running, all the usual favorites are here: pace, heart rate, and time. But there are also some unexpected additions, like wrist-based running power, which calculates how hard you’re running on any given surface or incline.
Previous Next 1 of 3 Left to its own devices, the Forerunner 165 is good enough. While you can’t specify your strength workouts, it will try to guess the particular exercise you’re doing. It’s rarely correct, though, misidentifying standing shoulder presses as chin-ups on more than one occasion. But the exercises it guesses are usually close enough that it will at least know which muscle groups you’re using most. Avid weightlifters may feel let down by this, though.
Garmin’s new-and-improved Connect app Garmin Connect is the companion app that connects your smartwatch to your phone, and it’s been through some big design changes since the last time we saw it. Battery life for days, and days, and days I’ve come to expect lengthy battery lives from fitness smartwatches, and the Forerunner 165 is no exception to this rule. It doesn’t match Garmin’s claims of up to 11 days of battery life, but I managed a solid week between charges, running from Monday to Monday and recharging in the morning when it hit around 15%.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Garmin Forerunner 165 Review: The new default Garmin sports watchVictor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems.
Read more »
The Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS running watch drops to a record low of $150Sarah Fielding MS, is an acclaimed journalist focusing on mental health, social issues, and tech. At Engadget, she reports on tech news, whether it be a Twitter bot exposing gender pay gaps or a beloved classic game's revival.
Read more »
The feature-rich Garmin Vivoactive 4S is 45% off its price, letting you get a Garmin watch without ...The watch is a real steal at it its current price, so act fast and get one today!
Read more »
These top-notch Garmin Forerunner 955 models dropped to their best price at WalmartThe Garmin Forerunner 955 and 955 Solar are now available at their best price at Walmart. Don't miss out.
Read more »
The old but gold Garmin Instinct Solar is now a tempting 34% cheaper at AmazonThe Garmin Instinct Solar is now much more affordable at Amazon, where you can save $120 on this old but gold wearable with an incredible battery life of up to 54 days.
Read more »
Garmin owners report bugs in Fenix 7, Epix 2: the OHR sensor turns on randomlySebastian, a veteran of a tech writer with over 15 years of experience in media and marketing, blends his lifelong fascination with writing and technology to provide valuable insights into the realm of mobile devices.
Read more »