Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Forerunner 165 Music: What’s the difference?

Launched collectively, the Garmin Forerunner 165 and Foreruner 165 Music are the newest Forerunner smartwatch offerings from the wearable fitness tracking brand. 

While both smartwatches have identical designs, housing full-colour displays and responsive touchscreens, and both have access to Garmin’s signature health features, there are a few key differences between the 165 and 165 Music to note. 

Keep reading to see the key differences between the two smartwatches, based on their initial specifications. 

Both models offer up to 11 days of battery life

Stay connected for longer with both the Forerunner 165 and 165 Music’s battery life. Both models can see up to 11 days of battery life, when in smartwatch mode, and up to 19 hours in GPS mode. 

Neither model supports wireless charging.

Forerunner 165 Music has phone-free listening

Unlike the Forerunner 165, the Forerunner 165 Music has phone-free listening, so you’ll no longer need to bring your smartphone out with you on runs. If you have subscriptions to a music streaming service, such as Spotify, Deezer or Amazon Music, you can download multiple songs and playlists to your 165 Music and listen with wireless headphones. 

Not only can you listen to music without a smartphone nearby, but with the Forerunner 165 Music you can follow guided workouts or hear performance alerts when wireless.

The Forerunner 165 is cheaper

The Forerunner 165’s recommended retail price is £249.99, whereas the Forerunner 165 Music is slightly more expensive, with a suggested retail price of £289.99. Remember that to benefit from all the features on the 165 Music, you’ll also need to pay for a music subscription.

Both have Garmin’s signature health, fitness and connected features

You’ll find all of Garmin’s signature health and fitness features on both the Forerunner 165 and 165 Music. These features give you useful insights into your health but also offer you personalised workouts and training plans to support your goals.

Receive daily suggested workouts that adapt after each run you complete, and for any upcoming races you have in your Garmin Connect smartphone app calendar and free adaptive training plans for completing races. You’ll also find over 25 additional activity profiles and workouts, which include trail running, tennis, swimming and yoga.

You can also receive a customisable morning report, which gives you an overview of the previous night’s sleep, the day’s training outlook, plus additional good-to-knows including weather and heart rate variability.

You’ll find your training stats, recovery insights and notifications on both the 165 and 165 Music’s 1.2-inch AMOLED display.