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Evening Standard
26-06-2025
- Evening Standard
Garmin 970 and HRM600 review: Is this the best running watch and heart-rate monitor combo?
Under a smooth, ink-black surface of Sapphire glass, the Garmin Forerunner 970 quietly ticks away. I glance down, the screen comes to life. With a flick of my index finger, I can find out almost anything I want about myself, in what must be one of the most personalised sports watch experiences to date. This is the top of Garmin's Forerunner range. The screen and its titanium bezel are elegant and eye-catching. At a recent running event, others crowded around me, cooing at the 970. It has Garmin's brightest AMOLED screen yet, which pops and fizzes with colour. Pair the 970 with Garmin's new, highly advanced HRM 600 chest strap, and you get a staggering amount of running and sports data. From your vertical oscillation to your running economy (a brand new feature, which covers perhaps the most important metric for marathon-running), to umpteen other data points down to the hyper-granular, it is a dream come true for the data-obsessive runner. All this information is helpfully packaged up to give you things to work with, rather than just numbers to boggle at. That said, is there a limit to how much data you can usefully absorb? For example, the watch and HRM strap can tell you about your Step-Speed Loss (a feature new to Garmin with this pair). If your score is not great, it gives you advice. In this case, that's run 'lightly and smoothly'. That's good advice, but did I need to know my Step-Speed Loss to find that out? Or is there a risk that your watch floods you with data that obscures the basic principles of running training (the link between mileage and speed, doing different kinds of sessions, and so on)? The counter-argument is that the watch need not obscure those lessons; it just gives you more information. And there's something undeniably fun and gamified about this data and the way it's presented. If you're paying well over £600 for a sports watch, though, you want all the bells and whistles. That's what the 970 delivers. It can take and make calls thanks to its microphone and speaker, it can pay for things through Garmin Pay, and it has an incredibly handy flashlight (genuinely much more useful — and frequently used — than you would guess at first). It tracks and scores your sleep, it measures your training readiness, and it computes your running tolerance (a very useful feature: this tells you how far you can run over a total of seven days without pushing yourself beyond your limits). It can even run an ECG on you, though this is presented with a forest of disclaimers, pointing out you should go to your doctor if you're concerned. The battery life drew some concern when announced — up to 15 days in smartwatch mode, down from up to 23 days in the Forerunner 965 — but in my testing, I didn't find it a problem. That might be because my previous experience was with a sports watch that needed charging every other day, but bluntly, it just wasn't an issue. What this watch — and Garmin — really is aiming at is to give you the most personalised experience possible. All those features and data points make that more feasible than ever. It's packaged up elegantly, too. Each morning and night, you receive reports about the day ahead or the day you've had (not a new feature of the 970, but as ever with this watch, beautifully presented). Every tracking metric is used to inform suggestions for the watch about what's possible for you personally in terms of running or exercising. On top of this, the 970's key differentiating factor with other Forerunner watches is its maps (this is true for all Forerunners in the 9xx range). These are accurate and come in full colour. They make hitting the trails or navigating a new city as easy as can be.
Phone Arena
23-06-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Sleek Garmin Vivoactive 5 is selling fast after sweet $100 discount
Garmin Vivoactive 5: Now $100 OFF on Amazon! $100 off (33%) Amazon has discounted the Garmin Vivaoctive 5 by $100, making it a great choice for users on a budget. The smartwatch has an OLED touchscreen, up to 11 days of battery life, and a plethora of features. Act fast and save while the offer lasts! Buy at Amazon True, it's built out of plastic, so it lacks the premium feel you get with pricier models, like the Since there is more to life than going to the gym, it also includes smart notifications, Garmin Pay for contactless payments, and Garmin's Connect IQ store, from where you can download various apps and watch faces. Sadly, it doesn't have a built-in mic, so you can't use it for phone calls. Receive the latest mobile news By subscribing you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy All in all, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is definitely worth your cash and attention. Its battery life, plethora of features, and more affordable price tag make it a great pick for buyers who want a sleek lifestyle smartwatch without breaking the bank. So, if it fits the bill for you, act fast and save with this deal today! True, it's built out of plastic, so it lacks the premium feel you get with pricier models, like the Venu 3 . However, it's still loaded with features. For instance, it can keep tabs on your energy levels and comes with a sleep coach feature, designed to help you improve your sleep. It even supports Garmin's Coach functionality, allowing it to provide tailored training there is more to life than going to the gym, it also includes smart notifications, Garmin Pay for contactless payments, and Garmin's Connect IQ store, from where you can download various apps and watch faces. Sadly, it doesn't have a built-in mic, so you can't use it for phone the flip side, it rocks a gorgeous AMOLED touchscreen display, making navigation through the menus a breeze, all while boasting a battery life of up to 11 days on a single in all, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is definitely worth your cash and attention. Its battery life, plethora of features, and more affordable price tag make it a great pick for buyers who want a sleek lifestyle smartwatch without breaking the bank. So, if it fits the bill for you, act fast and save with this deal today! Grab Surfshark VPN now at more than 50% off and with 3 extra months for free! Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer Looking for a feature-rich Garmin smartwatch without a price tag that will make your bank account cry? Well, check out Amazon's deal on the Vivoactive 5 Right now, the retailer is offering a lovely $100 discount on all color options of this handsome fella, letting you pick the one that best fits your taste for south of $200. Not too shabby, considering the watch's usual price of around $300. And while this isn't exactly a new deal, we believe it's still worth taking advantage of, as this timepiece holds a lot of value, especially at its current price.
