Garmin Forerunner 165 Review: The Cheapest AMOLED Garmin, Tested by Others
This is the watch that put an AMOLED screen and Garmin’s proper training features under £200 on the high street. The reviewers who measured it agree the screen and the battery are the story — and that the single-band GPS is better than its price suggests, until you run between tall buildings. We have put the battery figures per mode, the two variants and the live UK prices where you can see them.
Where the reviews line up
Three very different sources carry this page: DC Rainmaker, who put the watch through his usual side-by-side GPS and optical heart-rate comparisons; the5krunner and the r/Garmin owner community, which is the most sceptical voice we found and the only one that publishes a numerical accuracy score; and Currys’ own buyer ratings, 4.8/5 from 199 reviews on the standard model and 4.8/5 from 202 on the Music, checked on 18 September 2026. Where they overlap, they overlap hard.
All three land on the same headline. The 1.2in, 390 × 390 AMOLED screen is the reason to buy it — it is the same panel experience as Forerunners costing nearly twice as much. The battery holds up: Garmin claims up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours with GPS only, and TechRadar’s Matt Evans got “around nine days” in real use with GPS running through it. And the training features are unusually generous for the money — daily suggested workouts, Garmin Coach plans, race predictor, sleep coach and Morning Report all survive the cost-cutting.
Two honest caveats, and they are the ones that decide the purchase. GPS is single-band, not multi-band. DC Rainmaker found it “virtually identical” to multi-band watches in his own tracks, including a downtown urban corridor; the5krunner scored it a more grudging 77% in a formal accuracy test and was explicit that open parkland was strong, tree cover was degraded and urban canyons were a struggle. Both can be true — print both, which is what we have done. And the case and lens scratch easily: the lens is chemically strengthened glass, not Gorilla Glass, and the case is fibre-reinforced polymer.
The real decision is Music or not. The non-Music 165 cannot store a single track; the £40-ish premium for the Music version buys 4 GB of offline Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music or YouTube Music and is the only functional difference between them. On 18 September 2026 Currys was selling the plain 165 at £169 and the Music at £239.99 — the gap had stretched to £70.99, which is far more than the £40 the recommended prices imply. On that day, the plain watch was the buy.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- DC RainmakerIndependent hands-on test with comparative GPS and optical-HR data. The most rigorous source on this watch.
- the5krunner & r/GarminSpecialist blog with a 77% formal accuracy score, plus 373 aggregated Reddit owner mentions, 73% positive.
- Currys4.8/5 from 199 reviews (165) and 4.8/5 from 202 (165 Music), checked 18 September 2026 — on pages that sell it.
Before the review: which variant are you being sold?
There are two watches in this range and the listings blur them. The Forerunner 165 has no music storage at all. The Forerunner 165 Music adds 4 GB for offline playlists from Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music or YouTube Music. Everything else — 43 mm case, 39 g, the same AMOLED panel, the same sensors, the same battery claims in non-music modes — is identical. There is only one case size; unlike the 265, there is no smaller 42 mm option. If a listing says “165” and quotes a Music price, check the part number before you pay.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 1.2 in AMOLED touchscreen, 390 × 390 px | DC Rainmaker and TechRadar agree; Currys lists the same |
| Lens | Chemically strengthened glass — not Gorilla Glass | TechRadar; the5krunner says it scratches easily |
| Case | 43 × 43 × 11.6 mm, fibre-reinforced polymer. One size only | TechRadar; Currys lists 43 mm |
| Weight | 39 g with strap | DC Rainmaker, TechRadar, the5krunner and Currys all say 39 g |
| Strap | 20 mm quick-fit silicone; fits wrists 126–203 mm | Currys product page, 18 Sep 2026 |
| Water rating | 5 ATM (swim rated, equivalent to 50 m) | Garmin owner’s manual specification page |
| Battery — smartwatch mode | Up to 11 days; up to 4 days with the display always on | Garmin’s figure. TechRadar measured “around nine days” in use |
| Battery — GPS only | Up to 19 hours | Garmin’s battery-life table |
| Battery — all-systems GNSS | Up to 17 hours | Garmin’s battery-life table |
| Battery — GPS + music | Up to 7 hours (GPS only) · up to 6.5 hours (all-systems) | Garmin. Music variant only |
| Battery — UltraTrac | Up to 25 hours | Garmin’s battery-life table |
| GNSS | Single-band GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. No multi-band | Every source agrees; it is the main cut against the 265 |
| Heart rate sensor | Garmin ELEVATE V4, plus Pulse Ox | DC Rainmaker |
| Music storage | 4 GB, Music variant only; Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, YouTube Music | Garmin manual (up to 4 GB media); Currys lists 4 GB |
| Contactless payment | Garmin Pay, NFC | Currys product page |
| Operating temperature | −20°C to 60°C; charge between 0°C and 45°C | Garmin owner’s manual |
| Warranty | 2-year manufacturer guarantee as sold in the UK | Stated by Currys. Garmin’s own warranty page would not render for us |
| Recommended price | £249.99 (165) · £289.99 (165 Music) at launch | TechRadar. the5krunner quotes £250 and £280 |
| Live UK price, 18 Sep 2026 | £169.00 at Currys (was £199.99) · £239.99 Music at Currys · from £154.82 on PriceSpy’s UK panel | Checked 18 September 2026 |
DC Rainmaker
Ray Maker’s reviews are the closest thing this category has to a bench test: he wears the watch alongside other GPS units and chest straps and publishes the overlaid tracks. That matters here more than anywhere, because the Forerunner 165’s one real compromise is single-band GNSS, and single-band is exactly the thing that falls apart in the places runners actually complain about — riverside tree cover and city centres.
