Latest news with #Forerunner970
Tom's Guide
12 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I wore the Garmin Forerunner 970 for over a week — here's 5 things I like and 3 things I don't
Ever since the Garmin Forerunner 935 converted me to using the best sports watches instead of a smartwatch, I've been a fan of the Garmin 9XX series. This line of watches usually offers all the features you get on the flagship Fenix models in a lightweight, mostly-plastic design that's smaller and also cheaper. As a keen runner the Garmin Forerunner 965 was often the watch I turned to when not testing something new. The Garmin Forerunner 970 is an impressive update to the line and adds some key features from the Garmin Fenix 8 as well as some completely new ones. I'm testing the watch now for our full review, which will take a few weeks to make sure every new feature is fully explored. But there are already some positives and negatives that have stood out to me after just over a week of use. Garmin promised a brighter display on the Forerunner 970 compared with the Forerunner 965, but didn't give details in terms of nits. Since the 965 was always bright enough for me, I didn't expect too much. In testing, however, the upgrade in brightness is very noticeable, especially during activities when the white stats on a black background are clearer on the Forerunner 970. It's also a clear upgrade when using the watch in bright sunlight. The Forerunner 965's screen is still bright enough, but the Forerunner 970's display has exceeded my expectations. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. One of the big new sports features on the Forerunner 970 is running tolerance, which estimates how many miles or kilometers you can/should run in a week based on your training history, with the aim of avoiding injury. This ties into established ideas about building your load gradually rather than suddenly doing a lot more running than your body might be able to handle. What I like about the feature is that it takes into account the type of runs you're doing. Instead of simply saying you ran 10 miles, it looks at those miles, and if you've been running quickly or on challenging, hilly terrain, it increases the load factor of that run, so it will get logged as 11 or 12 miles of "impact load." The Forerunner 970 will show the actual distance you've run, along with the impact load of those runs, and you can check this against your estimated tolerance to see if you're overdoing it. This is a useful feature for runners of all levels to ensure they're adding a safe amount of mileage each week if building, and also considering the impact of the harder runs on their plan correctly. One major reason to upgrade to the Garmin Fenix line from the Forerunner 965 is the sapphire crystal display available on the Fenix, which is more durable than the glass one used on the Forerunner. I scratched the Forerunner 965 without even realizing it during my testing. But having a sapphire screen on the Forerunner 970 gives peace of mind that you don't need to use a screen protector. Another big reason to upgrade to the Garmin Fenix 8 has been eliminated by the Forerunner 970 getting a built-in flashlight. That feature is just incredibly handy to have on your wrist. During the time I've been testing the watch I've had two sick kids to get up and see to during the night, so the flashlight has been in regular use. I've yet to unlock the running economy stats on the Forerunner 970, but you can see the new step speed loss measurement during each run if you pair the watch with the Garmin HRM600 chest strap. This measures how much you slow down when your foot hits the ground when running, with a lower value being better — lower braking force on each stride means you have to put less effort into speeding up again. I've been looking at this stat during runs and you can see how it changes when running at faster speeds — my step speed loss improves when I hit my marathon pace compared to easy run paces, for example. These step speed loss measurements feed into Garmin's running economy stats, but are interesting in their own right. The Forerunner 970 is not a cheap watch, and to unlock some of its most interesting new features like step speed loss and running economy measurements, you also need to buy the Garmin HRM600 chest strap, which is $169. This is a great, rechargeable chest strap, but incredibly expensive for a heart rate monitor — the Wahoo TRACKR heart rate monitor is $89, for comparison. It's a significant extra outlay just to get these running technique stats, especially as the Forerunner 970 has Garmin's Elevate Gen5 optical heart rate sensor, which has always been pretty accurate for me when testing it on various watches. The cost of the bright display on the Forerunner 970 is short battery life. It lasted me just over four days on my first charge with the screen always-on; the Forerunner 965 lasts me seven days reliably. You can increase the battery life considerably using the screen in raise-to-wake mode, but if you're regularly logging workouts using GPS and the always-on screen, the Forerunner 970 will still need regular charging. A small dislike this, but it would be great if there were more size options of the Forerunner 970, like there are with both the Forerunner 570 and Fenix 8. Some people with small wrists still want the greater sports tracking capabilities of the Forerunner 970, so if there was a 42mm or 43mm model along with the 47mm watch I'm sure it would be a success.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
