Wear Radar

Garmin Forerunner 265vsSuunto Race

Garmin Forerunner 265
Buy/Wait:bad

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.

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Suunto Race
Buy/Wait:neutral

First-generation product — no release history to base predictions on

Best for: Competitive road and trail runners who want Suunto's clean and precise GPS tracking, an AMOLED display, and multi-week battery life. A strong choice for Suunto loyalists or anyone exploring alternatives to Garmin and COROS.

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Garmin Forerunner 265Suunto Race
TierSports GPSSports GPS
PlatformiOS & AndroidiOS & Android
Battery13 days26 days
Always-on display
GPS
Cellular
Health sensorshr, spo2, hrv, stress, body battery, training readinesshr, spo2, hrv, training load
ReleasedMar 1, 2023May 1, 2023
Cycle length1188 daysnull days
Cycle advicebadneutral
Deals advicegoodneutral
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Why buy each?

Garmin Forerunner 265

Multi-band GPS accuracy

L1+L5 multi-band GPS reduces position drift in urban canyons and dense forest — a meaningful upgrade over single-band watches for competitive runners.

Training readiness score

Daily score combining HRV status, sleep, acute load, and recovery time — tells you whether to train hard, easy, or rest on any given day.

Race time predictor

Estimates your finish time for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon based on your current fitness — useful for pacing race-day strategy.

Suunto Race

AMOLED always-on at 26-day battery

Suunto's efficient software keeps the AMOLED always active while delivering 26 days of smartwatch use — ahead of most AMOLED competitors.

Multi-band GPS precision

Dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS for accurate tracking in urban areas, under tree cover, and on technical trails.

Suunto app and route planning

Built-in route navigation from Suunto's route library with breadcrumb maps and back-to-start guidance.