Garmin Releases Long-Awaited Forerunner 570 and 970 Watches

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The long-awaited successor to the Garmin Forerunner 965 was announced today, and it’s the $749.99 Forerunner 970 with voice calling, triathlon coaching, and an LED flashlight. With it, instead of just an update to the little sister 265 , we’re getting a watch at a completely new place in the Forerunner line: the Forerunner 570 ($549.99). Read on for the biggest new features and my first impressions of whether it’s worth the extra splurge compared to older models. Both models will be available to order on May 21, 2025.

A primer on confusing Garmin model names

To help you navigate, the first digit of a Forerunner’s part number tells you where it sits in the product line, and the last two digits tell you how new it is. Up until now, the newest models have been the 165 , 265 , and 965 , with the 165 being the budget model and the 965 being the top of the line Forerunner.

So the 970 is a newer version of the 965, the same basic watch with a few upgrades. But the 570 is a new entry in the lineup, costs more than the 265, and Garmin is probably hoping that some 265 users will be willing to shell out for a fancier watch to get the new features.

How is the 570 different from the 265?

The new Forerunner 570 is a watch that has everything the Forerunner 265 had, plus a few new extra features. (It’s also more expensive and has slightly worse battery life, but we’ll get to that later.) Here are the most important things the 570 has that the 265 doesn’t:

  • Voice calls and text messages , as well as voice commands

  • A new evening report that tells you how much sleep you should get, as well as what weather and workout to expect in the morning.

  • Triathlon training instead of forcing you to choose between running and cycling

  • Automatic race lap with timing gates (the clock will adjust your mileage as you pass the gate)

  • Finish line trim for races (if you’ve downloaded a course, you won’t have to stop the watch when you cross the finish line – the watch will continue recording and then later ask if you want to trim your activity to end at the finish line)

The 570 is available in 47mm and 42mm, similar to the 265 and 265S (46mm and 42mm respectively). Luckily for me, the guy who has to write about both watches, they’ve ditched the “S” naming system, so instead of calling the smaller watch the “570S” as if it were a completely different watch, there’s just the 570, which comes in two sizes.

Here are some less exciting, but still new, features on the 570 that aren’t on the 265:

  • Sharper screen – 454×454 resolution instead of 416×416, and Garmin claims it’s their brightest AMOLED screen to date (sorry to those hoping for an old-school MIP display )

  • Skin temperature sensor

  • More types of triathlon training, including brick and pool triathlon

  • Heat and Altitude Acclimatization Indicators

  • The speaker and microphone allow you to play music directly from your wrist.

  • Features of the game of golf

There are two major downsides to the new watches, though. One is battery life: the 265 and 265S get 13-15 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, while the new 570 gets 10-11 days. Actual use, including exercise, cuts the battery life by a few days, so expect about a week.

What do you think at the moment?

Another is price. The new Forerunner 570 costs $549.99 , while the Forerunner 265 originally cost $449.99 and is now selling for $349.99 as I write this. The bump in the first digit of the model name should make us feel like we’re getting a nicer watch, but is it really worth paying the extra $200? I’m not sure.

What is the difference between 970 and 965?

The Forerunner 970 is an improved version of the Forerunner 965 , although it still has shorter battery life and a higher price. But it might be worth it considering these updates:

  • The LED flashlight on the front of the watch is, yes , a flashlight, not just an option to turn the screen white.

  • Sapphire crystal instead of glass on the watch dial

  • ECG readings

  • A running tolerance score that estimates how many more miles your body can handle so you know when you’re doing “too much”

  • Running Economy Score , which measures how efficiently you run

  • Stride slowdown is a running dynamics measure that describes how much you slow down once your foot hits the ground—but it requires the new HRM 600 heart rate monitor.

The 970 also has all the same core features as the 965 (including maps) and only comes in one size like the 965. The new 970 also has everything I described in the 570 above, including voice calls and texts, evening reports, triathlon coaching, and race day lap and fit features. The 970 is an AMOLED watch, not a MIP as some have suggested.

Battery life has dropped quite a bit, to 15 days in smartwatch mode compared to 23 days on the previous 965. (Again, real-world use with activities will be a bit shorter, so subtract a few days.) The price has also jumped significantly: The 970 costs $749.99 , while the 965 started at $599.99, and the 965 now retails for $499.99 . Personally, I’m not sure if the upgrades are worth the price increase, but it’s certainly a nicer watch.

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