His finding is the generous one. He describes the non-multiband GPS as virtually identical to multi-band devices across his own testing, including a downtown urban corridor and mountain-bike trails under cover. On the optical sensor — Garmin’s ELEVATE V4 — he rates interval and mountain performance well, with the usual caveat that the first minutes of a cold-start effort can lag. He confirms Garmin’s battery claims held up in real use, and lists the spec that buyers keep getting wrong: 1.2in 390 × 390 AMOLED, glass front, plastic case, 39 g, standard 20 mm straps.
He is also the clearest on what Garmin removed to hit the price. Against the Forerunner 265 you lose Training Readiness, Training Status and Training Load, multisport and triathlon mode, power-meter and smart-trainer support, multi-band GPS, ski and snowboard profiles, and the choice of case sizes. What he does not give us is a UK price or a UK warranty position — his figures are dollar figures.
Watch: Garmin Forerunner 165 In-Depth Review: Best Bang for Buck?
The video companion to the written review — the clearest walk-through of what the watch does and does not include at this price.
Watch on YouTube ↗the5krunner and r/Garmin
the5krunner exists to find the negatives, and it is the useful counterweight to DC Rainmaker. On GPS it publishes a number rather than an impression: 77% accuracy in a formal test across mixed conditions, with strong results in open parkland, noticeably degraded performance under tree cover and real trouble in urban canyons. That is not a contradiction of DC Rainmaker so much as a different route and a harsher marking scheme, and if you run in a city centre it is the figure we would weight.
Its heart-rate verdict is blunter than anyone else’s: good for a long tempo run, otherwise disappointing. It also flags two physical gripes nobody else volunteers — the case and the glass are easily scratched — and one ergonomic one: the smaller screen shows only four running data fields per page against six on larger Garmins. On features it repeats the 265 comparison and adds that there is no on-watch mapping at all.
The Reddit aggregate behind it is broader and softer. Across 373 owner mentions the tone is 73% positive: 83 positive, 14 neutral, 16 negative in the scored sample. Owners praise value, day-to-day GPS reliability, the AMOLED panel and battery that comfortably beats an Apple Watch. The recurring complaints are consistent with the spec sheet rather than surprising: weak cycling metrics and no power meter, the missing advanced training scores, patchy sleep tracking and thin strength-training support. Treat the percentage as a mood, not a measurement — these are self-selected posts, not a controlled sample.
Watch: Garmin Forerunner 165 In-Depth Review // The Best Running Watch for the Money?
An independent long-form review from a channel that tests running watches full time — the best match for the sceptical, spec-led tone of this section.
Watch on YouTube ↗Currys
These are customer ratings hosted by a shop that sells the watch, so cite the numbers and not the verdict. What makes them worth a section is that they are the only UK-specific evidence on this page with a sample size attached, and that Currys publishes the two facts the reviews all skip: the strap fits wrists of 126–203 mm, and the watch carries a two-year manufacturer guarantee as sold here.
