Garmin Forerunner 965 vs Oppo Watch S

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.

Oppo Watch S

A 1.46-inch round AMOLED at 464 x 464 (317 ppi). It can hit a brilliant 3,000-nit peak — but only automatically, in Oppo's workout modes under strong sunlight. In everyday use it's capped at 600 nits, with a 1,500-nit high-brightness mode.

• 1.46-inch round AMOLED, 464 x 464 at 317 ppi — sharp and vibrant, with Splash Touch that keeps the screen usable when wet.
• The 3,000-nit peak is genuinely bright — but it only activates automatically in Oppo's workout modes when the watch detects strong sunlight.
• Everyday brightness is capped at 600 nits, with a 1,500-nit high-brightness mode — OPTechWithAskar notes that at the typical 600 nits 'this is just a normal good display.'
• In bright outdoor workouts the screen is excellent — you can read pace and heart rate without the wrist-tilt dance.

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.
• SpO2 (pulse ox) — on-demand + spot-check; useful for altitude acclimatization.

Oppo Watch S

For a budget watch the Oppo Watch S carries a serious sensor array — an 8-channel optical heart-rate sensor, a 16-channel SpO2 sensor, ECG electrodes and a skin-temperature sensor — anchored by a 60-second check that reads around 14 health indicators at once. ECG availability depends on regional certification.

• A serious sensor array — an 8-channel optical heart-rate sensor, a 16-channel optical SpO2 sensor, ECG electrodes and a wrist-temperature sensor.
• A 60-second health check measures around 14 indicators — heart rate, ECG, SpO2, vascular elasticity and more — in a single reading.
• On-demand ECG via a side-button electrode takes about 30 seconds — Oppo's ECG is certified as a class 2 medical device in China and in around 30 countries.
• ECG availability is region-dependent — it may be disabled depending on local certification where you buy the watch.
• Day-to-day it does continuous heart-rate monitoring with high/low alerts, all-day SpO2 and wrist-temperature trends, plus sleep stages and a sleep score.

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.

Oppo Watch S

The Oppo Watch S covers 100+ workout modes with built-in GPS and an AI sports coach that gauges readiness from HRV and recent training load. It's a capable everyday fitness tracker — though there's little independent accuracy testing to confirm how it stacks up.

• 100+ workout modes with built-in GPS, plus swim tracking thanks to the 5 ATM water rating.
• Oppo bills it as featuring an AI sports coach that analyzes readiness from HRV during sleep and your last 7 days of workouts.
• In workout modes the display ramps to its 3,000-nit peak — a real advantage for reading stats outdoors mid-exercise.
• Independent accuracy testing is limited — there is far less hands-on GPS and heart-rate validation than for flagship rivals.

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.

Oppo Watch S

The Oppo Watch S's strongest card. Oppo rates the 330mAh battery at up to 10 days maximum, 7 days typical and about 4 days with the always-on display on — and fast charging adds a full day in 10 minutes, with a complete charge in roughly 75-90 minutes.

• Oppo rates the battery at up to 10 days maximum, 7 days typical, and about 4 days with the always-on display enabled.
• The Tech Shed confirms about 7 days for an active user doing regular GPS workouts, with the headline 10-day figure reserved for lighter use.
• With the always-on display on, real-world life drops to around 4 days — still competitive with most smartwatch rivals.
• Fast charging is excellent — a 10-minute top-up returns a full day of use.
• A full 0-100% charge takes roughly 75-90 minutes via the magnetic pin charger.

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.

Oppo Watch S

The Oppo Watch S runs ColorOS Watch 7.1 on a power-efficient BES2800BP chip with 4GB of storage — not Wear OS. That choice is the reason the battery lasts a week, but it also means no Google Play app store and a simpler, more limited software experience.

• It runs ColorOS Watch 7.1 — a power-efficient platform that is the direct reason the battery lasts a week, not Wear OS.
• The trade-off is a simpler experience — there's no Google Play app store, so third-party app support is far more limited than on Wear OS.
• A power-efficient BES2800BP processor with 4GB of eMMC storage keeps the lightweight OS running smoothly.
• The companion health app works with both Android and iPhone — you don't need to own an Oppo phone to use the watch.

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.
• Titanium bezel — protects the toughened display + adds structural integrity.
• 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.

Oppo Watch S

The Oppo Watch S is rated 5 ATM plus IP68 (and IP69), with Splash Touch that keeps the screen usable when wet. It's fine for swimming and everyday water — but Oppo specifically warns against hot showers, saunas and diving.

• 5 ATM water resistance plus IP68 and IP69 dust and water ratings — rated for swimming and everyday water exposure.
• Splash Touch keeps the touchscreen usable even when the watch is wet — handy after a swim or in the rain.
• Oppo specifically warns it's not meant for hot showers, saunas, hot springs or diving — and notes water resistance can reduce over time.

Garmin Forerunner 965

Multi-band (dual-frequency) GPS, full-color TopoActive maps, NFC for Garmin Pay, Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi. No LTE — phone required for connectivity.

• Multi-band (dual-frequency) GPS — accurate tracking in urban canyons + dense tree cover.
• Full-color TopoActive maps — on-watch mapping + turn-by-turn navigation, a key 965-vs-265 differentiator.
• 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.

Oppo Watch S

Built-in GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC cover the everyday essentials. There's no cellular model, so the Oppo Watch S relies on a paired phone for connectivity.

• Built-in GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC — the standard everyday connectivity set.
• There's no cellular model — the Oppo Watch S relies on a paired phone for connectivity and can't go fully standalone.
• NFC supports contactless payments where the service is available.

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).
• 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.

Oppo Watch S

The Oppo Watch S launched at around $399 NZD (roughly $230 USD) and is not officially sold in the US. For the price it's a strong value — week-long battery, ECG, a premium-feeling build — as long as you accept the simpler ColorOS platform.

• The Tech Shed's verdict: 'the Oppo Watch S is one of the best value smartwatches I've ever tested.'
• It launched at around $399 NZD — roughly $230 USD — undercutting flagship smartwatches significantly.
• It's a niche device — Oppo doesn't officially sell wearables in the US, so availability and support are limited there.
• FutureFive frames it well — it focuses on design, health tracking and battery life rather than software complexity.
• Best for: anyone who wants a featherweight, week-lasting health smartwatch at a budget price and doesn't need a deep app ecosystem.