Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 965 | TechTalkTown
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 965
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Apple
8.7
Best premium Apple Watch for adventurers
Garmin Forerunner 965
Garmin
8.5
Best AMOLED running watch for serious athletes
Apple Watch Ultra 2
What Reviewers Agree On
3,000-nit display — the brightest Apple Watch display at launch; superb outdoor visibility.
Grade-5 titanium frame + sapphire crystal front + 100m water resistance + EN13319 dive certification — most durable Apple Watch.
S9 SiP introduced the Double Tap gesture — pinch index finger and thumb to control the watch one-handed.
Dual-band L1/L5 GPS — accurate tracking, top-tier for a smartwatch in urban canyons + dense tree cover.
36-hour battery (normal) / 72 hours Low Power Mode — best Apple Watch battery, though still short of Garmin endurance watches.
Pros & Cons
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Pros
3,000-nit display — the brightest Apple Watch display at launch; superb outdoor visibility.
Grade-5 titanium frame + sapphire crystal front + 100m water resistance + EN13319 dive certification — most durable Apple Watch.
S9 SiP introduced the Double Tap gesture — pinch index finger and thumb to control the watch one-handed.
Dual-band L1/L5 GPS — accurate tracking, top-tier for a smartwatch in urban canyons + dense tree cover.
36-hour battery (normal) / 72 hours Low Power Mode — best Apple Watch battery, though still short of Garmin endurance watches.
Detailed Comparison
Design & Build
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Grade-5 titanium frame, sapphire crystal front, ceramic/sapphire back. 49mm case. Action Button + raised Digital Crown + side button. The most rugged Apple Watch — built for adventure.
Grade-5 titanium frame + sapphire crystal front + ceramic/sapphire back — most durable Apple Watch construction.
49mm titanium case — large, but well-balanced. The Run Testers note it's 'fairly big and heavy compared to the Apple Watch Series.'
Digital Trends: 'With an outstanding design, great software, and some very welcome upgrades, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is tough to beat.'
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Notebookcheck sensor comparison: 'Apple Watch Ultra 2 beats Garmin, Whoop, Samsung and other smartwatch brands' for HR accuracy.
Digital Trends verdict: 'the best, most premium Apple Watch you can buy today.'
Deal Breakers
Battery still trails Garmin endurance watches — Wired: for week-long backpacking, a Garmin is still the better tool.
GPS continuous-tracking limit (~12 hours) — adequate for most, short for ultra-endurance athletes.
Requires third-party apps to become a genuine pro training tool — the5krunner: 'Apple provides the amazing hardware, but you need third party apps to make it a pro tool.'
Superseded by the Ultra 3 (2025) — 42-hour battery, wider display, satellite messaging. Ultra 2 is now the previous-gen.
iOS-only — no Android compatibility whatsoever.
$799 launch price — the most expensive Apple Watch (matched by Ultra 3).
Garmin Forerunner 965
What Reviewers Agree On
1.4-inch 454×454 AMOLED display — vibrant, sharp, nearly 4× the resolution of the Forerunner 955's MIP panel.
~23 days smartwatch-mode battery / ~31 hours GPS — The Verge: 'practically no tradeoff between an always-on OLED display and long battery life.'
Full Garmin training-science suite — Training Readiness, Acute/Chronic Load ratio, HRV Status, Training Status, Recovery Time, Morning Report.
Notebookcheck sensor comparison: 'Apple Watch Ultra 2 beats Garmin, Whoop, Samsung and other smartwatch brands' for HR accuracy.
Digital Trends verdict: 'the best, most premium Apple Watch you can buy today.'
Cons
Battery still trails Garmin endurance watches — Wired: for week-long backpacking, a Garmin is still the better tool.
GPS continuous-tracking limit (~12 hours) — adequate for most, short for ultra-endurance athletes.
Requires third-party apps to become a genuine pro training tool — the5krunner: 'Apple provides the amazing hardware, but you need third party apps to make it a pro tool.'
Superseded by the Ultra 3 (2025) — 42-hour battery, wider display, satellite messaging. Ultra 2 is now the previous-gen.
iOS-only — no Android compatibility whatsoever.
