As part of its “Glowtime” event on September 9th, Apple is expected to reveal the Apple Watch Series 10 and possibly a new Apple Watch Ultra. However, while both watches are expected to feature new chips and better displays, neither of them will likely rival the Garmin Forerunner 265 when it comes to dedicated running features or battery life. Luckily, Garmin’s excellent running watch is currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and REI for $349.99 ($100 off) — an all-time low.
Of all the running watches Garmin currently sells, the platform-agnostic Forerunner 265 probably strikes the best balance between price and performance. Both the 265 and smaller 265S offer multiband GPS for more precise tracking, onboard music storage, and a vibrant, always-on OLED display, which allows you to eke out an entire week of battery life on a single charge (or longer with the AOD disabled).
More importantly, both models provide every running metric you can think of, including stride length, cadence, and other form-related data. They also let you take advantage of Garmin’s more novel — albeit, welcome — features, including PacePro, Training Readiness, and Race Predictor. The latter is my favorite, as it provides you with an estimated time for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon using your long-term training data. That makes the Forerunner 265 just as suitable for beginners as it is for those training for their next marathon.