POWERFUL ALL-ROUND SPORTS AND FITNESS TRACKER: Garmin Forerunner 265

Great fitness tracker but not a well integrated smartwatch

- GIRISH MALLYA

We are reviewing the light blue color Forerunner 265, and the first thing that strikes us is the significant improvements over the previous Forerunner 255. The lack of a touch screen was a huge negative with the 255, which has finally been corrected. The bright AMOLED display on the 265 is a welcome change.

As always, Garmin watches score in the running and sports modes with clinical precision, and the same is repeated with the Forerunner 265 as well. The default display screen of the Garmin in running mode has to be their best feature on this device. The comprehensive health and sleep tracking on the watch produces some easy-to-understand and follow instructions for the user, and the accuracy and perceptiveness of these insights impressed us. We only wish they could translate the same deep insights into their smartwatch mode/features.

We like the fact that the 265 has a highly responsive touch screen, and now a lot of scrolling has been made effortless. However, it still has one too many buttons to manage the device. We would have also liked a feature to deactivate touchscreen activation, as most die-hard users actually find this a virtue.