Latest news with #GarminForerunner970
Tom's Guide
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Tom's Guide
I raced a 10K with the Garmin Venu X1 vs. Garmin Forerunner 970 and there was a clear winner
When I reviewed the Garmin Forerunner 970 earlier this year I concluded that it was the best sports watch available, with the only real competition being the Garmin Fenix 8, for those who wanted a more rugged and adventurous design. However, I didn't anticipate the launch of the Garmin Venu X1, which has surprised me in being one of the best Garmin watches, packing almost all the brand's best sports and navigation features into a slim design with a huge square display. The Forerunner 970 and Venu X1 are my two favorite sports watches at the moment, so I wanted to put them head-to-head at a race to see how they compared directly. I raced the Saucony London 10K with both to compare their GPS accuracy on a twisting, city-center course, as well as battery life and their design differences. The Venu X1 is a departure from Garmin's normal sports watch design, with a slim, square case and a vast AMOLED display. It has the same sports tracking features as the Forerunner 970 aside from multi-band GPS, but is more expensive and its battery life isn't as good. The Garmin Forerunner 970 has all of Garmin's top sports tracking, training analysis and navigation features in a lightweight watch with a bright AMOLED display. It's not as thin and light as the Venu X1, but some might prefer the 970's more traditional circular, five-button design. I clocked 32:57 in the 10K race and while both watches were good, there were some notable differences between them on the day. I'm a sucker for a slim watch, and the Venu X1 is slimmer than most, making even the Forerunner 970 feel quite big on the wrist. The large square screen sits quite snugly on my thin wrist, and during the recent heatwaves the UK has been experiencing, I have preferred wearing the Venu X1 to the Forerunner 970 and other watches because it is so light and thin. That large screen is also great for visibility, especially when using maps, but the Forerunner 970 also has a big, bright AMOLED display that's easy to see in all conditions, including the mix of clouds and sun on race day. One advantage to the Forerunner 970's design is that it has five buttons, which makes navigating its menus and data screens during workouts easier — you're more reliant on the touchscreen on the Venu X1, which can be harder to use with sweaty fingers. Overall it's hard to say which watch has a better design objectively. Both are sturdy thanks to their sapphire crystal screens and titanium elements on the case, and both have built-in flashlights. It will come down to your preference of slim and square vs the more traditional look of the Forerunner 970. The key test for me on race day was GPS accuracy, because Garmin opted against having its most accurate multi-band GPS mode on the Venu X1. It does offer all-systems GPS tracking, which has been reliably accurate for me in most of my testing of the Venu X1, but in city centers multi-band GPS can make a difference, and this was the case during the London 10K race. I had the Forerunner 970 in multi-band mode and it was not only closer to the official distance for the race, it also was clearly more accurate at certain points on the course when I looked at the GPS tracks afterwards. There were a couple of places where the Venu X1 swerved off the road and added distance, increasing my pace too, which I noticed in the race, while the Forerunner 970 stuck to the right path. Overall the Venu X1 is certainly accurate enough, but if you live in a city center or another area where GPS tracking can be more difficult, the upgrade you get from multi-band GPS might be appreciated. The lack of multi-band GPS is a small downside on the Venu X1, but its short battery life is a bigger drawback for those used to long-lasting Garmin watches. During the race it drained at a rate of 7.2% per hour, which would amount to just shy of 14 hours of all-systems GPS tracking, which is in line with Garmin's listed stats. The Forerunner 970 was also in line with Garmin's stats, draining at a rate 4.8% per hour, which adds up to almost 21 hours of more power-intensive multi-band GPS tracking. With my general use, with their screens set to always-on, the Venu X1 lasts me two days on a charge and the Forerunner 970 four or five days. Workouts using GPS really hammer the battery life of the Venu X1 — I did around 20 miles of running in total on Sunday because I did the race as part of a longer workout and those runs alone drained around 20% of its battery life. The Garmin Venu X1 is a great sports watch, but the Forerunner 970 is a better one purely on the basis of its extra GPS accuracy and battery life, and it performed better on race day. Whether you're happy to trade those in for the sleek design of the Venu X1 is another question, and one I still can't conclusively answer myself, though I would lead towards the Forerunner 970 if you do most of your outdoor activities in a city center. If you're in less built-up environments like myself the GPS accuracy won't be so noticeable and it is more a question of which design you prefer, with the Forerunner 970 having an edge for battery life and a slightly lower price.
