Forerunner 970: Garmin replaces Forerunner 965 with new smartwatch that arrives for $749
Earlier today, the first concrete details about the Forerunner 970 appeared online after Garmin inadvertently highlighted the smartwatch on a support page. Surprisingly, the Forerunner 970 is now official alongside the Forerunner 570, full details of which we have covered separately.
In short, the Forerunner 970 effectively succeeds the Forerunner 965 in Garmin's lineup. However, the former is considerably more expensive than the latter at $749.99 in the US and €749.99 in the Eurozone. As a result, the Forerunner series now gets within just $50 of the Fenix line, which starts at $799.99 with the Fenix E (curr. $599.99 on Amazon).
For that price increase, Garmin has installed a brighter AMOLED display than the equivalent in the Forerunner 965. Spanning 1.4-inches in diameter, the display outputs at 454 x 454 pixels and sits within a 47 mm case that weighs 56 g. On top of that, Garmin protects the large display with a Sapphire Crystal lens, which it complements with a titanium bezel.
Other new features include Garmin's Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, as well as ECG and skin temperature monitoring. The Forerunner 970 offers Evening reporting functionality unlike the Forerunner 965 too, plus voice commands, Bluetooth calling and voice assistant support thanks to built-in microphones and speakers.
Garmin adds that the Forerunner 970 should last up to 15 days when used in smartwatch mode or 12 hours with all GNSS systems activated and music playing. The new smartwatch provides turn-by-turn map support as well, along with 32 GB of built-in memory for storing offline maps. The Forerunner 970 will be available to order from May 21 in three finishes. Please see Garmin's website for more details.
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