Garmin Forerunner 970: A Very Close Look At Garmin's Latest Watch
Garmin Forerunner 970 The Garmin Forerunner 970 is now available, and could well become Garmin's most popular high-end watch of the year. As is the norm for the series, the Forerunner 970 combines high-end features with fairly pragmatic build, to avoid the additional cost and weight of high-end materials. Lots of titanium or steel is the top example, although this Forerunner does have a titanium bezel. I've recently started using the watch. Just a couple of tracked exercise sessions in, I took out the camera to get some ultra-close-up views of some of the watch's core features, for those out there considering the Garmin Forerunner 970 as a watch upgrade. This is one of the three colour variations currently available, white and yellow, while classic black and grey/indigo are your other options. Let's get (a lot) closer. Garmin Forerunner 970 bezel Here's a close look at the Garmin Forerunner 970's bezel. While the casing is mostly reinforced plastic, the screen surround is titanium. Front-on, it has a matt, brushed-style finish. Look closer and you'll see the side of this metal bezel is actually shiny, which lets it catch the light as you move your wrist around. This photo also gives you an idea of the curvature of the screen glass. The bezel offers no real protection for the screen, as it is not raised. But the glass is Sapphire Crystal, so should prove fairly hardy, Forerunner 970 LED flash This photo captures the top side of the watch, and the Forerunner 970's LED light. There are two white LEDs, one red one. If it appears there are nine here, it's a trick of the light caused by the diffuser lens covering here. See how it appears dithered? That layer helps to soften and spread the light. The red LED is there for when you want to be able to navigate without flooding the area with much light at all. When using the white mode, you have four intensity levels to pick from. Garmin Forerunner 970 Here's the other key piece of metal, bar the buttons and bezel, a colour strip of what I assume is aluminium. In the black version and the white finish seen here, it's this sort-of bright yellow-green (Garmin calls it Amp Yellow). It's indigo/purple in the grey Forerunner 970. You can also see here perhaps the most mysterious part of the watch, the black ring that sits within just one of the five outer buttons. I can't see anything behind there, but such a black cover layer is often used for IR transmitter tech. Here's another look: Garmin Forerunner 970 black button I've asked Garmin if there's any additional information available and will amend this article if anything is forthcoming. It could just be a style touch, or may be a sign of a future feature to come. Garmin Forerunner 970 speaker and microphone On the opposite side of the casing to the LED flashlight is this odd pair of holes, behind which the speaker and microphone live. The Garmin Forerunner 970 cant use ordinary mic and speaker ports because of the extended 5ATM water resistance. Garmin Forerunner 970 HR sensor This is the Garmin Forerunner 970's Elevate heart rate array. At this distance you can even see the little fresnel-style patterns in the LED housing, used to direct and spread the output of the LEDs. As in other recent watches, like the Fenix 8, this one has four light sensors and six LED light squares. The four outer ones are used during tracked exercise, to help improve signal stability when there's a lot of motion in the person wearing the Forerunner 970. And those shiny bits that make the square HR array into a circle? These are metallic pads, required for the ECG feature the Forerunner 970 supports. They effectively complete a circuit, when you (as instructed) place thumb and forefinger on the watch bezel when requested while using the ECG mode. Garmin Forerunner 970 buttons Garmin Forerunner 970 charging port Here's a final close-up look at some of the more familiar elements of the Garmin Forerunner 970. The trio of left-side metal buttons are just like those of other primarily button-operated Garmin watches. And despite experimenting with a new style of power connector in the Marq Gen 2 the better part of three years ago, the Forerunner 970 still has Garmin's classic 4-pin cable. Let's finish off with as close a peer as I can get to the super-bright Forerunner 970 OLED screen, a 454 x 454 pixel 1.4-inch panel I'd need to get a new lens for to get close to letting you see its sub pixels. Garmin Forerunner 970 screen pixels The Garmin Forerunner 970 is available now, for $749.99.
