Amazfit Balance 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 265
The Balance 3 undercuts the Forerunner 265 by $80 and beats it on GPS battery (41 hours versus 20), 10 ATM water resistance, and wrist calls. The Forerunner 265 is 15 grams lighter, has streaming music sync, and comes with Garmin's more mature running ecosystem and an established 4.7 rating.
AmazfitAmazfit Balance 3
GarminGarmin Forerunner 265
- •You want longer battery, wrist calls, and 10 ATM water resistance for less
- •HYROX tools and a bigger sapphire screen appeal to you
- •You want Garmin's mature running tools and streaming music
- •A lighter watch with an established rating matters more
The Balance 3 succeeds the Balance 2 with a 1.5-inch sapphire AMOLED at 3,000 nits, four buttons alongside the touchscreen, dual-band GPS with 41 hours of accurate-mode battery, and 64GB of storage for offline maps and music. Official HYROX race tools and Amazfit's Hybrid Training system are aimed at people who mix running with strength work. It starts in stainless steel at $369.99, with a lighter titanium version at $449.99, and it has no ECG.
The 265 pairs a bright touchscreen with real training-load and recovery metrics, without pushing into flagship pricing. It remains one of the most recommended running watches on the market for good reason: it just covers the bases extremely well.
*Estimated — this model's exact GPS battery life isn't published by the manufacturer. All figures are standard GPS mode, midsize case, no solar boost.
†Estimated — this model launched too recently to have an established customer rating yet.
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