Tom's Guide
07-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
Garmin Venu X1 review
The Garmin Venu X1 has most of the same features as the best Garmin watches, like the Forerunner 970 and Fenix 8, but a completely different design, with a vast AMOLED screen and thin, square case. It occupies its own niche within the Garmin range and looks built to rival the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in particular, offering better sports features and a slimmer design. However, the Venu X1 can't match the smarts of the Apple Watch, and its short battery life might put off traditional Garmin users. It's an intriguing addition to Garmin's range, and I've enjoyed using the Venu X1 as my main running watch during marathon training. In my Garmin Venu X1 review, I'll cover its pros and cons and compare it to other watches like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Garmin Forerunner 970. The Garmin Venu X1 launched in June 2025 and costs $799.99 in the U.S. and £679.99 in the U.K., which is a little more expensive than the Garmin Forerunner 970 and considerably pricier than past Venu models like the Garmin Venu 3. Garmin Venu X1 Garmin Forerunner 970 Apple Watch Ultra 2 Price $799 $749 $799 Case size 41 x 46 x 7.9mm 47 x 47 x 12.9mm 44 x 49 x 14.4mm Screen size 2 inches 1.4 inches 1.9 inches Resolution 448 x 486 pixels 454 x 454 pixels 410 x 502 pixels Screen material Sapphire crystal Sapphire crystal Sapphire crystal Weight 40g 56g 61g GPS battery life 16 hours 26 hours 12 hours Smartwatch battery life 8 days 15 days 36 hours Touchscreen Yes Yes Yes Built-in flashlight Yes Yes No Multi-band GPS No Yes Yes The Garmin Venu X1 is available in two colors — black and moss green — both of which come with a 24mm ComfortFit nylon band. There are two standout features of its design: the first of which is the 2-inch AMOLED screen. It's huge and very bright — I've actually reduced the brightness to its minimum setting, and it's still clear to read in all conditions. It's the biggest screen I've had on my wrist. However, the Venu X1 doesn't feel like a large watch, which is because of its second standout design feature, which is the fact it's just 7.9mm thick. That's considerably thinner than the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Forerunner 970, and with the Venu X1 also being a lightweight watch at 40g with its nylon band, it's extremely comfortable to wear 24/7. Despite being thin, the Venu X1 feels very sturdy thanks to the titanium caseback and sapphire crystal screen, with the rest of the thin 41 x 46mm case made from durable plastic. On top of the watch is a built-in flashlight similar to the ones on the Garmin Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970 watches. It's a very handy feature with four brightness settings and a red mode. It has two buttons as opposed to the five you usually get on Garmin sports watches, which means you mostly use the touchscreen to navigate the Venu X1's menus. The Venu X1 has Garmin's latest Elevate v5 heart rate sensor, along with a pulse oximeter and barometer, and you can connect external sensors, like heart rate chest straps and cycling power meters, via Bluetooth and ANT+. One thing it doesn't have is a GPS chipset capable of multi-band GPS tracking, which is more or less standard across the Garmin Forerunner and Fenix ranges. This is the most accurate GPS mode, and while the all-systems tracking you get on the Venu X1 is still very good, it's a shame it doesn't offer multi-band as well, which can be a useful upgrade when running in city centers in particular. The Venu X1 has a 5ATM waterproof rating and is suitable for pool and open-water swimming, but it's not a watch you can use for diving, unlike the Fenix 8 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Venu X1 is packed with sports modes, including golf, which looks amazing on the large AMOLED screen. It has Garmin's track run mode, dedicated triathlon and swimrun modes, and a host of winter sports and adventurous activities. All of these sports modes are fully customizable with regard to the data on show, and the bright display makes it easier to see your stats than ever. The relative lack of buttons compared with other Garmin watches means that you have to use the touchscreen to navigate through your data screen during activities, which can be tricky when your fingers are sweaty, or it's raining, or if you're wearing gloves. At launch, the Venu X1 was missing a couple of Garmin's new training analysis features, namely running tolerance and running economy measurements, but these have been added to the watch in a software update. These updates mean that the Venu X1 has all of Garmin's best sports tracking and training analysis tools (aside from