Prices, checked on 18 September 2026. The standard Forerunner 165 in black was £169.00, marked down from a £199.99 was-price — a long way under the £249.99 launch RRP. The 165 Music in black and slate was £239.99. That puts £70.99 between the two variants on the same retailer on the same day, against a recommended-price gap of £40. PriceSpy’s UK panel had the standard 165 from £154.82 at Amazon on the same date, so £169 is a high-street price rather than the cheapest in the country.
Currys’ own spec block corroborates the numbers the editorial reviews give: 1.2in AMOLED, up to 11 days smartwatch and 19 hours GPS, 5 ATM, 39 g, 4 GB storage on the Music, over 25 activity profiles, GPS with GLONASS and Galileo, NFC payments and incident detection. Nothing in the retailer copy contradicts the manufacturer, which is not always the case.
Watch: Garmin Forerunner 165 First Run: Early tests with Garmin’s cheapest AMOLED running watch
A UK running-gear channel’s first outdoor session with the watch — the closest thing here to seeing it used the way a British buyer would.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- The 1.2in 390 × 390 AMOLED is the same class of screen as Forerunners costing far more.
- Battery: up to 11 days smartwatch, up to 19 hours GPS-only — and around nine days measured in real use by TechRadar.
- 39 g on a 43 mm case, on a standard 20 mm strap that fits 126–203 mm wrists.
- Single-band GPS that DC Rainmaker rates as virtually identical to multi-band on his own routes.
- Garmin Coach, daily suggested workouts, race predictor, sleep coach and Morning Report all included.
- 5 ATM, so pool swims are fine, and NFC payments are on both variants.
- Two-year UK guarantee, and a £169 high-street price against a £249.99 launch RRP.
What people complain about
- No Training Readiness, Training Status or Training Load — the scores people buy Garmins for.
- Single-band GNSS: the5krunner scored it 77% and found urban canyons a struggle.
- No multisport or triathlon mode, and no power-meter or smart-trainer support.
- No on-watch mapping of any kind.
- the5krunner found heart-rate accuracy disappointing outside long steady efforts.
- Case and lens scratch easily — chemically strengthened glass, not Gorilla Glass.
- Four data fields per screen against six on bigger Garmins, and only one case size.
- No music at all on the standard model, and the Music premium was £70.99 at Currys on our check date.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you run on roads, parks and towpaths, want a bright screen and a week-plus between charges, and want Garmin’s coaching and recovery layer without paying 265 money. At £169 it is the obvious first proper running watch, and the two-year guarantee makes it a safe gift. Buy the Music version only if you genuinely run without a phone — otherwise put the £70.99 towards shoes.
Look elsewhere if you race triathlon, train with a power meter, want Training Readiness and Training Load to steer your week, or you do most of your running between tall buildings where multi-band GPS earns its money. Those are all reasons to step up to a Forerunner 265, which also gets you a choice of case size and music storage as standard.
What we could not check
- The videos were confirmed by search listing, not by opening them. youtube.com will not load for us, so each of the three video IDs, titles and channels was verified by finding the same watch URL and title in two differently-worded searches, plus a third-party video index for the DesFit clip. We have not watched them.
- Garmin UK’s own live price. Both garmin.com/en-GB product pages are JavaScript-rendered and returned no price to us. The RRPs on this page are TechRadar’s £249.99 and £289.99; the5krunner published £250 and £280 for the same two watches. We have printed both rather than pick one.
- Argos’ live price and rating. Argos product pages are JavaScript-rendered and gave us nothing but the product code. We know Argos lists the 165 and 165 Music in several colours; we cannot tell you what they cost today or how many buyers have rated them.
- Garmin’s warranty wording. Garmin’s consumer limited warranty page and its UK support FAQ both failed to render. The two-year figure on this page is Currys’ statement of the manufacturer guarantee, not a quotation from Garmin.
- The GPS disagreement. DC Rainmaker calls the single-band tracks virtually identical to multi-band; the5krunner scores the same watch 77% and reports real trouble in urban canyons. Different routes, different marking. Nobody has published a like-for-like UK city test, so this stays unresolved.
- Always-on display battery. Garmin’s figure of up to 4 days with the display always on appears in the specification summary but not in the owner’s-manual battery table we read, which lists only the GPS and smartwatch modes.
- Long-term durability. The scratching complaint comes from one specialist source. No source we found has published a wear test over a year or more.
- Which? testing. We found no publicly readable Which? test figure for this watch. Nothing here should be read as consumer-body backing.
Sources and prices last checked 18 September 2026. Running-watch prices move sharply around sales — check the figure on the listing in front of you before ordering.