It’s been a little over two years since Garmin released the Forerunner 265 and 965.
When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem that long ago. But it seems like every week, someone is on r/Garmin asking about rumors on the newest Forerunner – and whether they should wait before making a purchase.
Well, they can finally stop waiting. This week, Garmin released the details on its newest watches: the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970.
They’re not actually available for purchase until May 21, but with the released specs and some early reviews, we can start thinking about where these watches fit in – and how they’re (re)shaping the line-up of Forerunners.
So let’s take a look at what’s new with the Forerunner 570 and 970, where they fit in, and how they compare to older models. I’ll be back in a week or two with a more detailed comparison of each model to its predecessors if you’re considering an upgrade, so today we’ll keep things kind of high level.
What’s New With the Garmin Forerunner 570 and 970?
These two new watches incorporate some existing Garmin technology into the Forerunner line, and they’re also the first watches to get some new software features. Some of those software features lean heavily into triathlons, but there are some that will be useful for all runners.
Hardware Changes and Upgrades
The big hardware upgrades are a) the microphone and speaker, b) the Elevate 5 heart rate sensor, and c) the flashlight.
In late 2023, when Garmin announced the Venu 3, it introduced a microphone and speaker which allowed you to make calls and access your phone’s voice assistant directly from your watch. Since then, the feature has rolled out to some additional products, like the fenix 8. Now, this feature is available on both of these new Forerunners. Note that you still need your Bluetooth connected phone to actually make this useful.
In 2023, Garmin introduced a new heart rate sensor – the Elevate 5. Initially, it was included with the fenix 7 Pro product line. Since then, it’s been a point of contention for some users who wondered why the Forerunner 265/295 shipped with the older Elevate 4 sensor. Now, both the 570 and 970 include the Elevate 5 sensor – although only the 970 includes the additional ECG functionality.
The final big upgrade is the LED flashlight. This is only for the Forerunner 970, and it seems silly. But it’s one of the things I love most about my fenix 7S Pro. I simply could not go back to a watch that didn’t have this flashlight. Many of Garmin’s new mid to high level watches include this flashlight, and now it’s an option in the Forerunner line.
The announcement also includes a vague reference to improved battery life. This is going to take a little more analysis to fully understand, because at first glance the advertised battery life is lower in smartwatch mode. But when you compare some of the individual use cases, the Forerunner 570/970 does have better advertised battery life.
So there’s probably multiple factors at play here, and it’s more complicated than just “better” or “worse” battery life.
The other hardware change is that the new Forerunners includes more premium materials. Specifically, the Forerunner 970 now has sapphire glass – a step up from the regular Gorilla glass used on the other Forerunners. The 570 has an aluminum bezel, which sets it apart from the polymer bezel used by the Forerunner 265 and lower.
Software and Feature Improvements
The Forerunner line has always had a demarcation between the running watches and the triathlon watches. Both the Forerunner 570 and 970 double down on the triathlon focus of the higher-end Forerunners.
You can now create multi-sport workouts. Previously, if you wanted to do a custom track workout followed by a custom swim, you’d have to create two different workouts. You can now build all of those steps into one workout.
You can also create triathlon training plans. Previously, Garmin’s coaching plans were run-focused. But now you can set up a plan with a week’s worth of activities that’s tailored towards triathletes.
A couple nifty little running features are auto-lap by timing gates and suggested finish line. Anyone who has ever run a race knows the frustration of GPS inaccuracies. These features will help make sure your laps are tied to actual mile markers and that your activity is trimmed to the finish line if you forget to hit stop. I really want to try this feature out to see how well the auto-lap works.
A simple new UI / software feature is evening report – a summary and reminder about some things for the next day. I do like the morning report feature, so I’d be interested in this. It’s minor, but it’s probably useful. Hopefully, they port it back to some older product lines in their future software updates.
On the Forerunner 970, specifically, there’s also a new running tolerance feature. This will help you “better understand the impact each run has on the body and receive a recommended weekly maximum mileage to help keep training on track.” I’ll earmark this as potentially helpful – but I’m really curious to see how this plays out in practice.
Then, there are a couple features – running economy and step speed loss – which are only available if you use the (also newly released) HRM 600 with the Forerunner 570. I’m interested to see how the running economy data works, but I’ll reserve judgement until I see it in practice.
Where Does the Garmin Forerunner 570 Fit In?
It’s obvious that the Forerunner 970 is a direct upgrade to the Forerunner 965.
But where does the Forerunner 570 fit in?
It’s an upgrade – in terms of both feature and cost – from the Forerunner 265. But the naming convention suggests it’s more like a new product tier than a direct step up.
For the last few years, Forerunners have somewhat neatly fallen into three tiers – the entry level (55/165), the mid level (255/265) and the high level (965).
But previously, there was another level kind of in between the 2XX and the 9XX. There was, for a time, a 6XX high end running watch that was a step down from the 9XX. There was also a 7XX which, until the 255, was the first level to include triathlon features.
The Forerunner 745 became redundant when the Forerunner 255 came out and included triathlon features. But the 570 seems like it may be a revival of that upper middle tier – more features than the 265, with a heavier focus on multisport athletes, but not quite as good as the 970.