multi-band GPS), making it just as capable as the Forerunner 970 and Fenix 8 and more feature-rich than anything available from other brands. The decision not to offer multi-band GPS on the Venu X1 is a strange one from Garmin, since it's available on cheaper sports watches like the Forerunner 570. Whatever the reason, I still got very accurate GPS tracking from the Venu X1 during testing from the all-systems GPS setting, which mostly matched multi-band watches like the Forerunner 970 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 when I compared them directly during races and other runs. There are occasions when multi-band GPS will offer an edge, though, especially in city centers when running under tall buildings. I've run the London Marathon several times and have noticed that multi-band watches are more accurate in the area around Canary Wharf, for example. Overall, the GPS accuracy on the Venu X1 has been great for me, and so has the heart rate accuracy, which I've checked against the readings from a Garmin HRM600 chest strap during my runs and other workouts. That's generally been the case for me when using watches that have Garmin's Elevate v5 sensor, which I find reliable and accurate. You might still want to pair the Garmin HRM600 strap with the Venu X1, however, because you need it to unlock the step speed loss and running economy measurements on the watch. The Garmin Venu X1 has the look of a smartwatch and offers some useful smart features, including NFC payments and music storage with the ability to sync with Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer premium accounts. It also has access to the Garmin Connect IQ apps store, which contains more watch faces, data fields and a few useful apps. However, it falls well short of the smarts you get on 'true' smartwatches like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which offer cellular connectivity, much better app stores, and are more useful day-to-day with things like train and plane ticket storage. Garmin's smart features haven't really moved on in a couple of years, and I think if they really want to take the fight to the likes of Apple, they will need cellular connectivity at least. The Venu X1 has Garmin's routable offline maps on board, which means you can create and follow routes on the watch itself. These maps look fantastic on the large, square display, and within sports modes, you can see several stats as well as your map. Along with the detailed maps, there are tools like an elevation plot for your routes and ClimbPro, which breaks out the climbs and descents on your routes so you can view them individually. This is very handy during runs, hikes and bike rides because you can see how much left of climbing you have to go in particular and pace yourself accordingly — there's nothing worse than pushing to what you think is the crest of a climb, only to turn a corner and see a lot more uphill to go. The Garmin Venu X1 tracks every aspect of your day and night, recording steps, active minutes, calories, floors climbed, stress throughout the day and your sleep and heart rate variability overnight. All the data is presented well on colorful graphs, and you get advice on how much sleep you need each night, too — right now I'm being told to get more than usual tonight, after poor sleep last night following an evening race (and some ill-advised post-race celebrations). You also get a breakdown of your day in the Evening Report, which you can customize the timing of, along with the information shown. This can include things like your workouts, sleep recommendations and a weather forecast for the following day. As you might expect, the big, bright screen on the Venu X1 hits battery life hard, and Garmin lists the battery life as two days in always-on mode and up to eight days with the screen set to raise-to-wake. Early on in my testing, the watch was falling short even of those numbers, needing to be charged every day. But since a software update, it's now actually exceeding them, usually lasting me just over two days in always-on mode with around an hour of running a day, plus indoor workouts. Long activities that use GPS hit battery life hard, though, with the Venu X1 offering 14 hours of all-systems GPS tracking. It's enough for most individual activities outside of epic hikes and ultramarathons, but shorter than most Garmin watches. If you look at other top AMOLED Garmins like the Forerunner 970 or Fenix 8, you can expect at least five days of battery life in always-on mode, and 10 days with the largest 51mm Fenix 8. Compared with other smartwatches, the Venu X1 matches the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and outlasts the Apple Watch Series 10. In raise-to-wake mode, it lasts significantly