Forerunner 965 was released in March 2023. Forerunner 955 has been around since June 2022. We compare Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 smartwatches below.
Key points about Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955
- The main improvements on Forerunner 965 running watches have happened on the display of the watch. The core features remain unchanged between the Forerunner 955 and Forerunner 965 running watches.
- Forerunner 955 comes for a list price of $499.99 and the Forerunner 965 is priced to sell at $599.99. So, there is a $100 difference between the two Forerunner watches.
- Forerunner 965 has a titanium bezel while the Forerunner 955 has a fiber-enforced polymer bezel. The appearance of the titanium bezel lends a more premium look to the Forerunner 965.
- The display size of the Forerunner 965 has marginally increased by almost 10% over the Forerunner 955 smartwatch.
- Forerunner 955 has a display size of 33 mm (1.3″) and Forerunner 965 has a display size of around 36 mm (1.4″).
- The biggest improvement on the Forerunner 965 is the introduction of an AMOLED display. Forerunner 955 has a memory-in-pixel or MIP screen. There is a marked difference in the display appearance of both watches.
- Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 do support multi-band GPS. Both watches come with a multi-frequency positioning sensor. Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955, therefore, offer dual frequency capabilities.
- Forerunner 965 has a display resolution of 454 x 454 pixels and the Forerunner 955 has a display resolution of 260 x 260 pixels. Forerunner 965 display resolution is better by almost 80% over the Forerunner 955 smartwatches.
Display features
We can summarize the main display features of the Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 smartwatches below:
| Feature | Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 955 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 36 mm | 33 mm |
| Display type | AMOLED display | MIP or memory-in-pixel screen |
| Display resolution | 454 x 454 pixels | 260 x 260 pixels |
| Display glass | Corning Gorilla DX | Corning Gorilla DX |
| Always on Display | Yes | Not available |
| Thickness | 13.2 mm | 14.4 mm |
| Weight | 53 g | 52 g |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Not available |
Battery backup
The battery backup offered by a Forerunner 965 is marginally better than the battery backup offered by Forerunner 955. However, both watches support fast charging. You can go from an empty battery to a full battery in less than 2 hours of charging time.
A summary comparison of battery backup on different watch modes of Garmin Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 is listed below.
| Battery modes | Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 955 |
|---|---|---|
| Smartwatch mode | 23 days | 15 days |
| GPS-only mode | 31 hours | 42 hours |
| SatIQ GNSS | 22 hours | Not available |
| GNSS mode with multi-band GPS | 19 hours | 20 hours |
| Ultratrac mode without music | 34 hours | 80 hours |
Core Features
The core features of Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 are identical. The Forerunner 965 has changed in terms of display performance, display features, and display technology.
The other core features for both Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 remain unchanged. Some of the main features of Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 are:
- Water rating – Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 have a water rating of 5 ATM. It means that the watch is resistant to water depth pressure equivalent to 5 atmospheres or up to a depth of 50 meters under the water’s surface.
- Contactless payments – Both, Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 support NFC or contactless payments through the Garmin Pay app.
- Device memory – Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 have an internal storage of 32 GB each.
- GPS – Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 support multi-band GPS. Both smartwatches can support the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite networks.
- iOS and Android compatibility – Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 are compatible with iOS and Android mobile operating systems.
A summary comparison of the core features is presented side-by-side below.
| Features | Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 955 |
|---|---|---|
| Android compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| iOS compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| Water rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Device storage | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| GPS | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS |
| Multi-frequency GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC or Contactless payments | Garmin Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Music storage | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless connectivity | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ANT+ | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ANT+ |
| Incident detection | Yes | Yes |
| LiveTrack | Yes | Yes |
| Spectator messaging | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless charging | Not available | Not available |
Sensors
Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 have almost an equal number of sensors on the watch. We look at some sensors that are available for the Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955.
| Sensors | Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 955 |
|---|---|---|
| Garmin Elevate wrist-based heart monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Barometric altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes |
| Blood oxygen saturation sensor | Yes | Yes |
| GPS, GLONASS and Galileo | Yes | Yes |
Health tracking
Both Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 offer an exhaustive collection of health tracking features. We list the main health and heart monitoring features below.
| Health monitoring feature | Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 955 |
|---|---|---|
| Wrist-based heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Abnormal heart rate alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration rate | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse Ox blood oxygen saturation | Yes | Yes |
| Body Battery stress score | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep score | Yes | Yes |
| Hydration | Yes | Yes |
| Women’s Health | Yes | Yes |
| Health snapshot | Yes | Yes |
| Fitness age | Yes | Yes |
Both the Forerunner watches come with in-built profiles for cycling, outdoor sports and recreation, Golf, running, swimming, and Gym. There are hardly any differences between the Forerunner 965 and Forerunner 955 running watches for these profiles and activity tracking features.
Final thoughts
In our opinion, the Forerunner 965 makes for a compelling upgrade over the Forerunner 955 for the following reasons:
- AMOLED display on a running watch improves the display experience
- Better display resolution
- Better battery life
For people who would love to watch a video review of the Forerunner 965, DC Rainmaker’s in-depth review of the Forerunner 965 smartwatch has everything you could ask for. Have a look at the video below to go through every feature of the Forerunner 965 running watch from Garmin.
You may also like to read more Forerunner content below:
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].