Smartwatches and fitness trackers beta · Garmin
Triathletes and runners keep the Forerunner 970 for workout tracking and long battery life, and some pair it with an Apple Watch because the everyday smartwatch features fall short.
Both owners who mentioned battery life were positive. One triathlete named long battery life and robust training data as the two things they need from it, and an owner who swaps between this and an Apple Watch S10 said the Garmin wins on battery. This is only two accounts, so it is a pattern to watch rather than a settled verdict.
Both owners who raised smartwatch features were negative. One missed unlocking the car and approving 2FA logins from the wrist after leaving an Apple Watch, and another said the Apple Watch beats it on smart features. Two accounts is too few for a verdict.
The Forerunner 970 is Garmin's top running and triathlon watch. It has a color screen, built-in maps, and tracks your pace, heart rate and training load. It is meant for serious runners and triathletes who want detailed training data on their wrist.
| Display | 1.4 in (35.3 mm) AMOLED, 454 x 454 pixels, sapphire crystal lens |
|---|---|
| Battery life | Up to 15 days (smartwatch mode); up to 26 hours (GPS only); about 21 hours (multi-band GPS) |
| Water resistance | Swim, 5 ATM |
| GPS | Multi-band GNSS with SatIQ |
| Health sensors | Elevate Gen 5 wrist heart rate, ECG, Pulse Ox blood oxygen, skin temperature |
| Works with | iPhone and Android phones (Garmin Connect app) |
| Weight | 56 g |
| Warranty |
From the maker's spec page, checked October 11, 2026. A blank row means the maker does not state it.
5 ATM means you can swim laps or shower with it on, but it isn't made for diving. With normal daily use you charge it about every two weeks, and the battery lasts more than a full day of GPS tracking, which is enough for a marathon or a long triathlon. Multi-band GPS keeps your route and pace more accurate in cities, forests and mountains. At 56 g it weighs about the same as a large egg.
Pick up to three. You get a page with just those, side by side, on the subjects owners raised.
What keeps people using it is activity tracking. One owner said it is great for actively tracking runs and mountain biking, and another called it better than an Apple Watch for workouts and fitness tracking. A triathlete who runs marathons pointed to the training side as the draw: readiness indication, training programs, and post-workout analysis that adapts the plan. Owners also said the battery lasts well.
The adjustment is what the watch does away from the workout. Two owners compared it unfavorably to an Apple Watch for smart features and daily convenience, and one is considering trying the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Sleep tracking is divided, with one account for and one against. One owner stopped wearing it to bed after it gave a top readiness score following a night of almost no sleep. Heart rate accuracy has one positive account, and a separate commenter argued that the independent tests behind claims of who is best are less conclusive than they look.
Little in these accounts speaks directly to durability. One owner said a screen went black a couple of weeks after they started swimming, about four months into a stretch of swimming. The excerpt does not make clear which watch that was or what they did about it, so we are not counting it as a confirmed Garmin failure.
The long-term evidence is thin. Nine accounts were labelled, the longest timeframe anyone gave was about four months, and no one described a repair, a warranty claim, or a fix. We can say little about how the 970 holds up after a year or more of use.
From 3 owner accounts that said how long they have had it. Own one? Add how long yours has lasted.
Nothing with a clear majority yet. Owners who raised these subjects were split, or too few to judge.
Nothing has a clear majority against it yet. Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
9 more subjects came up from fewer than 4 owners each, which is not enough for a fair reading. To see how it stacks up, compare it with another machine.
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Two questions: how long you have had it, and anything you would like to say about it. Then we ask again as it ages. This helps our mission.
More in smartwatches and fitness trackers: Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch 5, Garmin Venu 3.
Among the 3 owner accounts here that gave a duration, 0 described a failure.
Before you buy one used, ask the seller: how old it is, whether it was ever repaired and by whom, and whether any of the parts above have been replaced. Ask to see it run. A receipt tells you the warranty start date; most makers honour the term only for the first owner.
Public discussions we read and summarised in our own words. Nothing here was submitted to Still Kicks.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
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