longer than all three, but as mentioned above, it isn't as smart as those devices. I recently reviewed the Garmin Forerunner 970 and felt it was a clear winner as the best sports watch available, with only the Garmin Fenix 8 a significant rival. However, the Garmin Venu X1 has grown on me substantially during testing. It's a genuine alternative to those watches if you prefer the larger display and lightweight, thin design over long battery life, with the only real other downside being the lack of multi-band GPS. However, when compared to true smartwatches, the Venu X1 suffers from the same problem as the Forerunner and Fenix range, in that it lacks some key smart features on Apple and Android devices, like cellular connectivity. I do like that Garmin has gone for something quite different with the Venu X1's design, and it could well win over some new fans and convert some traditional Garmin users. I might even fall into the latter camp myself.
Tom's Guide
30-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
I review running watches and these are my top 3 suggestions for most people
I've been testing and reviewing running watches for a decade and one thing I've noticed in that time is that I get a lot more people asking me which one to get during the summer. Which makes sense, right? There's no better time to start running or do more running than when the weather is warm and the days are long. I'm always happy to give advice because it's not easy to pick a running watch these days. Not only are traditional sports watch brands like Garmin, Suunto and Coros releasing more devices than ever, but smartwatches from the likes of Apple and Samsung have improved their run tracking a lot in recent years. Our full round-up of the best running watches available contains a multitude of options to suit different people, but for me it usually boils down to three main options when I'm suggesting a watch. Those are the top option overall when if money is no object, the greatest value running watch and the one I'd recommend for beginners. Here's what I consider to be my top trio right now. Best overall Garmin is the brand to beat when it comes to running watches and I think the Forerunner 970 is the top model in its range right now. It packs an incredible amount of features into its light but durable design and is a reliably accurate tracker that offers very detailed training analysis alongside some useful smarts like music storage and the best navigation tools available on a watch. If you simply want the best of the best, it's the running watch I recommend. Best value The Coros Pace 3 is a watch that has no right to be as affordable as it is, given the wealth of features it offers. Many of those features are traditionally the reserve of much more expensive options, such as breadcrumb navigation, accurate dual-band GPS and week-long battery life — that last one is especially remarkable given how small and lightweight the Pace 3 is. Runners of all levels will be satisfied by the features on offer here at a fraction of the price of top watches. Best For Beginners The Garmin Forerunner 165 is the ideal entry-level running watch thanks to its attractive design and easy-to-use interface, which will help you get to grips with your training data and how you can use it as you start out in the sport. It's also good value and a watch that frequently appears in sales, and also tracks a variety of sports well along with your general daily activity, in case you end up deciding that running isn't for you after all. Garmin Forerunner 970 Coros Pace 3 Garmin Forerunner 165 Price $749.99 / £629.99 $229 / £219 $249.99 / £249.99 standard; $299.99 / £289.99 music Size 47 x 47 x 12.9mm 41.9 x 41.9 x 11.7mm 43 x 43 x 11.6mm Display size 1.4in 1.2in 1.2in Display resolution 454 x 454 pixels AMOLED 240x240 pixels LCD 390x390 pixels AMOLED Bezel Titanium Plastic Plastic Screen Sapphire crystal Glass Glass Touchscreen Yes Yes Yes Weight 56g with silicone band 39g with silicone band 39g with silicone band Battery life 15 days watch, 26 hours GPS 15 days watch, 38 hours GPS 11 days watch, 19 hours GPS Dual-band GPS Yes Yes No Memory 32GB 4GB 4GB Water resistance 5ATM 5ATM 5ATM The top-end of Garmin's range is confusing, with the latest models like the Garmin Fenix 8, Enduro 3 and Forerunner 970 competing with each other and older watches like the Garmin Epix Pro, Forerunner 965 and Fenix 7 Pro. I think it's important to say that for the most part, these watches offer a very similar experience in terms of their features and design. The day-to-day sports tracking on all of them is excellent, and while the latest models have a few more bells and whistles, any of those older watches is worth looking for in the sales. However, we're