Latest news with #GarminForerunner970
Geeky Gadgets
3 days ago
- Health
- Geeky Gadgets
Garmin Forerunner 970: The Definitive Guide
The Garmin Forerunner 970 is a high-performance smartwatch designed for athletes and fitness enthusiasts who prioritize precision, functionality, and versatility. With advanced health monitoring, fitness tracking, and navigation tools, it serves as a reliable companion for a variety of activities, whether you're training for a marathon, exploring new trails, or optimizing your daily wellness. The video below from DC Rainmaker provides more insights into its standout features, showcasing why it remains a top choice in the competitive smartwatch market. Watch this video on YouTube. Design and User Interface The Forerunner 970 seamlessly blends sleek aesthetics with practical functionality. Its AMOLED touchscreen provides vibrant visuals and customizable watch faces, allowing users to tailor their experience. The always-on display ensures that key metrics are visible at a glance, while the red shift mode reduces eye strain during nighttime use, making it suitable for both day and night activities. For enhanced usability, the watch features a five-button navigation system. This tactile control is particularly beneficial in challenging conditions, such as during rain or when wearing gloves, making sure uninterrupted operation regardless of the environment. The combination of a responsive touchscreen and physical buttons offers a versatile interface that adapts to various scenarios. Health and Wellness Tracking The Forerunner 970 is equipped with Garmin's Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor, delivering precise and actionable health insights. It monitors a wide range of metrics, including: Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) for cardiovascular health ECG and skin temperature for deeper physiological insights Stress levels and recovery status to guide daily activity Sleep tracking is another standout feature, offering detailed data on sleep stages, breathing patterns, and even naps. The watch provides morning and evening readiness reports, combining sleep, recovery, and stress metrics to help you plan your day effectively. These insights empower users to make informed decisions about their health and fitness routines. Advanced Training and Performance Metrics Designed with athletes in mind, the Forerunner 970 offers a suite of tools to optimize training and track progress. Key features include: Training readiness scores that assess recovery, sleep, and stress to recommend workout intensity Metrics such as VO2 max, HRV balance, and acute load for a comprehensive view of fitness progress Advanced running data, including running economy, step speed loss, and running tolerance When paired with the HRM-Pro 600 strap, runners gain access to even more detailed insights, such as ground contact time and stride length. The watch also offers adaptive training plans and race-specific tools, including projected finish times and course alignment, making sure you're well-prepared for any event. These features make it an invaluable tool for both casual runners and competitive athletes. Navigation and Mapping Capabilities The Forerunner 970 excels in navigation, making it an ideal choice for outdoor enthusiasts. Its robust features include: Preloaded global maps with turn-by-turn directions for seamless navigation ClimbPro for detailed ascent tracking during hikes or rides Off-course alerts and rerouting to keep you on track Customizable course creation tools for tailored route planning These tools enable users to confidently explore new routes, whether running, cycling, or hiking. The watch's multi-band GPS technology ensures precise tracking even in challenging environments, such as dense forests or urban areas with tall buildings. Activity Profiles and Customization The Forerunner 970 supports a wide range of sport-specific activity profiles, making it adaptable to diverse fitness routines. Whether you're swimming, skiing, or cycling, the watch tracks unique metrics like stroke rate or ski run data. Customizable data screens allow users to prioritize the information most relevant to their activity, enhancing the overall training experience. This level of personalization ensures that the watch meets the unique needs of every athlete. Smart Features and Connectivity Seamless smartphone integration is a key highlight of the Forerunner 970, offering a range of smart features to keep users connected. These include: Notifications with limited response options, depending on iOS or Android compatibility Voice assistant support for Siri, Google Assistant, and Bixby Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity for external sensors like heart rate monitors and power meters LiveTrack, which shares your real-time location with friends and family for added safety These features ensure that users remain informed and connected, even during intense workouts or outdoor adventures. The watch's ability to integrate with external devices further enhances its versatility, making it a valuable tool for both fitness and daily life. Music and Contactless Payments The Forerunner 970 enhances convenience with built-in music storage and contactless payment capabilities. Users can: Store offline playlists from popular services like Spotify and Amazon Music Pair Bluetooth headphones for a phone-free audio experience Use Garmin Pay for contactless payments, provided their bank supports it These features allow users to stay entertained and manage daily tasks without the need for additional