Stuff.tv
5 days ago
- Stuff.tv
I tried Garmin's Forerunner 570 smartwatch on launch day at its HQ in Kansas City
When it comes to running watches, Garmin's Forerunner range is a bit of a legend. The series has been the trusty training sidekick for runners of all levels for years – whether that's beginners just getting going with 5Ks or those going deep into marathon training. I was at the brand's massive global HQ in Olathe, Kansas City, this week for the official launch of its brand new watches in this series, where it not only unveiled the flagship Forerunner 970, but also a fresh mid-range model, the Forerunner 570. We'd already seen a few leaks of the flagship leading up to launch, so that was kind of expected, but the 570 was a total surprise. Garmin's Forerunner 570 is now available with a retail price starting from $549.99/£459.99/AU$999. While that's not exactly budget territory, it's still well below the Forerunner 970 and Fenix range while bringing over a lot of the most useful features. Not just a cosmetic refresh, the Forerunner 570 boasts a beefier update that quietly replaces the Forerunner 265 and, in doing so, ends the 200-series moniker altogether. Something Garmin's VP of fitness and outdoor said was necessary because there was 'too much of a jump' between the 100 and 200 series watches. Taking the mid-range Forerunner into the 500s helps users understand the difference between the different series, he said, where the 100 Series is for beginners, the 500 Series for enthusiasts, and the 900 Series for professionals. It's also ditched the old 'S' naming convention, which is a relief. So what's it like on the wrist? Let's break down what's stood out during my early testing and why I reckon this will be one to watch from Garmin. Stunningly vibrant I've only had a few hours with the Forerunner 570 so far, but it was enough time to get a solid feel for the upgrades – and there are quite a few. Coming in two sizes of 42mm and 47mm, the refresh isn't just a small bump up in spec – it boasts some snazzy new colour ways never-before-seen in the series, a slew of new training tools, but – most notably – a much better screen. I've been testing out the 42mm model, which sports a 1.2-inch display with a 390×390 resolution, and the first thing I noticed was just how bright and sharp it is. I'd say it's more vibrant than anything Garmin's done before – it's super easy to read in bright sunlight, and it's simply a pleasure to look at. If you're coming from a Forerunner 255 or 265, you'll notice this improvement right away. Somewhere else Garmin has switched things up for this launch is the Forerunner's new colour options. Things are much more loud and playful this time 'round. While my test model is the straight-up black for those who want to keep things minimal, there are some fruitier options to choose from, such as a raspberry with a translucent bone/mango band, a yellow with a translucent whitestone/turquoise combo, or indigo paired with purple. They're pretty out there, and I can imagine they'll divide opinion among potential customers, but from what Garmin has said, that's the point. As Collin Murray, the company's senior industrial designer, put it: 'We're looking forward to the polarising feedback about the colours [ …] If you hate them, there's a black watch.' In classic Garmin style, the 570's design is solid, well-built in all the right places and feels like it'll stand the test of time. It's also super comfortable on the wrist, which will be good news for those who prefer long distance running. Training smarter Looks aside, the Forerunner 570 packs in plenty of proper upgrades under the hood. One of the standout additions is the new training readiness score, which checks your sleep, recovery and training load each morning and tells you whether it's a good day to push or take it easy. This is handy if, like me, you don't always trust your own judgment when planning a workout. Another new, noteworthy feature is auto-lap. This means you can load the official course into the watch during races and it'll trigger laps based on real mile or kilometre markers, not just GPS. If you've ever had your watch beep '1 mile' long before you hit the race sign, you'll know how useful that'll be. The 570 series is also bringing wrist-based running power in the form of training effect, VO2 max, and daily workouts that adapt based on how you've been running. Multi-band GPS and SatIQ are here too, giving better tracking without rinsing your battery. Speaking of, Garmin says it'll last up to 11 days in smartwatch mode. While I've not yet had a chance to test it out, that's a little lower than the 265's quoted 13 days, but since you're getting a much nicer display and some new tech in the mix, it's not a bad trade. On the smarter side of things, you've now got a speaker and mic for calls and voice control, plus music downloads (Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music), Garmin Pay, safety features like incident detection, and wellness tracking for sleep and stress. Basically, all the useful bits. Garmin Forerunner 570 early verdict The launch of the 570 feels like the Forerunner range is coming into its own again. The brighter screen is a joy to look at during use, GPS accuracy seems top-notch, and the design feels like it has more personality than ever. You're also getting proper performance insights, smart features that should genuinely help, and the lots of new features across different areas of fitness and health that makes it more than just a running watch. Based on my early impressions here in Kansas City, the Forerunner 570 is shaping up to be one of Garmin's best ever mid-range releases.