not walking about bargain-hunting right now, and the Forerunner 970 stands out from the pack of Garmins because it has all the latest features in an impressively light and slim design that I think is better for runners than the bulkier Fenix 8. The design is also durable thanks to a titanium bezel and sapphire crystal screen — the latter is a key upgrade on the Forerunner 965, which I scratched— and the Forerunner 970 also has a built-in flashlight and a mic and speaker. I've had the Forerunner 970 strapped to my wrist since it launched and have run a couple of hundred miles with it including several races, and the accuracy can't be faulted. I have a lot of watches to pick from at home, and the Forerunner 970 is the one I use for my own marathon training. It also introduced some new features for runners to Garmin's range, including an estimate of your running economy and tolerance in terms of the training load you can handle. Plus, it's a very good-looking watch, in my opinion, with a bright AMOLED display that rivals what you get on any of the best smartwatches. Despite this impressive screen, the battery life is still four or five days with the screen always-on when running every day, which is good — though Garmin does offer watches with much longer battery life like the Enduro 3. Compared to the value and beginner watches I've picked out, the upgrades you get with a top-of-the-range device like the Forerunner 970 are a bigger, better screen, a more durable design, more training analysis features, offline maps and better navigation tools. Value can be a tricky thing to nail down with running watches, because if a watch doesn't do what you want or need it to, it's not good value, no matter how cheap it is. I think the Coros Pace 3 is the watch that offers the best balance of features and price for most people, but you might find that there are others that suit you better, especially in sales. For $230 you are getting a watch that offers dual-band GPS tracking that's as accurate as on watches that cost over $1,000, and Coros offers the same training analysis and advice across its range, so the Pace 3 is as good as the flagship Coros Vertix 2S watch on this front. While the all-plastic design of the Pace 3 might not suit everyone's taste and it's not as hardy as a metal, I like the small and lightweight watch, and it fits well on smaller wrists. The Pace 3 also comes in a range of colors and with different bands — I'd get a nylon band myself, they're more comfortable than the standard silicone one. For such a small watch the Pace 3's battery life is sensational. It routinely lasted me five or six days on a charge even with heavy use, and I wore it for a 50-mile ultramarathon during testing without any fear it would run out of juice during the race. Part of that long battery life is down to the memory-in-pixel screen, which is not as bright as an AMOLED watch, but it's still easy to read in all conditions. Whether you're a new runner or a veteran, the Pace 3 will tick all the boxes you really need from a watch, and it does so at a great price. I've recommended it so often it's become a regular sight on the wrists of people at my running club. Other watches I consider great value include the Suunto Run, an impressive entry-level AMOLED watch, and the Garmin Forerunner 965, which isn't cheap but is more affordable than most top-end Garmins with maps, especially in sales. I think one of the best things about modern running watches is the amount of guidance they can offer new runners to help them get off to a great start with the sport. The Garmin Forerunner 165 exemplifies this through daily suggested workouts, easy-to-understand training analysis, and even full training plans for events you can follow on your wrist. All of these can help you avoid the biggest pitfall for new runners, which is going too hard, too soon. This can risk injury or just make running feel like too much of a slog to carry on with, whereas a slow and steady introduction to the sport will hopefully create a long-lasting love for it. These are features available across Garmin's range, but the Forerunner 165 is more affordable, especially as it often features in sales now for $50 less than its MSRP. It comes in two models, one with music and one without. The music feature allows you to store MP3 files and sync over playlists from streaming services including Spotify, so you can run without your phone and listen to audio if you like. The lightweight plastic design is comfortable to wear 24/7 and there are some attractive colors to pick between in the Forerunner 165 range. The watch has an AMOLED screen and is stylish enough to wear outside of runs in my opinion, though I'm not necessarily a great barometer for style. While I