GarminForerunner 265S Running Smartwatch, Colorful AMOLED Display, Training Metrics and Recovery Insights, Whitestone and Neo Tropic 42 mm

This is my first Garmin watch, and I’m very, very happy with it. I had a first generation Apple Watch many years ago and didn’t love it enough to repair or upgrade it when the crown malfunctioned. When I got a fitness tracker last year, it was a Fitbit which I really loved initially but eventually outgrew recently when I decided to focus a little bit more on running. I wanted better functionality for running, but I couldn’t foresee being able to adjust to the battery life of Apple Watch. I read many online reviews for Garmin watches, Fitbits, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra. For my needs, I settled on the Forerunner 265S and have loved it.Priorities for me: easy to use for running, reasonably accurate GPS and heart rate tracking, battery life adequate for sleep tracking, watch face size appropriate for smaller wristsPros:- love the user interface. Makes starting a run so easy. Touch screen is easy to use and the buttons are really functional. The display during a run is easy to read and intuitive. It used to drive me bananas when I glanced down at my wrist during a run to check my pace on my Fitbit Charge 6 and it would give me meaningless arrows of some vague significance or a symbols for my heart rate category, and all I wanted to see was actual run data at a glance.- love being able to choose or build workouts and have the watch give cues during the workout- love the metrics and data it gives (VO2 max, body battery, etc). Although I take them with a grain or salt, it’s fun and motivating to see- so easy to send my heart rate to my Peloton bike so I can see it on the screen. I set up one of the buttons on the watch to broadcast my heart rate, and it such a breeze now.- Battery life is great for my lifestyle. I usually throw it on a charger while I shower, but I know it can last days.- High quality materials. The watch feels substantial, and the silicone watch band is somehow better than other silicone watch bands I’ve worn.Cons:- Garmin doesn’t integrate well with Peloton, other than being able to send the heart rate over via ANT+. I knew this ahead of time and was ok with the limitation before buying the watch. My Peloton workouts don’t import into the Garmin Connect app. It seems like the options would be to add it manually as an activity or to use a 3rd party app. It’s not important enough to me since I’m focusing a bit more on outdoor running right now, but if my primary exercise regimen relied on the Peloton ecosystem on their workout machines, it would be probably a clunkier experience with Garmin.- Limited aesthetic options. I chose the Forerunner 265S for the functionality it offered (GPS, heart rate tracking) and the smaller watch face size, although I initially wanted a metallic casing. It was hard to justify the super high end Garmin models that have stainless or titanium casings for my needs, and the Venu and Vivoactive lines skewed more smartwatch than I was looking for in functionality, so I settled on the 265S, knowing it will always look like a sporty watch rather than have the versatility of looking a little bit more dressed up.- Doesn’t seem to have an option for the alarm to adjust to your sleep stage. I used to set my Fitbit alarm to wake me up during non-deep sleep, and I liked the idea of it. I don’t miss this feature though. I’m not sure how effective it was before anyway.Etc: for my needs, it does notifications and smartwatch functions just fine. I don’t need/want the watch to be a substitute for my phone (e.g., texting/calling). I don’t use the music function (wasn’t planning to) but could foresee the limitations in usability if I did since I mostly use Apple Music

Long battery life. Easy to block notifications (annoyances) from phone. Exactly to-the-point for running or physical activity. Watch and bathroom scale link to Garmin Connect app to track mileage and fitness progress easily. It’s also great for tracking sleep and energy level, and it adjusts workout recommendations based on your activity. Lasts many days and charges faster than old models.

This is the best all on one watch. The battery lasts and it has every option I was looking for for fitness and sleep tracking. The price is also a good value.

Was training for my first marathon with an Apple Watch.all was fine with my watch. I used it for training and did like getting text notifications for my normal day. On my 20 mile training run it died and I decided to buy this Garmin.Let me tell you how the extended battery life has been amazing. Did my first marathon and stayed in a hotel and forgot the charger. The garmin was at 68% morning of run. Took me 4:41 to finish marathon and watch only went down to 40%.The stats are amazing and I really like the body battery and training readiness scores. Watch faces are far more varied than Apple. I still receive text and call notifications. Will try the suggested workouts once I recovery from marathon.The only thing I don’t like and could be that I haven’t figured it out is I don’t want all App notifications on my watch. But I need one because my younger child communicates with a Fitbit Ace. You either have all App notifications or none.Also I’d like to change Watch band and haven’t found the correct size for the pins yetBut if you are getting into running more and running races I highly suggest the Garmin if in the market for new watch.

Works well! Long lasting battery and tracks my runs with precision.

Love the watch, perfect for everyday and for better track your runs. It was a big stepup from my previous Garmin Vivoactive watchThe battery life is great, it lasts around 15 days or even more if you need it by switching it to a low battery mode (in case you are traveling and forgot your charger).I've had it for 6 months already and it's still great :)

Good for use if you work out or run a lot. Not as easy to use as a time device, screen goes dark and you have to touch it to get it to give you the time. Does lots I don't need but works good.