My Experience with the Garmin Forerunner 965: Great Hardware, Strange Software
I’ve had this blog in draft form for a long time, and now I’ve finally found the time to finish it and describe my last two years with smartwatches and fitness trackers and formulate my opinion on it. These are my experiences and needs. I enjoy exercising 3 to 4 times a week. I enjoy being active (and I can’t help it with 2 young children).
A Promising Start
After years of trying various fitness trackers, I decided to test the Garmin Forerunner 965. On paper, it’s a powerhouse: AMOLED screen, long battery life, advanced training metrics, and seamless pairing with my Garmin Edge 1040. And to be fair, in many ways, it delivered.
What I Loved:
- Battery life: Exceptional. I could go several days without thinking about charging.
- Display: Sharp and vibrant. The AMOLED screen looks modern and performs great in sunlight.
- Stamina & recovery insights: Actually useful. Real-time stamina tracking during longer rides or runs gave me more awareness than I expected.
- Integration with Edge 1040: Great combo for outdoor workouts. It felt like a full training dashboard.
But then I opened the app…
Garmin Connect (iOS): Not From This Universe
As a long-time iPhone user, I was shocked at how dated and complex the Garmin Connect app felt. It’s one of the worst user experiences I’ve had in the fitness world—especially for a product this premium.
- Cluttered layout: So many sections, widgets, and menus that don’t flow.
- UX/UI issues: Inconsistent design elements, odd placements, and unclear pathways to the data you want.
- Feels like an engineer’s dashboard: Functional, but cold and overly technical.
For a company that makes such amazing hardware, it’s surprising how far behind the app feels in terms of user-centric design.
My Final Verdict on the Forerunner 965
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is a brilliant piece of fitness hardware. It’s accurate, durable, and packed with features that endurance athletes and data nerds will appreciate.
But the Garmin Connect app is a real downside—especially if you’re used to clean, modern UX. It made my overall experience feel more like work than insight.
Summary
| Feature | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Battery Life | ★★★★★ – Excellent |
| Display | ★★★★★ – Bright and crisp |
| Training Features | ★★★★☆ – Deep insights, useful for athletes |
| App Experience | ★★☆☆☆ – Dated and hard to navigate |
| Overall | ★★★★☆ – Amazing watch, but app needs work |
If Garmin ever redesigns their app experience, I’d be first in line to try it again. Until then, it’s a mixed bag: top-tier hardware paired with a frustrating digital experience.