Garmin’s terrific Forerunner 265 running watch is down to its lowest price to date

Garmin’s terrific Forerunner 265 running watch is down to its lowest price to date

Garmin’s midrange running watch is $100 off in both the standard configuration and the smaller 42mm sizing. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

As part of its “Glowtime” event on September 9th, Apple is expected to reveal the Apple Watch Series 10 and possibly a new Apple Watch Ultra. However, while both watches are expected to feature new chips and better displays, neither of them will likely rival the Garmin Forerunner 265 when it comes to dedicated running features or battery life. Luckily, Garmin’s excellent running watch is currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and REI for $349.99 ($100 off) — an all-time low.

Of all the running watches Garmin currently sells, the platform-agnostic Forerunner 265 probably strikes the best balance between price and performance. Both the 265 and smaller 265S offer multiband GPS for more precise tracking, onboard music storage, and a vibrant, always-on OLED display, which allows you to eke out an entire week of battery life on a single charge (or longer with the AOD disabled).

More importantly, both models provide every running metric you can think of, including stride length, cadence, and other form-related data. They also let you take advantage of Garmin’s more novel — albeit, welcome — features, including PacePro, Training Readiness, and Race Predictor. The latter is my favorite, as it provides you with an estimated time for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon using your long-term training data. That makes the Forerunner 265 just as suitable for beginners as it is for those training for their next marathon.

Read our Garmin Forerunner 265S review.

More deals, discounts, and ways to save

• Apple’s AirPods Max are on sale at Amazon for $399 ($150 off), matching their lowest price to date. It’s always possible that Apple will announce an updated model with USB-C support during its upcoming iPhone 16 event, but if you can’t wait, the current pair still offer great sound, exceptional build quality, and enough ecosystem tricks that we consider them the best noise-canceling headphones you can get if you’re an iPhone owner. Read our review.
• Barnes & Noble, of all places, is offering 25 percent off a number of Lego sets in the run-up to Labor Day — including kits based on Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, and more. Right now, for instance, you can grab Lego’s Death Star Trench Run Diorama for $52.49 (about $18 off), Boba Fett’s Throne Room set for $74.99 ($25 off), and the Adventures with Mario Starter Course for $44.99 ($15 off), none of which Lego is currently selling for one reason or another.
• Last week, we saw Amazon’s latest Kindle Kids return to $94.99 ($25 off) at Amazon. If you don’t want a protective case or any of the kid-friendly perks, however, you can now grab the standard Kindle with ads at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $84.99 ($15 off). That’s one of the best prices we’ve seen this year on the entry-level ebook reader, which offers an excellent 6.8-inch display with 300ppi resolution, USB-C charging, and enough battery life to keep you going for weeks at a time. Read our review