$799 launch price — the most expensive Apple Watch (matched by Ultra 3).
Garmin Forerunner 965
Pros
1.4-inch 454×454 AMOLED display — vibrant, sharp, nearly 4× the resolution of the Forerunner 955's MIP panel.
~23 days smartwatch-mode battery / ~31 hours GPS — The Verge: 'practically no tradeoff between an always-on OLED display and long battery life.'
Full Garmin training-science suite — Training Readiness, Acute/Chronic Load ratio, HRV Status, Training Status, Recovery Time, Morning Report.
Modular Ultra watchface — uses the edges of the display for extra complications, exclusive to the Ultra line.
Garmin Forerunner 965
47mm fiber-reinforced polymer case with a titanium bezel. 1.4-inch AMOLED. Lightweight despite the larger display. Five-button + touchscreen control. Gorilla Glass 3 (no sapphire option).
Titanium bezel — the5krunner: Garmin 'shrunk the black ring of aesthetic doom (bezel) yet maintained the structural integrity of the watch with a titanium bezel.'
47mm fiber-reinforced polymer case — lightweight despite the larger 1.4-inch display.
Five physical buttons + touchscreen — physical controls remain reliable for sweaty/wet workouts.
Gorilla Glass 3 — NOT sapphire. the5krunner flags scratch concerns: he 'relatively easily scratched' the predecessor's glass.
Single 47mm size — no smaller option (the Forerunner 265 covers 42mm + 46mm for smaller wrists).
Display
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Retina LTPO2 OLED with 3,000 nits peak brightness — the brightest Apple Watch display at launch. Always-on display. Flashlight mode reaches new brightness levels.
3,000 nits peak brightness — Ars Technica's headline: 'Apple announces the Apple Watch Ultra 2 with a blazing 3000-nit display.' Brightest Apple Watch at launch.
Excellent outdoor visibility — 3,000 nits keeps the display readable in direct sunlight during workouts.
Always-on display — informative without raising the wrist; minimal battery impact on the Ultra's large cell.
Display is the Ultra's standout vs Garmin — the5krunner: 'Apple wins on the screen' even after Garmin's move to AMOLED.
Garmin Forerunner 965
1.4-inch AMOLED, 454×454 resolution — nearly 4× the resolution of the Forerunner 955's memory-in-pixel panel. Always-on display. Vibrant, sharp, and readable in sunlight.
1.4-inch 454×454 AMOLED — DC Rainmaker: 'they've increased the resolution by almost 4X' over the 955's MIP panel.
The Verge: 'For once, there's practically no tradeoff between an always-on OLED display and long battery life.'
Garmin eschewed the MIP panel for AMOLED — Notebookcheck confirms the 965 is AMOLED, a shift from the 955's transflective display.
Always-on display supported — vibrant and readable in direct sunlight without significant battery penalty.
Larger display improves on-watch map readability + data-field density vs the smaller Forerunner 265.
Notebookcheck sensor comparison: 'Apple Watch Ultra 2 beats Garmin, Whoop, Samsung and other smartwatch brands in sensor comparison' — best-in-class HR accuracy.
ECG + temperature sensing (0.01° accuracy) — wrist-temperature tracking for cycle tracking + overnight insights.
SpO2 (blood oxygen) — disabled on new US units sold after January 2024 due to the Masimo patent dispute; works on units sold before that and outside the US.
Crash detection + fall detection + Emergency SOS — full Apple safety suite.
the5krunner: 'one of the best wrist-based sleep trackers on the market' — sleep tracking is competitive.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Elevate Gen 4 optical HR, SpO2, HRV Status, sleep tracking, Body Battery, stress tracking, Morning Report. No ECG. Garmin's analytics suite is the strength; raw HR accuracy lags chest straps for intervals.
Elevate Gen 4 optical HR — reliable for steady-state; like all wrist optical HR, less accurate than a chest strap for intervals.
HRV Status — overnight heart-rate-variability tracking feeds Training Readiness + recovery insights.