devices, making the watch a practical choice for on-the-go lifestyles. Battery Life and GPS Modes Battery optimization is a core strength of the Forerunner 970, with multiple GPS modes designed to balance accuracy and power consumption. These include: UltraTrac mode for extended battery life during long adventures Multi-Band GPS for precise tracking in challenging environments With these options, the watch remains reliable whether you're on a short run or a multi-day expedition. The long-lasting battery life ensures that users can focus on their activities without worrying about frequent recharging. Additional Features The Forerunner 970 includes several practical extras to enhance the user experience: A built-in flashlight with adjustable brightness and a strobe mode for emergencies Body battery and stress tracking to monitor energy levels throughout the day Customizable widgets and glanceable data summaries for quick access to essential information These features add convenience and safety, making the watch a versatile tool for both fitness and daily use. Its ability to adapt to various scenarios ensures that it meets the needs of a wide range of users. Why the Garmin Forerunner 970 Stands Out The Garmin Forerunner 970 is a feature-rich smartwatch tailored to the needs of athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Its advanced training metrics, robust navigation tools, and seamless integration with Garmin's ecosystem make it a valuable companion for both casual users and performance-driven individuals. Whether optimizing workouts, exploring new trails, or managing daily tasks, the Forerunner 970 offers the precision, versatility, and reliability to support your fitness journey. Source & Image Credit: DC Rainmaker Filed Under: Gadgets News, Technology News, Top News Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
CNET
15-05-2025
- CNET
Garmin Announces the Forerunner 570 and 970 Running Smartwatches
Serious runners looking to upgrade their smartwatch now have two new Garmin Forerunner options in the form of the 570 and 970. For those unfamiliar, Forerunner is Garmin's line of running and triathlon training watches. The new versions pack the brightest display from Garmin to date and add new training tools, recovery insights and connected features. Garmin is competing in a field that includes the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra, which is Apple's adventure-focused version of its regular smartwatch. Garmin is perhaps best known for its in-car GPS systems, but has branched out into smartwatches aimed at athletes over the past few years. Want to learn more? Check out our roundup of the best Garmin deals around. If you're a die-hard Apple fan, we also have a recent roundup of Apple watch rumors for you to peruse. New Forerunners feature a variety of colors The Forerunner 570 comes in two sizes and numerous colors. Garmin 570 is the cheaper of the two The 570 is available in both 42mm and 47mm cases, and each size has two exclusive color options in addition to the slate gray aluminum and black band options. The 970 ships in only a 47mm case, meaning you can only go big or go 570. Available in three colors that look good but are slightly less fun than its smaller sibling's options, the 970 is for the serious athlete that just won't quit or those who just want the best that Garmin has to offer. New for both watches is a brighter 1.4-inch AMOLED display, with optional always-on mode. Opting for this will likely reduce battery life, but given that the 570 has an 11-day battery life, and the 970 can squeak out 15 days, you likely won't be reaching for a charger nearly as much as with other smartwatches. Both watches feature the Garmin Triathlon Coach trainer, offering adaptive daily plans of personalized workouts based on your performance and health metrics. Users can create multisport workouts from the Garmin Connect app and send them to the watch to track stats when you switch to another sport during training. 970 extras: Flashlight, titanium bezel The Forerunner 970 includes a set of expected exclusive features, including a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium bezel. The 970 also ships with a built-in LED flashlight, and offers on-screen controls to dial down the brightness. Additional features include running tolerance, step-speed loss, and support for ECG measurements in the app, though the latters' availability varies by region. Pricing and availability Both the Forerunner 570 and 970 will be available to order starting May 21. Both the Forerunner 570 42mm and the Forerunner 570 47mm are priced at $550, while the Forerunner 970 costs $750.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Garmin's HRM 600 Is A Heart Rate Chest Strap That Levels-Up Your Watch