recommend the each to new runners in particular, it has enough features for more experienced runners too, which I think is important — this isn't a watch you'll have to ditch a year after starting running because it doesn't do enough. Conversely, it also offers a lot outside of running, being a great activity and sleep tracker that also with a wide range of sports modes and some handy smart features including contactless payments alongside music. So if running doesn't take for you, and as much as I love it, I know it isn't a sport for everyone, the Forerunner 165 will still be a useful watch to have on your wrist. That's one reason I also rate the Apple Watch Series 10 as a great beginner running watch, because although it's not as sporty as the Forerunner 165, it's still a great tracker and has lots of appealing features outside of running too.
Tom's Guide
27-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
Garmin Forerunner 970 vs Apple Watch Ultra 2 — which should you buy?
So you're looking to upgrade your running watch, and you're trying to decide between the new Garmin Forerunner 970 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Forerunner 970 is Garmin's top-tier Forerunner model, packed with advanced training features, and brand new on the market. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is Apple's endurance smartwatch. To help you decide which is best for you, I've put the two watches head to head below. Before I jump into the comparison, it's worth stating the obvious — if you're an Android user, this decision is a simple one. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 won't work with anything other than an iPhone, so the best watch for you is the Garmin Forerunner 970, which is compatible with iOS and Android through the Garmin Connect app. If you'd prefer to read the reviews before deciding, check out the Garmin Forerunner 970 review and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 review on Tom's Guide . The Garmin Forerunner 970 is the newer of the two watches, and it's more expensive than its predecessor, the Forerunner 965. The Garmin Forerunner 970 costs $749.99 / £629.99, a considerable jump from the Garmin Forerunner 965, which is $599 / £599 and often reduced to under $500. When considering the price of the Forerunner 970, it's worth factoring in that some of its new features also require the Garmin HRM600 chest strap, which is $169.99 / £149.99 The Apple Watch Ultra 2 was released in September 2023. It costs $799/ £849, but is often discounted to closer to $700 in sales. It's a singular model, outfitted with cellular support. Winner: Apple Watch Ultra 2 — At full price, the Garmin watch is cheaper, but as the Ultra 2 has been around for a lot longer, you're likely to be able to pick it up for less than the cost of the Garmin Forerunner 970 right now. The Garmin Forerunner 970 is available now, and currently on sale on Amazon for $749. It offers an upgraded design over the Forerunner 965, and our testing found its tracking to be reliable and its training insights to be detailed. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is currently on sale on Amazon for $729. It features a brighter display than the original Ultra and adds support for double-tap features. The Garmin Forerunner 970 still looks very much like a Garmin — the watch is controlled via five different physical buttons, three on the left, two on the right, with a round 1.4-inch AMOLED screen. You can use the touchscreen to navigate around the watch, but it's automatically disabled in sports modes. Compared to the older model, the Forerunner 970 is harder wearing — it has a sapphire crystal display, which is more scratch-resistant than the Gorilla glass used on the Forerunner 965 and other Forerunner models. Other notable design features for the Forerunner 970 include a flashlight — until now that's feature's been reserved for Garmin's more expensive models. It also has Garmin's new Elevate v5 optical heart rate sensor, which is an upgrade on the v4 sensor on the Forerunner 965 and can be used to take ECG measurements. There's also a built-in microphone and speaker, allowing you to answer and make calls from your wrist. The watch only comes in one size, and is available in three different colors — black, white, and grey/gold. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 looks pretty much identical to its predecessor, the Apple Watch Ultra, which was Apple's first stab at an adventure watch. The Ultra 2 has a flat 49mm display, a protruding right-side button array, and an orange action button on the left side, which can be programmed as a quick launch for an assigned purpose. It doesn't come in alternative bezel colors, so it's down to your watch strap if you want to add some customization, and its one-size-fits-all approach may continue to deter those with smaller wrists. The main difference between the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 lies beneath the surface. The newer watch has the brand's S9 processor, which Apple claims is 25% more efficient, built on 5.6 billion transistors with 30% faster GPU animations and 4-core neural engines that enable machine learning twice as fast. It's also worth noting that from a sustainability standpoint, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the better pick. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is made of 95% recycled aluminum, a major improvement from the virgin material used in the first-gen model. Winner: It's a tie — beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Whether you prefer the rounder bezel of the Garmin or the boxier look of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, both look great on the wrist. If, like me, you have pretty petite wrists, you'll probably be wishing both came in a different size option; however, I do find the Forerunner 970 is slightly more comfortable, as the round face makes it feel smaller. Here's where things get interesting. If you're after a watch with a decent battery life, Garmin wins every time; however, the battery life of the Forerunner 970 isn't as impressive as that of some of the other best Garmin watches on the market. During testing, with the screen set to always-on, the Forerunner 970 lasted four or five days on a charge, running every day. In contrast, the Forerunner 965 would last seven days under the same conditions. According to Garmin, the Forerunner 970 will last 15 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 26 hours in GPS mode without music, and 14 hours in GPS mode with music. The Garmin Forerunner 965, on the other hand, lasted 23 days in smartwatch mode, 31 hours in GPS mode without music, and 8.5 hours in GPS mode with music. Despite this step back, Garmin comes out on top when compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 2's battery life. Like a lot of the best Apple Watches, the battery life on the Ultra 2 is one of the main things that would put me off using this watch for a marathon weekend abroad. The watch gets 36 hours of battery life with normal use. With low power mode, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 gets up to 72 hours of battery, increased from 60 hours offered through the original Ultra. That said, the Ultra 2 does charge quickly, so if you're the type of person who never forgets to keep your devices topped up, I wouldn't let this put you off. For me, however, I prefer to have a sports watch that I don't need to charge every other day. Winner: Garmin Forerunner 970 — due to that big, beautiful display, the battery life of the Forerunner 970 is slightly less than other Garmins on the market, but it still beats Apple. Both of these devices are designed to be worn 24/7, and are packed with features that'll help you train smarter and gain a better understanding of your overall health. Like a lot of the best Garmin watches, the Forerunner 970 will track your activities, sleep, step count, and calorie consumption, but the watch also has Garmin's advanced health features, like Body Battery. From a fitness perspective, the Forerunner 970 offers all the sports modes and stats you could ever want. It can double as a golf watch and also deliver extensive training load analysis, including heat and altitude acclimation, VO2 max and race time estimates, and a rating of your training readiness based on factors like sleep, stress and recent workouts. The Forerunner 970 also introduces some new features with a running economy rating, step speed loss measurements, and running tolerance, which estimates the training load you can tolerate safely each week. That said, to get the running economy and step speed loss measurements, you need to pair the Forerunner 970 with the Garmin HRM600 chest strap, which is a significant extra outlay. The data you can get from your Forerunner 970 is extensive, and there's now an evening report, as well as a morning report telling you the load your training has had on your body. There are also built-in maps for going off-road. On the other hand, Apple is yet to develop such in-depth training features, but it still does a lot more than just count your steps with its smartwatches. The Apple Watch Ultra has most of the traditional workout modes covered, and its more durable display and water resistance of up to 100 meters mean you could use it for sports like water skiing, windsurfing, and diving. You can also customize all of the data screens in each workout mode. From a mapping perspective, the Ultra 2 displays current