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Forbes
These Garmin Fenix And Forerunner Owners Are Getting Left Behind
Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Every piece of tech has a shelf life, and Garmin has confirmed that day is coming for some of its most popular Forerunner and Fenix watches. Sort of. Thanks to a little light digging from DC Rainmaker, Garmin has said the Forerunner 965, Fenix 7, Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro are going to miss out on several of the new features coming to the new Forerunner 970 and 570. If you own a newer-generation watch, including the Fenix 8, Enduro 3 and Tactix 8, you're still on the guest list. The crucial question: what exactly do you miss out on? Watches like the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro typically provide more features than most people need, but there are some interesting bits. Running Tolerance is one of the missing features I could do with, considering some of the recent injuries I have had. This is effectively a specialized version of the Training Load feature, but made for runners. The concept is to get runners away from simply judging their training plan by their miles or km ran each week, because running of different intensities and styles will have more or less of a strain on your body. The Fenix 7 and co will also miss out on the Triathlon Coach mode, which is an 'adaptive system' that moderates your suggested workouts across running, cycling and swimming, based on your condition. It's a hard enough task with one form of exercise, but three? That's a big job. Other features that won't make the jump to the older watches include MultiSport workouts transmitted from Garmin Connect, Impact Load, Ovulation tracking with skin temperature, Autolap via timing gates during a race and Suggested Finish line. This can automatically trim activities based on where your Garmin watch thinks you crossed the finish line. After all, who hasn't been at a race where you are going so hard, you completely forget to stop tracking at the finish? The Forerunner 965, Fenix 7 and fellows will also not be able to collect extra running analysis stats when paired with Garmin's new HRM 600 chest strap, which I wrote about recently. Is Garmin dropping the Fenix 7 Pro and others too soon? That watch series is two years old, so not primed for a replacement yet for most owners. It's worth noting Garmin isn't discontinuing support for these models, though. They are still getting new features and updates, just not all of them. When I last made a similar enquiry last year about which Fenix 8 features would come to older watches, Garmin said that generation brought with it a significant change in the core software that would limit what older watches would get. Is that just an excuse? Sure, considering plenty of the new features wouldn't need a huge visual component. However, it has also become clear Garmin has spent significant thought investigating ways to increase its revenues, most notably with the launch of the contentious Connect+ subscription in March.
Stuff.tv
19-05-2025
- Stuff.tv
I love everything about Garmin's newest Forerunner watches, expect for one thing
If you're on the look-out for a new top running watch, you're probably considering a Garmin. Or at least you have at some point, thanks to the brand's stellar reputation. And the newest Forerunner watches are no exception. The new Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 are unapologetically aimed at those of us who treat our training metrics with more reverence than our bank balances. With some tasty upgrades and all the tracking features you know and love, they're still a great option to slap on your wrist. But I'm a little miffed to see a price increase this time around. Read more: Best Garmin watch in 2025 reviewed and rated Both watches now come equipped with Garmin's brightest AMOLED displays yet. I think this is one of the best features in the Forerunner series, as your VO2 max should be readable in full sunlight. The 570 keeps things lean with a choice of 42mm or 47mm cases and flashy new colour combos. Or, the 970 steps things up with a rugged sapphire lens, titanium bezel, and built-in mapping to guide you through city mazes or forest escapades. The whole set-up is data-driven obsession in the best way. You get metrics like running economy, skin temperature tracking, and even something called 'step speed loss.' If that doesn't make you feel like a lab rat with style, nothing will. And then there's Garmin Triathlon Coach, which offers training plans tailored to your current state of disrepair – all based on how well (or poorly) you've been sleeping and recovering. There's also an evening report to show how prepared (or unprepared) you are for tomorrow's session. For the truly data obsessed, the 970 goes even further. It layers on ECG readings and a flashlight, so that you're the most kitted-out person on your night run. Plus, Garmin's thrown in projected race times, running tolerance metrics and a heart rate monitor-based analysis of how much you slow down with each foot strike. The buttons, the training metrics, and fancy AI coach are all excellent additions to the Garmin Forerunner series. But – and it's a big but – the price is a turn off. The Forerunner 570 starts at $550/£460 and the 970 at $750/£630 and will be available to order from 21 May. That's around $100 more than the last generation. While extra features are nice, I'm not sure they justify the jump in price.
