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 timetable seems to be accelerating for Garmin. While the sports watch manufacturer has recently deployed 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 .
For the past few weeks, rumors have swelled 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 posted online by the American authority, one can in particular discover a screenshot of a connected watch with its very distinct round format.
Above all, the site the5krunner reports having received two photos of a watch that presents itself as the Garmin Forerunner 265, namely the small format of the future watch. In addition to the mention of the model on the back of the watch, we can above all distinguish a slightly different format from that of the Forerunner 255s currently on sale, with a more discreet border around the screen. But the main novelty seems to lie precisely in the display technology used.
Instead of the transflective MIP usually used for the Forerunner range, Garmin seems to have opted for an Oled screen. If this technology tends to drastically reduce the autonomy of connected watches, it nevertheless allows a much more defined display and with much more contrast. Garmin has already started to switch its high-end watches to Oled, like the Epix Gen 2.
On the back of the watch, however, the heart rate monitor seems identical to that of the Garmin Forerunner 255. The same goes for the charging system, which still seems to use Garmin’s proprietary connectors. Finally, the controls still seem to be done using physical buttons. However, we are not immune to the arrival of atrial fibrillation detection, a function already deployed on the Venu 2 Plus.
A Forerunner 965 also in the pipeline
Moreover, Garmin having become accustomed to launching its Forerunner 9 series watches at the same time as the Forerunner 2 series, we are not immune to an upcoming announcement of the Forerunner 965 either. information from the5krunner, it too would 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 an imminent marketing.
Given the information I found online, the Forerunner 965 will be available in
– Black / Powder Gray
– Whitestone / Powder Gray
– Amp Yellow / BlackThese resemble the colors of the FR955, thus this might be a copy & paste thingy.
— Flo | FTT (@fttest_en) January 22, 2023
Such a rapid launch of Garmin’s new Forerunner range is surprising, however. It must be said that it took three years to wait between the Forerunner 245, launched in 2019, and the Forerunner 255, available since last summer. Above all, the Forerunner 255 and Forerunner 955 range was a real leap forward for the manufacturer, with the addition of heart rate variability, a more precise heart rate sensor, dual frequency GNSS GPS tracking, functions dedicated to triathlon or a new barometer.
By releasing its new range so soon after the launch of the current generation, the risk is that Garmin will ultimately offer very few innovations with the exception of an Oled screen which risks reducing the autonomy of its watches.
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