Forerunner 265 is the new version of the Forerunner series. It was released in March 2023 and supersedes the Forerunner 255 series. Forerunner 745 was released in 2021 and has been around for close to 2 years.
Both watches are in different segments. However, the Forerunner 265 has emerged as a good contender for a complete package for runners.
We evaluate the Forerunner 265 and the Forerunner 745 in terms of essential differences. The discussion points include the display types of both watches, physical specifications, and overall battery backup. For the sake of simplicity, we will focus on the differences between these two watches in this comparison guide.
Display type – Forerunner 265 and 745
Forerunner 265 has advanced to the AMOLED display screen. Forerunner 745 continues to be on the MIP or memory-in-pixel screen. The MIP screen does not consume much battery. But, in terms of display clarity and resolution, AMOLED display is considered a much better display type.
Most smartphones offer AMOLED or Super AMOLED screens now. The same AMOLED technology is used on the Forerunner 265 screen.
The AMOLED display of Forerunner 265 allows the smartwatch to offer:
- Higher display resolution of 416 x 416 pixels. In comparison, the Forerunner 745 offers a display resolution of 240 x 240 pixels.
- Always-on-display or the AOD feature
If you keep the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 745 side by side, you will notice that the screen of Forerunner 265 is brighter and offers better clarity.
Another important point to consider is the type of display glass used on the watch.
- Forerunner 265 uses the 3rd generation Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
- Forerunner 745 uses the Corning Gorilla Glass with DX coating. DX coating is a coating that helps in improving anti-reflective feature on the watch. It also helps in improving display brightness.
- Forerunner 265 has an Ambient light sensor while the Forerunner 745 misses this feature.
If you were to consider the display performance of Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 745, you will find that the Forerunner 265 is ahead of the Forerunner 745 in all respects of display type and technology.
Battery – Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 745
Forerunner 265 offers better battery backup times than the Forerunner 745. This is in spite of using the AMOLED display on the watch. On a broad basis, you will find that the Forerunner 265 has almost double battery backup time than the Forerunner 745.
The battery backups offered by the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 745 on different modes are shared below.
| Battery mode | Backup on Forerunner 265 | Backup on Forerunner 745 |
|---|---|---|
| Smartwatch mode | up to 13 days | up to 7 days |
| GPS mode | up to 20 hours | up to 16 hours |
| GPS mode with music | up to 7 hours | up to 6 hours |
GPS usage on a smartwatch causes rapid battery drain. This is the reason you will not find any substantial difference between the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 745 for GPS mode battery backup.
For the battery, it does appear that the Forerunner 265 has a much better experience to offer. However, Garmin Forerunner 745 can be charged from zero to full in less than 2 hours.
So, in our opinion, the Forerunner 265 and 745 offer a satisfactory battery experience. In other words, battery backup is not a differentiator factor between the Forerunner 265 and 745.
Physical specifications of Forerunner 265 and 745
There are not many differences in the physical specifications of the Forerunner 265 and 745 smartwatches.
- Forerunner 265 has a watch diameter of 46.1 mm and thickness of 12.9 mm
- Forerunner 745 has a watch diameter of 43.8 mm and thickness of 13.3 mm
- Forerunner 265 has a display screen size of 32.5 mm and Forerunner 745 has a display screen size of 30.4 mm
In terms of the internal storage, Forerunner 265 has 8 GB storage and Forerunner 745 has 4 GB storage. More storage allows you to store music files locally on the ways. You could also install topo maps of different regions if you have storage on the device.
GPS performance
Forerunner 265 offers better GPS accuracy and performance. It has a multi-frequency positioning sensor. The sensor allows you to take GPS data from multiple satellites at the same time.
The function if also known as multi-band GPS. Forerunner 265 supports multi-band GPS.
Forerunner 745 does not have the multi-frequency positioning sensor to offer multi-band GPS capabilities.
Forerunner 265 also supports the SatIQ technology. SatIQ is an intelligent technology that will toggle between the multi-band GPS modes or the low power GPS modes. The SatIQ technology will pick the apt GPS mode to use, depending on your location and reliability of the GPS signal.
SatIQ technology is much useful when you are going into the wild or trail runs in the remote areas.
SatIQ is a nice addon feature to have when your device supports multi-band GPS. You can read more about the SatIQ technology on Garmin’s website.
Price
Forerunner 265 comes at a list price of $449.99 and Forerunner 745 comes at a list price of $499.99. For the price of Forerunner 265, it makes for a compelling choice.
Final verdict
Forerunner 265 is definitely better than the Forerunner 745 because of the following reasons:
- AMOLED display on the watch makes the screen brighter
- Multi-band GPS and SatIQ are important features for trail runners, hikers and mountainers
- The on-device storage of Forerunner 265 is higher than storage of Forerunner 745
You may like to read more content related to Forerunner watches below:
- Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Forerunner 955
- Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Forerunner 255
- Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Vivoactive 4
- Garmin Forerunner 265 vs 265S running watches
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].