Apple Watch and Garmin Forerunner 265 – A Personal Running Experience

For various reasons, I decided to pick up my old hobby—running—again in early 2023. This time, I wanted to take it seriously and make it a lasting part of my life.

My problem was a classic one: motivation. During the peak of COVID (side note: even in 2024, this disease is still around—#covidisnotover), everything somehow got lost in that strange period that began in 2020. But even before that, I wasn’t much of a runner. My fastest pace back then was 7:35 per kilometer.

So, I decided to join a running club—to have an external reason and extra motivation to push through the cold February. After all, running in a group is supposed to be more fun. Around the same time, Apple had just revamped the Workout app on my Apple Watch Series 4, introducing some new metrics that, at the time, felt almost mystical to me. Thanks to Apple, I was introduced to heart rate zones.

I always aimed to stay in Zone 4 during my runs, ran once a week with the group and once alone, and steadily improved.

By the way, I can highly recommend running to anyone who has the chance to start—especially in a group. You motivate each other and quickly begin training toward specific goals, like an event. It’s an easy-to-join community that doesn’t require much effort to be a part of.

By summer, I had made so much progress that I took my running shoes with me on my Southern Europe trip and managed a 7:00 pace over 5 km. However, I also noticed that I hadn’t really improved in about a month. I knew I could probably run farther and faster, but I lacked the right overview and a solid training plan.

The Missing Training Goal

In my running group, I was the only one using an Apple Watch. Everyone else had a Garmin, and online, I kept coming across the almost cult-like loyalty runners have to their Garmin watches. So, I started doing some research and discovered the Garmin Coach feature. Jeff, Greg, and Amy are three virtual coaches who help you train toward a specific goal.

On top of that, the battery life—lasting over a week—seemed light-years ahead of the Apple Watch. I spent weeks debating whether I should step out of my comfortable Apple ecosystem. Funny how a brand can shape your identity, even when you don’t want to admit it.

In the end, I decided to go with the Forerunner 265 in September and ran my first race with it, finishing 8.666 km at a 6:10 pace. I also signed up for the 44th Bremen Winter Running Series.

In the end, I actually ran my first 20 kilometers in March, and I’m hoping to repeat the distance in October.

The Forerunner 265 Compared to the Apple Watch

First, let’s talk about the hardware: Compared to the Apple Watch, the Garmin is unfortunately more of a plastic device, though it costs only slightly less. With Apple, everything is made of metal and feels premium. The Garmin, however, is lighter and at least just as durable. At first glance, the Garmin stands out with its many buttons, even though it could also be operated via the touchscreen. As an Apple user, this initially seems cumbersome, but especially now in winter when running or with very sweaty fingers, using the buttons is just much more comfortable. Additionally, with the Garmin, you can attach any watch strap with a quick-release mechanism. While Apple has its own system, which in my opinion is a bit more comfortable, both watches don’t differ much in this aspect. Both are waterproof, by the way, and with the Garmin, you don’t have the strange water mode like with the Apple Watch.

In general, it must be said that the Garmin is not a smartwatch, but rather a sports watch. You can tell this by many small details that I never really used, but which others might miss. For example, there’s Garmin Pay, which is hardly supported by banks in Germany. The app support with complications is, of course, completely absent. There is an app store for the Garmin, but it’s not comparable to Apple’s. However, sports apps like Strava or Komoot can be found and work very well, even faster than on the Apple Watch.

Now, let’s talk about the software. It feels fast and snappy, but for some reason, my watch was set to US metrics after the setup—so miles and other unusual values. Additionally, you quickly realize that the Garmin has a lot of features and doesn’t offer any onboarding. I would have appreciated some kind of guide, but I believe that’s something that’s rarely offered in operating systems these days. You kind of have to find your way around and get used to it.

The watch faces are designed in a sporty style. While there are some designs available for download in the app store, I ended up sticking with the system default because the downloaded designs were either poorly rendered or the developers kept creating new, confusing menus to configure their designs. This is where you can see what door Apple would open if they ever allowed third-party watch faces. And honestly, more than the weather and a few metrics like step count and heart rate, you don’t really need much else.

Apple and Garmin in Sports

Where the Apple Watch can tap you with its haptic motor and gracefully tries to get your attention, the Garmin may not be quite as elegant. It beeps and vibrates to communicate with you. Not uncomfortably loud, but definitely loud enough to be heard by passersby. Honestly, I think it’s quite good, because with the Apple Watch, I’ve missed some goals or important info since, even on the highest vibration setting, it was still too gentle.

The information screens on both watches look different, but they display the same information. With the Garmin, there are additional screens that inform you about your current training. The Forerunner not only uses GPS but also automatically switches to the GLONASS and Galileo satellite systems to save power and ensure accurate tracking at all times. In my opinion, the tracking is much more accurate than on the Apple Watch.

Here’s the biggest difference between the two watches: the software surrounding them. Sure, there’s Apple Fitness+, but those are pre-made workouts you have to follow. Garmin, on the other hand, tailors to you as a person. For example, I can set goals for races I want to participate in, and the watch suggests daily workouts based on my current physical metrics. If you choose a Garmin Coach, you’ll have to pick an event as a goal anyway. Recovery times are also predefined here, which I really like. With Apple, you’re always pushed to reach the next peak performance, without any explanations or a true training plan.

Conclusion

Certainly, you can set up your Apple Watch with other apps to get training plans and many features similar to Garmin. What I like about the Garmin is that everything comes from a single source and there are no additional subscription costs. The watch could feel a bit more premium, but honestly, I’ve come to enjoy wearing “real” watches. The Garmin is for both everyday use and sports. Perhaps Apple will expand its running and training features in the future, and maybe I’ll be inclined to buy an Apple Watch again. For now, though, I’m very happy with the Forerunner 265.