The new Garmin Forerunner® The 165 Series is an affordable, easy-to-use GPS-enabled smartwatch with vibrant AMOLED displays ready to light up your run.
The Forerunner® The 165 Series can help athletes of all skill levels achieve their goals with personalized adaptive training programs as well as popular health and fitness metrics, all displayed on a bright AMOLED screen.
Available in two models, Forerunner 165 and Forerunner 165 Musicthe latest additions to Garmin’s line of pace-setting smartwatches feature easy-to-read color displays, responsive touchscreens, and a traditional 5-button design.
With quick and easy access to daily health features, advanced training metrics, recovery information, smart notifications and more, runners can track their progress without sacrificing battery life. Both models have a battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours in GPS mode.
“Whether you’re looking to complete your first 5K or set a new PR, the Forerunner 165 series is here to help you every step of your running journey. With personalized training plans, advanced running and recovery metrics, and 24/7 wellness monitoring, these user-friendly smartwatches include impressive tools to help you cross the finish line,” explained Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Global Sales Consumers.
Features you’ll love about the Forerunner 165 series include:
- AMOLED Display: View training stats, recovery information, smart notifications and more on a vibrant 1.2-inch AMOLED display.
- Race Adaptive Training Plans: Get training tips, personalized daily suggested workouts and finish time predictions based on race details entered in the Garmin Connect™ app.
- Wrist-based running power and dynamics: See real-time power and measure critical running metrics like cadence, stride length and ground contact time – all from the wrist – to improve your running form.
- Training Effect: See how workouts affect fitness and understand the benefits of training and workouts.
- Courses: Create or find existing courses in the Garmin Connect app and from third-party platforms, then sync them directly to the watch.
- Additional activity profiles and workouts: Stay active with more than 25 activity profiles, including trail running, open water swimming, pickleball, tennis and more, plus new workouts for strength, HIIT, cardio, yoga and Pilates.
- Morning report: Start your day off right with a customizable report that provides an overview of the previous night’s sleep and the day’s training outlook, alongside HRV (heart rate variability) status and weather.
- Pulse Ox: Monitor blood oxygen saturation while awake or asleep.
- Sleep tracking and sleep score: Every morning, get a personalized score for the previous night’s sleep, see the different sleep stages and get information about improved sleep quality.
- Nap detection: Track or record naps automatically to see how they can benefit the body and recommended time and duration.
- Music storage: Download songs and playlists from Spotify®, Deezer or Amazon Music accounts for phone-free listening with wireless headphones4 (only available on Forerunner 165 Music).
- Audio prompts: Follow guided workouts or hear performance alerts with wireless headphones connected to the watch (only available on Forerunner 165 Music).
- Garmin Pay™ Contactless Payments: Cross select checkout lines and transit systems through participating carriers.
Ready for race day
No matter the distance, the Forerunner 165 series has the tools to help runners crush their next PR pace tracking, distance, wrist-based heart rate, VO2 max and more. Those training for their next race can take advantage of several different adaptive training program options:
- Enter your race information into your Garmin Connect log and receive race training programs that adjust after each run to match performance and recovery,
- Use free Garmin Coach 5K, 10K and half marathon plans created by expert coaches.
Runners can also benefit from personalized daily suggested workouts that adjust after each run to match performance and recovery.
And to prepare for their ideal race day strategy, PacePro™ provides runners with grade-adjusted pacing guidance based on course elevation and personal pacing preferences.
READ MORE | Achieve your health and fitness goals with the new Garmin Venu 3 Smartwatch
24-hour wellness monitoring
Before, during and after a workout, the Forerunner 165 series is designed to monitor your overall well-being 24/7. Monitor heart rate directly from the wrist, as well as sleep and stress monitoring and more.
The Body Battery™ energy tracker can help you track your body’s energy levels to find the best times for activity and rest and even provide insights into how sleep, naps, activities and stress affect energy levels.
Fitness Age can estimate how fit runners are compared to their actual age – serving as a helpful reminder to stay active and make healthy choices.
The Forerunner 165 series too includes women’s health tracking featuresallowing users to track their menstrual cycle and pregnancy while also receiving training on exercise and nutrition.
READ MORE | The latest innovations in Wearable Health and Fitness technology
Stay connected
For life on the go, the Forerunner 165 series allows users to receive email, text messages and notifications when paired with your compatible iPhone® or Android™ smartphone.
Security and monitoring features can help provide peace of mind. for example, when the watch is paired with the Garmin Connect smartphone app, a message with the user’s name and location (if available) can be sent to default emergency contacts if an incident is detected.
Users can also download apps, watch faces and more from the Connect IQ™ Store directly to the watch or find more options in the smartphone app.
The Forerunner 165 is available at a suggested retail price of R6,499, while the Forerunner 165 Music is R7,499.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sports or health and fitness, Pedro is most likely out training for his next marathon or ultramarathon. He has worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms specialist. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