Garmin's HRM 600 chest strap Are chest straps really that necessary any more? For many the answer is 'less than ever' thanks to improved accuracy of watch HR tech, but the Garmin HRM 600 is here to prove there's life in the HR chest strap yet. Like the Garmin HRM-Pro Plus before it, the Garmin HRM 600 goes beyond simple heart rate tracking by provides running dynamics stats when paired with a watch. It can even track exercise activities solo, without the need for a connected watch. The generational change in the Garmim HRM 600 is the breadth of running dynamics information it can glean. When paired with a compatible watch, including the Garmin Forerunner 970, you'll get 'step speed loss' statistics. This is something new to me as a Garmin user, but is an indicator of 'how much you slow down when your foot hits the ground' according to Garmin. As with other running dynamics, it tells you a decent amount on the efficiency of your stride and running style. Is it also something that tells you exactly how to fix whatever issue might be causing excessive step speed loss? Perhaps not, but if you're at the level where running dynamics truly make a major difference, you may have a coach — or someone else in your run club — who can monitor your form. The Garmin HRM 600 will also count steps, heart rate, and estimate speed and distance if you take part in exercise without your watch. There's just a single button on the heart rate monitor so you can't actually start a tracked exercise through an on-strap interface or anything like that. But it's handy if you prefer to take part in some activities watch-free. Or, conversely, the Garmin HRM 600 can pair with your watch to provide even better heart rate data, and distance data for indoor activities like the treadmill. It has both ANT+ and Bluetooth for connection to other devices. Garmin HRM 600 module rear The HRM 600 does not use the coin-style battery adopted by most chest straps. It instead has an integrated rechargeable cell, and a 4-pin charge connector just like those of Garmin's running watches. It's rated for up to two moths of use between charges, based on one hour of use a day. Garmin doesn't list a replacement battery, but there are clearly a quartet of torx screws on the back of the main housing, suggesting users may be able to get to the battery and internals easily enough. This will no doubt compromise the water resistance, though. The Garmin HRM 600 is rated for 5 ATM water resistance, making it suitable for wear while swimming. You can also fully detach the Garmin HRM 600's main module, in order to wash the strap part on its own. The Garmin HRM 600 costs $169.99, and will be available in 'XS-S' and 'M-XL' sizes from May 21.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Forbes
Garmin Forerunner 970 And 570 Upgrade The Best Watch Line, At What Cost?
Garmin Forerunner 970 (L) and Forerunner 570 (R) Garmin has announced the Garmin Forerunner 970 and 570, which are likely to become an important part of the backbone of the entire Garmin range for exercise enthusiasts. These watches might be considered close follow-ups to the Forerunner 965, which has since its release in 2023 been one of the best buys in the Garmin line-up for serious runners. One crucial difference between the two is the Garmin Forerunner 570 does not support on-watch maps. The Garmin Forerunner 970 does. You'll be able to send gpx routes to the lower-end watch, to navigate, but you won't see the roads and other surrounding features on the screen. The Forerunner 970 also gains ECG readings. Look at the back of each watch and you'll see why. Where the Garmin Forerunner 970 has metallic elements around the heart rate LEDs, which act as electrodes using the ECG feature, the Forerunner 570 does not. However, unlike the Vivoactive 6, it doesn't use Garmin's older style of heart rate array. It still gets the additional quartet of green LEDs, used to improve HR readings during tracked exercise. Garmin also upgrades the superficial hardware in the Forerunner 970. Its screen covering is Sapphire rather than Gorilla Glass 3, and the bezel is titanium instead of aluminium. Other additional features include an LED flashlight, and tracking of running tolerance. In practice this means Garmin will suggest a limit of the distance you should run each week. When paired with the new HRM 600 heart rate monitor, you'll also get running economy and 'step speed loss' stats, which Forerunner 570 owners won't see. Outside of this, though, the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 have a lot in common. They are both OLED screen watches, which Garmin says are the brightest it has used to date. They are packed with advanced exercise features that let them go far beyond the job given to the average casual wearable. And unlike most of Garmin's earlier high-end watches, the Forerunner 970 and Forerunner 570 have a speaker and microphone. This pair lets you take calls with the watch, acting like a Bluetooth headset, use voice commands to control features using the watch's own smarts, or connected to your phone's own voice assistant. 'Created for every athlete who is out there chasing goals and passionate about their data, the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 include innovative training tools, recovery metrics and connected features to help them perform at their best,' says Susan Lyman, Garmin's Vice President of Consumer. The Garmin Forerunner 970 is rated for 15 days of use while the Forerunner 570's battery life varies between the 42mm (10 days) and 47mm (11 days) models. There are no size options with the Forerunner 970 — it's a 47mm diameter watch. Next is the all-important part: the price. The Garmin Forerunner 570 costs $549.99, for either the 42mm or 47mm style, while the Forerunner 970 costs $749.99. The Forerunner 965 is the key comparison point here, and it shows how much the last couple of years have applied pressure to consumer tech pricing. That watch launched at $599, despite being closer to the Forerunner 970 than the Forerunner 570 in feature terms. A fortnight ago, Garmin suggested during an earnings call that tariffs were likely to hurt the affect the business to the tune of $100 million, news that clearly would make Garmin watches that seem a bargain to the consumer less likely than ever. The Garmin Forerunner 970 and Forerunner 570 will be available to order from May 21.
