Garmin could launch, in the coming weeks, its new watches dedicated to running, the Forerunner 265 and 965. They would be equipped, for the first time, with an Oled screen.
The schedule seems to be speeding up for Garmin. While the sports watch maker has recently implemented heart fibrillation detection on its Garmin Venu 2 Plus, the brand could very soon launch two new connected watches dedicated to running and triathletes: the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Garmin Forerunner 965.
Over the past few weeks, rumors have been building around two new mid-range watches from Garmin. It must be said that, at the beginning of the month, the FCC certified two new Garmin products equipped with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Among the various documents published online by the American authority, one can discover in particular a screenshot of a connected watch with its very distinctive round format.
Above all, the site elcorredor5k reports having received two photos of a watch billed as the Garmin Forerunner 265, specifically the small format of the future watch. In addition to the mention of the model on the back of the watch, we can distinguish above all a slightly different format than the Forerunner 255s currently on sale, with a more discreet border around the screen. But the main novelty seems to reside precisely in the display technology used.
Instead of the transflective MIP typically used for the Forerunner range, Garmin appears to have gone with an Oled display. If this technology tends to drastically reduce the autonomy of connected watches, however, it allows a much more defined display and with much more contrast. Garmin has already started to switch its higher-end watches to Oled, like the Epix Gen 2.
On the back of the watch, however, the heart rate monitor looks identical to the one on the Garmin Forerunner 255. The same goes for the charging system, which still appears to use Garmin’s proprietary connectors. Finally, the controls still seem to be done using physical buttons. However, we’re not immune to the advent of atrial fibrillation detection, a feature already deployed on the Venu 2 Plus.
A Forerunner 965 also in the pipeline
What’s more, with Garmin having grown accustomed to releasing its Forerunner 9 series watches at the same time as the Forerunner 2 series, we’re not immune to an upcoming Forerunner 965 announcement either. elcorredor5k, it would also be in the pipes with an Oled screen. In recent days, the Twitter account FTTest_en has shared a screenshot of the Forerunner 965 product page. This suggests imminent marketing.
Given the information I found online, the Forerunner 965 will be available at
– Black / Powder Gray
– Whitestone / Dusty Gray
– Yellow / Black AmplifierThese resemble the colors of the FR955, so this could be a copy-paste thing.
— Flower | FTT (es) (@fttest_es) January 22, 2023
However, such a quick launch of Garmin’s new Forerunner range is surprising. It must be said that we had to wait three years between the Forerunner 245, launched in 2019, and the Forerunner 255, available since last summer. Above all, the Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 range represented a real leap forward for the manufacturer, with the addition of heart rate variability, a more accurate heart rate sensor, dual-rate GPS GNSS tracking, dedicated triathlon features or a new barometer.
By launching its new range so soon after the launch of the current generation, the risk is that Garmin ends up offering very few new features except for an Oled screen that risks reducing the autonomy of its watches.
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