Tom's Guide
17-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
My job is testing Garmins – here's why the new Venu X1 shocked me
I've been testing and reviewing Garmin watches for almost a decade and usually have a pretty good idea of what's coming up from the brand, just based on the rhythm and routine of previous launches. However, when the Garmin Venu X1 came out it took me completely by surprise, both in terms of its design and where it sits within Garmin's line-up, not to mention its $799.99 price. I've just started testing out the watch and have done a couple of runs and other workouts with it — here's why the Garmin Venu X1 is unlike any other Garmin I've tested to date. The Garmin Venu X1 has a 2-inch 448 x 486 pixel AMOLED display, measures 41 x 46 x 7.9 mm, and weighs 34 grams. It has a sapphire crystal lens, titanium back, and is water resistant to 5 ATM. It includes a flashlight, offline maps, music, Garmin Pay, and has a speaker and microphone to make and receive calls. In smartwatch model, it should last up to 2 days on a charge with the always-on display. Garmin has other square watches in its range, and plenty of AMOLED options, but nothing that comes close to the monster display on the Venu X1. The 2-inch 448 x 486 pixel screen is larger than that of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and ferociously bright — I turned down the brightness both during and outside of workouts, something I've never done before with a Garmin. There are only two buttons on the Venu X1 but even these feel borderline superfluous outside of workouts. You do all your navigating of the watch using the vast touchscreen, unlike most Garmins, where I still defer to using buttons naturally. I knew the Garmin Venu X1 was thin from its spec sheet, but on-paper stats don't do it justice. The 7.9mm thick case is much thinner than other watches, including the Garmin Forerunner 970 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, and means it sits comfortably on the wrist despite the big screen. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Despite the thinness of the Venu X1 it doesn't feel as flimsy as I feared, mostly because of the titanium case back, and the sapphire crystal screen gives some peace of mind that you're not going to scratch the large display every time you head outside. Unlike past Venu watches, the Venu X1 has offline maps on-board, a feature Garmin has previously reserved for its flagship sports watches like the Forerunner 970 and Fenix 8. I used these maps on my first run with the watch, following a route around my local forest, and the big screen is fantastic for showing the detail on the maps along with other stats mid-run. I've used maps on all kinds of different Garmins throughout the years, but on the large square screen the experience of the Venu X1 was much more like when using the app WorkOutDoors on the Apple Watch. One reason I've never been a big user of Garmin's Venu and Vivoactive watches is that they tend to be less sports-focused than the Forerunner and Fenix line-ups. That's not the case with the Venu X1, which has a lot more training analysis than past Venu watches, including Garmin's training readiness stat, training status, plus hill score and endurance score. However, it doesn't have some of the new running features from the Forerunner 970, including running tolerance, and doesn't offer dual-band GPS — the most accurate mode that is available on cheaper watches like the Garmin Forerunner 570. The all-systems GPS mode on the Venu X1 is still highly accurate in my experience, but given the high price of the Venu X1 and the way Garmin has thrown in lots of other features, it's a shame there are still some missing. The big, bright screen comes at the cost of battery life, which is listed at just two days if you have the screen always-on, with only 14 hours of all-systems GPS tracking. I've been testing the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 watches lately and found their four to five day battery life short, but this is taken even further with the Venu X1. You can increase the battery life by using the screen in raise-to-wake mode, but if you're a long-term Garmin user, the regular charging required will take some getting used to. Clearly, the Garmin Venu X1 is aimed at a different market to Garmin's usual fans, and the most obvious target of the launch is the Apple Watch Ultra 2's audience. The Venu X1 design can rival the Apple's, and it is a better sports watch with more useful navigation tools. There are also useful smart features on it like music storage and NFC payments. However, to really cut into the ranks of the best smartwatches, I think Garmin needs to have cellular connectivity on the watch, and the huge App store the Apple Watch can call on is also a big advantage. I'm still testing the watch out, so stay tuned for my full review.
