Garmin premiered its new Forerunner 570 and 970 watches today, and if you’ve ever experienced your heart sinking during a marathon because your Garmin’s mile notification was way off compared to course mile markers, then you’ll be thrilled to know the brand has remedied this issue with its new slew of Forerunners.
To celebrate the launch of its Forerunner 570 ($550), 970 ($750), and HRM 600 ($170), Garmin held a small event in New York City where the company's product manager Joe Heikes demoed the three models before a group run in Central Park.
Hardware Upgrades
The 570 comes in two sizes: 42mm and 47mm — ideal if you’re a runner like me who can easily slip concert bracelets off my wrist. The 570 has an aluminum bezels and translucent band options (I’m wearing one in their orange sherbet colorway). The 970 has a titanium bezel and durable sapphire lens with a built-in LED flashlight.
The watches have speakers and microphones (like the Fenix), allowing you to do voice commands and play music, though the sound quality obviously won’t match what you hear wearing headphones.
The set of watches features new AMOLED displays that are the brightest that Garmin has put in a wearable. They're “Roughly twice as bright as the previous generation,” said Heikes. “It’s especially beneficial on a bright sunny day.”
Because of these upgrades, the biggest caveat is shorter battery life compared to the brand’s other Forerunners. In smartwatch mode, the battery life of the 965 is 23 days, 13 for the 265. The 570 42mm is 10 days, 47mm 11 days, and 970 15 days. “Still plenty to run a 100-miler,” said Heikes.
System Upgrades
For runners training for triathlons or adding other activities to their workout, Garmin added Tri-Coach and multisport workout capabilities. You can group your ride, run, swim, stairclimber, HIIT in one workout instead of having to log each separately.
Garmin listened to runners who weren't happy with how accurate the race predictions were. The old version guessed race-day performance. The updated feature now projects your finish time by looking at your training plan and the race date you put in, as long as you stick to the plan.
New Evening Report
Love when your Garmin gives you a morning report of how you slept, your HRV, and a little affirmation to get your day started? The 570 and 970 now have evening reports to remind you what your workout is tomorrow and what the weather will be like so you can plan ahead. It's basically a calendar-and-journal-ready machine on your wrist.
New Race Mile Marker Auto-Lap
Here’s where runners at the event expressed audible excitement. The new auto-lap feature records mile markers according to the “known course” (this feature is dependent on Garmin’s library of major races, such as New York and Chicago) instead of using GPS. In other words, instead of your watch notifying you ran 25 miles before you so much as see the Mile 25 sign, it’ll log the mile split right at that marker. This is especially helpful if you tend to beeline for a port-a-potty several times midrace (Hi! That’s me!).
Hey—sometimes we forget to press stop after racing 26.2. Fortunately, the watches also give you a prompt if you forget to end your run after a race. The watch will suggest ending the run and trim those extra steps back.
New Running Dynamics Measurement
In conjunction with using the HRM 600, the 970 has a new "Step Speed Loss" measurement. Step Speed Loss measures the amount of velocity you lose with every step. In short, it measure breaking force using centimeters per second. This helps to more accurately determine running economy. Long term running history is also used (i.e., average monthly running volume). Your watch will show where you fall compared to the general running population, according to Garmin’s metrics.
Running Tolerance will also determine how much you can increase your running volume overtime. This feature isn’t a crystal ball to determine if you’ll get injured, but it can potentially determine when you plateau. This value will adjust as you train overtime.
These new Garmin 570 and 970 watches are a pretty big deal for athletes. With the seriously cool race prediction tools to help you understand your training better, on top of the personalized and accurate insights, it's an exciting step forward for the brand. We're really excited about how these improvements can help athletes train more efficiently and crush their goals.
Both watches and the HRM 600 will be available to buy on May 21 at garmin.com.
Shop the Forerunner 970 at garmin.com
Shop the Forerunner 570 at garmin.com
Shop the HRM 600 at garmin.com
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Amanda Furrer, Editor, Running Reviews, studied journalism at NYU and writing at Emerson College. She has reviewed gear and covered other topics in the running space for almost 10 years. Since 2013, she has consecutively run the Boston Marathon. She also has a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and was formerly a professional baker for two years before hanging up her apron.