Besides the fact that it’s newer and includes some brand new features, the 570 has two things that distinguish it from the 265. It’s got a higher quality, aluminum bezel – which situates it more as a premium-ish watch. It also has most of the golf features from the 9XX, which the Forerunner 265 lacks.
But at the same time, the 570 still doesn’t have some of the premium features that set the 9XX apart – like full featured maps and Strava live segments.
I think the big question moving forward is whether the new triathlon features will migrate down to the Forerunner 265 or not. If they do, it’s going to muddy the waters and leave very little distinction between the different lines.
But if you need to upgrade to the 570 for multisport custom activities and triathlon coaching plans, that’ll create a more clear division between the more serious triathlon watches vs the entry level triathlon watches.
What Do These Watches Suggest About the Future of Garmin?
One thing is notably absent here – any MIP options.
The Forerunner 970 and Forerunner 570 only come with AMOLED screens. The previous 965/265 watches were basically AMOLED versions of the existing 255/955 watches that had MIP screens.
Garmin has been leaning into AMOLED screens with its new launches, but they maintained a MIP option for the fenix line and the Instinct line. This release seems to suggest that MIP won’t be an option for Forerunners in the future – unless maybe they do a MIP refresh of the 55 / 265.
The triathlon coaching plan is an interesting addition. Recently, they added strength workouts to the coaching plans. Now they have triathlon options. On the one hand, it looks like they’re trying to round out the coaching plan options to pull more people into them.
But this may also be tied to their plans for Garmin Connect+ – since Plus includes “exclusive coaching guidance.” More people in coaching plans means more potential subscribers for their premium subscription … which otherwise is pretty pointless right now.
It’s also interesting that they de-coupled the Elevate 5 heart rate sensor from the ECG app. Recently, they’ve still been releasinng new watches with the old Elevate heart rate sensor – see the Vivoactive 6. And it seemed to me like the Elevate 4 vs Elevate 5 was more about premium vs economy than about new vs old.
But this is, I think, the first time they’ve released a watch with the new Elevate 5 heart rate sensor without the ECG app. I have a feeling that’s going to be the likely move in the future for their other entry level watches. Instead of a full upgrade to the Elevate 5, they’ll get the version that’s now on the Forerunner 570.
Finally, prices are going up. This isn’t a new trend. The Forerunner 965/265 pushed the price point of the mid and high end Forerunners up. The fenix 8 pushed up the price point on the higher tier, premium watches.
I think the change in the fenix 8 created some room for them to bump up the price on the Forerunner 970 – which now retails for $750 (up from $600 for the 965). And the Forerunner 570 is $550 – higher than the 265 ($450). It creates a larger spread between the Forerunner tiers, which were otherwise getting very close in price.
The bad news is that these watches are getting more expensive. But the good news is that when new models come out, old models tend to get cheaper. So this could be a good time to look at a 265 / 965 if you’re happy with the features on those watches.
How Do They Compare to Other Garmins?
I’ll come back and do some more in depth individual comparisons later. But here are a few first thoughts.
The 970 is a clear upgrade from the 965. It’s got the microphone and speaker, the new heart rate sensor, the flashlight, and sapphire glass along with some new features. Some of those software features might get ported back to the 965, but the hardware improvements won’t.
Is it worth a $250 premium? Good question. Maybe in some cases. Probably not in most. If you were eying up a Forerunner 965, it’ll probably be a good deal moving forward.
On the other end, the Forerunner 970 is creeping closer to the fenix 8. With these latest improvements, there’s a lot less daylight between the two watches. For many runners, the 970 will probably be just as good as the fenix 8 at a fraction of the cost.
The 570 is in a weird spot. If you really want the microphone, you can opt for the cheaper Venu 3. If you really want running features, you can opt for a much cheaper 265. If you want to lean in the premium multisport features, why not go all out with the Forerunner 970?
Right now, this is a niche position. Some people who would have gotten a Forerunner 265 might see value in the upgrade. But it’s threading the needle on some very specific wants.
The Bottom Line on the Forerunner 570 and 970
People have been waiting for this. So is this something to be excited about?
On the one hand, there are some predictable hardware improvements. Nothing is brand new here. The LED flashlight, Elevate 5 heart rate sensor, and microphone have all been around on other watches. But now, the Forerunner 970 really is a high end running watch with the latest hardware.
The Forerunner 570 is positioned a little strangely. It’s not clear what is going to happen with the 265. Will it get its own refresh? Will it get the multisport workouts and triathlon coach? Or is the 570 going to re-introduce that distinction between the running watches and the triathlon watches?
I wasn’t waiting with baited breath for the new release, because frankly I wasn’t sure what kind of new features they could roll out. But I will say that the new auto-lap feature could be really useful during races. And the evening report sounds like it might be nice.
Neither of these are game changers, but they’re both “nice to have.” And they’re less gimmicky than some of the data related features that have questionable utility.
What did you think about these new watches? Are you excited about the release – or did you think it was a dud?