Garmin is launching its smallest ever AMOLED sports watch – and that's a big deal

By Cat Ellis
published

Opinion: until now, Garmin's AMOLED watches have mostly been for larger wrists, but it looks like that's about to change

Woman checking sports watch mid-workout
(Image credit: Getty)

If you want a top-end sports watch with an AMOLED display, but don't want something the size of a tractor tire on your wrist, there's good news. It looks like the upcoming Garmin Forerunner 265S will be the company's smallest AMOLED GPS watch to date, bringing brighter, crisper screens to athletes with slender wrists.

That's great for serious distance runners, who tend to be a wiry bunch, as well as those with generally smaller frames.

At the time of writing, there are three Garmin multisports watch series with AMOLED displays: Venu 2, Epix (Gen 2), and Marq (Gen 2) – all of which are pretty big. The Garmin Venu Sq 2 is smaller, but is more of an everyday fitness tracker than a serious training tool. Although great for nudging you towards healthier habits, it lacks features like on-board GPS and maps that athletes depend on.

Map on a Garmin Epix watch on woman's wrist

The Garmin Epix (Gen 2) is a gorgeous watch, but too big for some wrists (Image credit: Future)

Of course, there are definitely lots of benefits to a big screen, particularly when it comes to navigation. Being able to see the next turn well in advance is always a bonus. A king-sized display also means graphs are more detailed, and you can see lots more data without having to scroll. However, for many people huge displays just aren't practical.

I'm a lot taller than the average woman at 5'10", but even I found the 52mm case of the Garmin Epix (Gen 2) a bit too big; its case overhung my wrist and tended to catch on my sleeves.

Watches in the Marq 2 line have 46mm cases, and the Venu 2 measures 45mm in diameter, which proved more comfortable, but it looks as though the new Forerunner 265S is going to be much more petite at just 42mm.

Garmin Marq Adventurer (Gen 2) watch on woman's wrist

The Garmin Marq Adventurer (Gen 2) is fine for me, but would overpower someone with a smaller build (Image credit: Future)

That's particularly great news for women, who typically have slender wrists and (n my experience and from talking to friends) often prefer the look of a smaller watch. An AMOLED display makes a real difference to the experience of using a watch every day, and it's fantastic that more athletes will soon be able to enjoy that in a form factor that suits them.

Of course, the Forerunner 265 and 265S have yet to be formally announced, and it's possible that the rumored stats could be totally wrong, but I've got my fingers crossed that good things are coming in small packages.

Cat Ellis
Cat Ellis
Editor

Cat is the editor of Advnture, She’s been a journalist for 15 years, and was fitness and wellbeing editor on TechRadar before joining the Advnture team in 2022. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better), usually wearing at least two sports watches.