Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
Best for: Multisport athletes and outdoor enthusiasts who want the most visually impressive Garmin watch without sacrificing analytics. If you want Fenix-level capability with a beautiful display and don't need maximum battery life, the Epix Pro is the answer.
Full details →Late in cycle — a new model is likely coming
Best for: Regular runners who race 5K to marathon distances and want accurate GPS, detailed training load management, and long battery life. Multi-band GPS makes it particularly valuable for city runners or trail runners where single-band GPS loses accuracy.
Full details →| Garmin Epix | Garmin Forerunner 265 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Sports GPS | Sports GPS |
| Platform | iOS & Android | iOS & Android |
| Battery | 16 days | 13 days |
| Always-on display | ✅ | ❌ |
| GPS | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cellular | ❌ | ❌ |
| Health sensors | hr, spo2, hrv, stress, body battery, training readiness | hr, spo2, hrv, stress, body battery, training readiness |
| Released | Aug 31, 2023 | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Cycle length | 590 days | 1188 days |
| Cycle advice | bad | bad |
| Deals advice | good | good |
| Next model | — | — |
AMOLED always-on display with significantly higher resolution and brightness than the Fenix MIP display — a meaningful advantage for readability in all conditions.
Running dynamics, full TopoActive maps, training load, advanced sleep, race predictor — the complete Garmin suite in a less bulky package than the Fenix 8.
The Epix Pro Sapphire Solar edition achieves 31 days in smartwatch mode via solar charging — near-Fenix endurance with superior display quality.
L1+L5 multi-band GPS reduces position drift in urban canyons and dense forest — a meaningful upgrade over single-band watches for competitive runners.
Daily score combining HRV status, sleep, acute load, and recovery time — tells you whether to train hard, easy, or rest on any given day.
Estimates your finish time for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon based on your current fitness — useful for pacing race-day strategy.