Body Battery + stress tracking + sleep tracking + Morning Report — Garmin's full daily-wellness suite.
No ECG — the5krunner explicitly notes the 965 lacks the ECG feature found on other Garmin watches.
Full watchOS workout suite + dual-band GPS + advanced running metrics (power, cadence, ground contact time) + Training Load. Excellent for iPhone users; serious endurance athletes still lean Garmin/Coros.
Dual-band L1/L5 GPS — The Run Testers: 'GPS performance in terms of dual-band GPS performance is still up there with the best.'
Advanced running metrics — running power, cadence, ground contact time, stride length, vertical oscillation, plus Training Load.
Full watchOS workout suite — multisport, custom workouts, race route, pacer, heart-rate zones.
Best fitness Apple Watch for iPhone users who want a 'wannabe pro sports watch' without giving up smartwatch conveniences.
Serious endurance athletes still gravitate to Garmin/Coros — the Ultra 2 needs third-party apps for advanced training analysis.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Garmin's deepest training-science suite — Training Readiness, Acute/Chronic Load ratio, Training Status, wrist running power, Run Dynamics, race predictor, PacePro, daily suggested workouts. The serious-athlete benchmark.
Training Readiness + Acute/Chronic Load ratio — DC Rainmaker: 'takes your Acute Load, the short-term load, in comparison to your Chronic Load, your 28-day load' for science-backed training guidance.
Wrist-based running power + Run Dynamics — vertical oscillation, ground contact time, stride length, all without a chest strap or footpod.
Daily suggested workouts + PacePro + race predictor — Garmin's coaching engine; among the deepest in any smartwatch.
Triathlon + multisport modes — open-water swim, brick workouts, transitions; a genuine triathlon training tool.
5 ATM water resistance — pool + open-water swim tracking supported.
Battery & Charging
Apple Watch Ultra 2
36 hours normal use, 72 hours Low Power Mode. Best Apple Watch battery — but still short of Garmin endurance watches. Fast USB-C charging.
36 hours normal use — Ars Technica + Wired both confirm. Best Apple Watch battery at launch.
72 hours in Low Power Mode — Ars Technica: 'hitting 36 hours on a single charge and 72 hours in low-power mode.'
Battery still trails Garmin endurance watches — Wired: for week-long backpacking, a Garmin remains the better tool.
GPS continuous-tracking limit ~12 hours — adequate for most workouts, short for ultra-endurance.
Fast USB-C magnetic charging — full charge in roughly 60-90 minutes.
Garmin Forerunner 965
~23 days smartwatch mode, ~31 hours all-systems GPS. Garmin's signature multi-week battery — no daily-charge anxiety. Proprietary USB-C charging cable (no Qi, no solar).
~23 days smartwatch mode — Garmin's signature multi-week battery; far beyond Apple Watch Ultra or Galaxy Watch.
~31 hours all-systems GPS — multi-day ultra and adventure tracking without recharge.
No solar charging — the5krunner notes the 965 lacks the solar option found on Fenix-tier Garmins.
No Qi wireless charging — proprietary Garmin USB-C cable only.
Reddit users cite the multi-week battery as a defining advantage — no charging cable to pack on trips.
Software & Ecosystem
Apple Watch Ultra 2
watchOS (now updatable to watchOS 11+), Siri on-device, Apple Pay, App Store, deep iPhone + Apple Health integration. S9 SiP introduced the Double Tap gesture. iOS-only.
S9 SiP — introduced the Double Tap gesture (pinch index finger + thumb to control the watch one-handed).
watchOS — Android Authority: 'watchOS is top-tier software.' Updatable to watchOS 11+, on-device Siri, App Store.
Deep iPhone + Apple Health/Fitness integration — years of accumulated health data carry across Apple Watch generations.
Apple Pay + App Store + LTE — full smartwatch feature set.
iOS-only — no Android compatibility. Requires an iPhone.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Garmin OS + Garmin Connect app + Connect IQ store for apps/watch faces. Garmin Pay. No speaker/mic, no voice assistant. Works with iOS + Android. Frequent firmware updates.
