Garmin Forerunner 965

I had no idea the battery life on most smart watches is so bad that "24 hours of screen on battery life" is something to brag about. [...] My Garmin Forerunner 945 (a running focused smart watch), more than two years old at this point, gets nearly two weeks of battery life on a single charge, and it's got an always-on screen as well. --- Quick edit: Even the latest Forerunner 965, which has an AMOLED touch screen, gets 7 days of battery life in display-always-on mode, and 3 weeks in default mode (display turns off)^1 [1]:

I got a 965 about 18 months ago, stopped wearing it within a few weeks. [...] I never found the controls intuitive - that's frustrating whenever I use it. [...] But it looks nice and the battery lasts a long time.

[...] I bought the Forerunner 965 a little bit more than a year ago. [...] And the battery life is enormous!

[...] I even bought it (519,- Euro) some months ago for indead; price, weight, amoled 1,4inch, garmin pay, full maps, 47mm, enz. [...]

Def worth getting the 965 someone once told me to not buy fenix 8 until my V02 is in superior lol then I deserve to buy one lol but the 965 is amazing I have had it for almost a year and this is leaving the Apple Watch world. It does everything I need it do it to do. Paired with a chest heart rate monitor the gains with my progress has been amazing.

Body Battery: I use it. 60+ years old, I’ve gotta watch energy output or risk ‘crashing’ when sleep isn’t good. Garmin’s sleep (and especially nap) tracking has come a long way since my previous running watch (Garmin 945 purchased 2019).

I was thinking about the 970 but it was to expensive, so I bought the 965 6 months ago and it is very cool, the only weak point is the current pace during interval training. [...]

[...] It's a great watch, still relevant today, but a big negative for Garmin is that they don't add new software features to their older watches. [...] If the 965 had the same software features as the 970, I'd last another year with it and then buy a 980, but alas...

[...] Rugged, very long battery lives, small form factors, and for many years at the forefront of what was thought possible. Progress slowed down somewhat, but I still get a lot of joy out of them (currently a Forerunner 965). [...]

Yes you are absolutely right about durability of Garmin watches. [...]

[...] I have transferred several playlists to my watch. At the beginning of a run, I just chose the playlist I want to listen to, or it will by default continue the last playlist you listened to, and then I control the music from the build in functions on my headphones. [...] I would never bring my phone for a run. [...]

[...] It was reassuring to have topographic maps, a bright screen, excellent GPS (multiband), and, above all, a battery that wouldn't leave me stranded during the hike. [...]

Best watch I’ve used for many years and I have used a lot (Fenix 7, 7 pro, Epix 2, Fenix 7x, Apex 2 pro, Pace 2, AWU, AW8) I don’t like texts, calls, notifications etc on my watches, just use purely for sports and wear daily. It’s pretty much perfect for me.

I own a Forerunner 965, it's a solid watch but the watch faces look old, the maps are good but when you are just exploring unusable as you don't see the trails unless you zoom in to like 80m... but that's just useless haha I am currently trying the suunto race s alongside it and find it to be a very strong competitor. Great interface, great watch faces, great app (less is more)

[...] I'd love a flashlight and the extra Amoled brightness of the 970, but trying to turn off the incessant sounds, alerts and notifications for a peaceful hike in the woods has become unbelievably annoying. [...] I'd happily stick with the 955 if it had an Amoled screen or the Epix Gen 2 if it weighed a bit less.

[...] I currently have the FR 965. [...] And the bigger battery is a nice bonus, of course.

[...] Most reviewers don´t really regard price as something important for the buying decision, which shows how disconnected they are from real life. [...] In regards to accuracy, I find GPS to be of average accuracy, especially in the city around large buildings. [...] All in all, this is the watch to buy - not the overpriced 970 junk. [...]

why would you need brighter screen? My 965 has brightness set to the lowest setting since I bought it in 2023 and I never needed to increase that. Also brighter screen uses more battery

Been using my 965 for the past 3 yrs. looking at 970 recently just for running motivation😂 i know, it’s insane

I’ve had my FR965 for about 3.5 years and love it. I’ll be waiting til whatever comes after the FR970 to buy my next watch.

I bought my 965 in the beginning of 2025, I use it constantly and I love it. Battery is descent, gps accuracy is great, it gives me all the data I need, it feels light on the wrist.

[...] It´s my daily watch for everything and although I don´t like Garmin´s business decisions in the past 1-2 years, that watch is superb!

[...] For the money it can't be beat!

Until I got to the Forerunner 965, my Garmins would easily scratch. I have an Instinct with such a deep gash I cannot see the top 1/4 of the display. The 965 display is wonderful but I still have a couple minor nicks.

I have the Forerunner 965 with the screen always on. Still manage about a week with several hours of gps tracking.

Just bought it a few days ago and absolutely loving it so far. Switched from an Apple Watch and couldn’t be more happy about my decision

Just got it online heavily discounted, pretty easy to beat the forerunner 45 I'm still using XD

Still wearing my 965 daily Got it specifically because I needed maps

[...] I’m upgrading from a Forerunner 255 so for me it will be a big improvement. Thank you!

I still use my 965 & it looks brand new. A cheap screen protector made the display like it just came out of the box. I am looking forward to many more years of service from the GOAT 965.

I bought a 965 a couple of months ago. It was $800AUD on sale. It had all the features I wanted, and compared to the $1,400AUD price tag for a 970 I wasn't missing out on anything.

I currently have 965, biggest advantage of this particular model is that battery charge on this lasts forever, Gramin must have packed a good chunk of battery in this model when they released first OLED display

[...] The other day was thinking of selling it to have a fenix 8...when I checked the used prices, they are crazy low... [...]

I have a 965 and have no plans to change it as it does everything I need it to.

Yes - I have the 965 and there is nothing since that has been a compelling reason to upgrade. I would get a screenless band in addition in a heartbeat if they offered one but I’ve lost hope on that.

Still use my 965, all the new (high end) watches are too expensive.

I use the body battery all the time. I find it pretty accurate.

Dude i've literally never had to charge my 965 every 3-5 and I use it daily for running. Mine usually last for 13-16 days.

As a soldier I love the body battery, its always hilarious when it reads zero and I've got 6 hours left on shift.

I regularly use and look at the stats that Garmin provides. Those are the biggest reason I use it more than my Apple Watch Ultra. As well, you don't need to down load apps and pay for damn subscriptions to get the data that the device can provide.

Still have my 965, Bluetooth drops often but I won’t be upgrading anytime soon.

I have a few question, I'm the newbie who wanna try to use Garmin and i think twice which one i should buy between forerunner 165 & forerunner 965 ----- So here my question - I 'm primary workout like weight lifting and sometimes walk or running - i'm considering about the map show on the watch, totally fine if i have it (optional) as i know a price 965 is really high - i had tried wear 965 & 165 and i felt 965 really comfortable than 165 because my wrist kind a bit big so that why i wear 965 really comfortable but 165 felt not bad its a bit fit but is fine

Still have my 965 and it is working fine. Garmin has gotten out of control with the new pricing. Time to give them a rest for a while.

I brought this Garmin 965 in a yellow strap but I wished I got the top of the range Garmin Epix 51 Pro I do like the big size watches but at this time it was pass my budget will save up and get it sometime this year

Having a Forerunner 55 since 10 days I'm already watching the reviews of higher specs model and yours are very interesting