Phone Arena
15-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Garmin officially releases its most premium Forerunner watch and adds a lifesaving feature
Garmin has officially unveiled the Forerunner 970, its latest high-end smartwatch designed for serious runners and triathletes. As the successor to the well-regarded Forerunner 965, this new model brings a mix of premium upgrades, cutting-edge health features, and a noticeable bump in Forerunner 970 is crafted with a titanium bezel and sapphire crystal, wrapped in a lightweight 56-gram build with a 47mm diameter. The AMOLED touchscreen display maintains the sharp 454 x 454 resolution but now gets even brighter, improving visibility in all conditions. Garmin also updated the watch's aesthetic with bold color accents in green or purple and refined button shapes to give it a more modern it's not just a cosmetic refresh. One of the headline features is the addition of an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, which can detect signs of cardiac arrhythmia. This joins the existing heart rate, SpO2, and skin temperature sensors already offered on the 965. Garmin also adds new running-focused tools. Running Economy evaluates how efficiently you move, while Running Tolerance helps monitor your biomechanical load to reduce the risk of overtraining. Garmin Coach returns as well, offering more personalized and adaptive training plans. Another new feature is an integrated LED flashlight, which is a handy tool for early morning or nighttime runs. And thanks to onboard microphones and speakers, the Forerunner 970 can now handle phone calls and interact with voice assistants when connected to a smartphone. It still offers 32 GB of internal storage for maps, apps, and music, plus Garmin Pay support for contactless life takes a small hit compared to the previous model, with up to 15 days in smartwatch mode and around 26 hours when using GPS. These numbers are still respectable, but worth noting for users who prioritize long-distance endurance tracking. The Forerunner 970 will be available starting May 21st for $749.99 — a steep increase over the currently reduced $499 price of the Forerunner 965. Buyers can choose from three color options: carbon gray titanium with black case, titanium with whitestone case, and soft gold titanium with french gray case. This release follows news of another Garmin Forerunner debut, the Forerunner 570. With the Forerunner 970, Garmin is clearly pushing its premium tier forward — both in features and pricing.
Evening Standard
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Evening Standard
Best Garmin Watches 2025: Top picks for every adventurer
Best for: Grappling with the whole sport gamut. Including grappling… The Garmin Forerunner comes in, at last count, over 80 different iterations, catering to all comers from the low-level user with shallow pockets in their Lycra leggings, right up to those with no need for pockets at all because they keep all cash digitalised and ready to be accessed over Garmin Pay. And it's in this latter camp that the latest Forerunner, the 965, lingers, waiting to be let off the leash. At a relatively small 35.4mm (1.4-inches) in size, the 965 features a clear, bright AMOLED display with a 454 x 454-pixel count, a whopping 32GB of memory, and a big ol' battery that'll see you good to go for up to 23 days, dependent on usage, obviously. Built from titanium for strength and lightness, Corning Gorilla Glass DX takes good care of the display, while the bundled silicone strap will fit all but the most elephantine of wrist sizes (135-205mm) and the colour options run from the subtle to the, well, not so. Inside, meanwhile, is an exercise-obsessed Aladdin's Cave of cutting-edge tech, including an absolute array of sensors for pinpoint GPS tracking and monitoring of your heart rate, respiration rate, stress and blood oxygen saturation, alongside a barometric altimeter, gyroscope, compass, thermometer, accelerometer and ambient light sensor. These all work in glorious union to unerringly measure your metrics and track every step, swing, stroke of any of the seemingly endless number of sports it can cover, whether that's a triathlon, indoor rowing, cycling, swimming, motocross, ice skating, martial arts, or cricket. In fact, the only sport it appears not to work with is Octopush, but I may have simply missed that in the option settings. Naturally, all the usual suspects relevant to all those exercise options are present and correct, too, such as step counter, calories burned, swim speed, distance travelled, reps achieved, etc., tracking and recording every inch you travel on your journey to Olympian-like status. With various safety features also in place, such as Incident Detection and Group Live Track available to keep an eye on you in case anything goes Pete Tong while you're out pushing your boundaries in the wild, you can run, ride and race secure in the knowledge that a snapped ankle or bad fall won't see you simply become another victim of Britain's bear population. And as this is king of the Forerunners, it also comes rammed to the rafters with day-today dynamics, like Bluetooth for connectivity with your Android or iOS smartphone, thereby allowing for notifications, text response, call rejection (Android only), calendar access, smartphone/memory-based music control, Vibe camera remote, and more besides. A truly great watch for those keen to achieve their own greatness, the Forerunner 965 is all things to all athletes.