Garmin OS + Connect IQ store — apps, watch faces, data fields. Not Wear OS, but a mature ecosystem.
Garmin Connect app — universally praised for training analytics depth, frequently criticized for app-UI polish.
Frequent firmware updates — Notebookcheck documented 'nearly 30 bug fixes, improvements and new features in first beta update.'
No speaker/microphone — the5krunner notes no on-watch voice calls or assistant.
Works with both iOS and Android — cross-platform, unlike Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch.
Garmin Pay — contactless payments via NFC.
Durability
Apple Watch Ultra 2
100m water resistance (WR100) + EN13319 dive certification + MIL-STD-810H. Grade-5 titanium + sapphire crystal. Operating temperature −20°C to 55°C. The most rugged Apple Watch.
100m water resistance (WR100) + EN13319 recreational dive certification — dive-rated to 40m.
MIL-STD-810H certified — drop, shock, dust, altitude, temperature resistance.
Sapphire crystal front — highly scratch-resistant.
Operating temperature range −20°C to 55°C — suited for cold-weather + high-altitude adventure.
Garmin Forerunner 965
5 ATM water resistance. Titanium bezel + Gorilla Glass 3 (no sapphire). Fiber-reinforced polymer case. Built for daily training abuse — but the glass is the weak point.
5 ATM (50m static) water resistance — pool + open-water swim rated.
Gorilla Glass 3 — the weak point. No sapphire option at the $599 price; the5krunner reports scratch concerns.
Fiber-reinforced polymer case — lightweight and durable for daily training.
Connectivity
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Dual-band L1/L5 GPS, LTE built in, second-gen Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip, NFC for Apple Pay, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi. No satellite messaging (added on the Ultra 3).
Dual-band L1/L5 GPS — best-in-class precision for a smartwatch.
LTE built in — standalone calls, texts, music streaming, Emergency SOS without the iPhone nearby.
ANT+ + Bluetooth — pair chest straps, footpods, power meters, cycling sensors.
NFC for Garmin Pay + Wi-Fi for sync.
No LTE — the5krunner notes the 965 lacks cellular; phone required for connectivity.
Value vs Competition
Apple Watch Ultra 2
$799 launch. The most premium Apple Watch — now a strong value as the Ultra 3 (2025) has superseded it. Competes with Garmin Fenix + Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.
$799 launch price — the most expensive Apple Watch (matched by the Ultra 3).
Now a strong value post-Ultra-3 launch — T3 documented the Ultra 2 'crashes to lowest-ever price on Amazon.'
vs Garmin Fenix: Garmin wins on battery + true endurance; Apple wins on screen + smart features + LTE + ease of use for iPhone owners.
vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Ultra 3 adds 42-hour battery + satellite messaging + wider display. Ultra 2 is the value pick if discounted.
vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: different platforms (iOS vs Android); both are the rugged flagship of their ecosystem.
Best for: iPhone users who want the most durable + capable Apple Watch for fitness + adventure, and find the Ultra 2 discounted now that the Ultra 3 has launched.
Garmin Forerunner 965
$599 launch — premium running-watch tier. Competes with the cheaper Forerunner 265, the Fenix-tier Garmins, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Ages well and discounts over time.
$599 launch price — the5krunner: 'disconcertingly high,' especially given no sapphire glass.
Discounts well over time — T3: 'Garmin's best-selling Forerunner 965 watch has been discounted to its lowest-ever price.'
vs Forerunner 265 (£429): the 265 is the cheaper AMOLED sibling. The 965 adds maps, the larger display, and the titanium bezel.
Garmin watches age very well — Wired: 'even though Garmin watches are costly, they age very well' and hold value.
vs Apple Watch Ultra 2: Garmin wins on battery + training depth; Apple wins on smart features, LTE, ECG, and ecosystem (for iPhone owners).
No solar / no Qi charging — proprietary USB-C cable only.
Best for: serious runners + triathletes who want Garmin's deep training science with a beautiful AMOLED screen, on-watch maps, and multi-week battery — and don't need smartwatch features.
