Faisal Ghaffar 
Garmin has recently climbed to the top of the running watch game, managing to surpass rivals like Apple, Sunnto and Polar. The Forerunner 265 is the latest to establish its positon, as this running watch offers the basics as well as advanced features that you could want.
Design and build
The Forerunner 265 is 46mm and there is also a Forerunner 265S, which is smaller at 42mm. The 265 watches come with an AMOLED touchscreen that was absent in the 255. This is the reason why it has a higher price tag than the 255.
Even though the Forerunner 265 is a plain watch, it is also quite lightweight and you can wear it comfortably all day and night for tracking your sleep cycle and workouts. There is a silicone strap as well as the traditional buckle, but you can swap them if you wish. While there is a vibrant touchscreen, the Garmin Forerunner still has the usual five physical buttons.
On the top right is the protruding button with ‘RUN’ embossed on it. The bright and bold screen is highly responsive and the colors are downright exceptional. On the underside is where you will find the blood oxygen and heart rate sensors, along with the charging port.
Health and fitness tracking
The Forerunner 265 is primarily a running watch, which means you can use it for your workouts. The watch does come with specific modes for pilates, yoga and HIIT (high intensity interval training). All you have to do is press the RUN button and start a workout. You can choose from track run, hike, treadmill, or simple run. The watch also gives a personalized workout suggestion, considering your fitness goals and your recent usage.
GPS tracking is also highly accurate, as the maps are able to stick to roads and paths with greater consistency than other watches in the market. You can also find some impressive software features. You can get a morning report, which tells you about how you slept, the weather and calendar for the day and also suggests a workout.
There are plenty of watch faces that have already been loaded and more can also be downloaded from the Garmin Connect IQ store. The watch collects a great deal of data and can present it to you in a useful way, which adds to its appeal.
Smartwatch features
The good thing about the Forerunner 265 is that it works with both Android and iPhones, as long as you download the Garmin Connect app. You can also download songs from Spotify on the watch’s memory and listen to them through Bluetooth headphones. Setting up may be a tad confusing, but once you are done, it is easy to use.
Garmin Pay has been built-in so making NFC payments is easy. The software is similar to other Garmin watches, but the AMOLED screen makes it better. The watch is very responsive and you will not have to worry about any lags.
The Verdict
Even though it might be a bit pricey at $449.99, the Garmin Forerunner 265 offers the most essential and best features of the company in a single package.