elevation in real time and waypoints in a 3D view based on relative elevation. For hiking workouts, there's a more detailed topographic map that flags points of interest. Nearby trail information appears upon starting a hike, providing insights on the trail length, type, and difficulty. From a safety perspectiv,e the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has crash detection, tracking (using the Find My feature), and a siren. With the forthcoming watchOS 26 release, you'll be able to use the new Workout Buddy feature, which uses Apple Intelligence, coupled with your training and health data, to provide up-to-the-minute information, stats, and motivation during your workouts. Both watches have female health tracking, allowing you to monitor your cycle and track your pregnancy. Apple uses skin temperature readings to estimate your ovulation date, and can be connected to the female health tracking app Natural Cycles to be used as birth control. At the time of writing, Garmin can't. Another big difference between the two watches is how you view your data. Garmin uses the Garmin Connect app, which displays your data in different boxes, starting with your day's activity, followed by a glance at your heart rate, intensity minutes, calories burned, and stress. Click on any of these boxes and you take a deeper dive into your data. Apple uses the Apple Health app, where you can pin exactly what you want to see to the top, and scroll through your sleep, steps, and activities below. Both are packed with information, and they're pretty intuitive once you're used to using them. For me, though, the user experience with Garmin Connect is slightly better. Winner: Garmin Foreunner 970 — as a sports watch, the Forerunner 970 has all you could ever need and more. There's no reason why you couldn't train for a race and execute it well with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, but new features like running economy make the Forerunner 970 stand out. As mentioned above, both of these watches are designed to be worn when you're not exercising, but one of them handles those non-exercise activities a lot better than the other. I used my Apple Watch to find my phone, connect seamlessly to my AirPods, and reply to texts from my wrist. I've lost count of the number of times I've used Apple Pay on a run, and if you're part of the Apple ecosystem, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 fits in seamlessly. It's like having an iPhone on your wrist. The Garmin Forerunner 570, on the other hand, just doesn't compare from a smartwatch perspective. It's little things — there's still not a great mix of default watch faces, for example (and third-party watch faces fill me with dread). When someone messages you or gives you kudos on Apple Watch, the notifications you receive come with a little photo of the person. On Garmin, it's just text — of course, this isn't the be-all and end-all, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 feels like a better smartwatch. That said, the Forerunner 970 has a lot of great features. These include the new mic and speaker, which you can use to issue voice commands like "start a timer" or activate your phone's voice assistant. There's music storage, and you can stream from Spotify on your watch, plus there's Garmin Pay on board. Winner: Apple Watch Ultra 2 — there's no doubt about it, if you're after a smartwatch, the Ultra 2 is the better choice. So which watch should you buy? The answer depends on what you're hoping to get from the watch. The Forerunner 970 is, without a doubt, one of the best running watches on the market, and one of the best Garmin watches I've ever tested. The bright screen, the flashlight, the mic and speaker, plus the new features, really make it stand out from the crowd. But it's expensive for a Forerunner, and it might make it harder to justify buying. The Apple Watch Ultra 2, on the other hand, is an extension of your iPhone on your wrist. It's the best running watch Apple makes, and it's a fantastic smartwatch when you're not running. It's also likely to be cheaper than the Garmin, as it's the older watch. If you're on a budget, and you're not bothered about the flashlight or built-in maps, the Garmin Forerunner 570 is the more affordable option. Other older watches that stand out are the Garmin Epix Pro, which comes in three different sizes, and has a bright, beautiful AMOLED screen. Whichever you choose, you'll be able to easily get through a marathon training cycle with a fantastic watch on your wrist. If you're serious about training, however, and you can afford it, I'd say the Garmin Forerunner 970 is one of the best running watches on the market right now.
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.
