Garmin Forerunner 970 / Apple Watch Series 7 (45 mm, GPS)

Garmin Forerunner 970: 47 mm · 010-02969-xx (colour options)

Apple Watch Series 7 (45 mm, GPS): Apple Watch Series 7, 45 mm aluminium case, GPS model. The 41 mm case, GPS + Cellular, stainless steel and titanium versions are separate configurations with different display area and weight.

Specification	Garmin Forerunner 970	Apple Watch Series 7 (45 mm, GPS)
Release year	2025	2021
Announcement and sale	Announced 15 May 2025; on Garmin.com from 21 May 2025 Garmin	—
Part numbers	010-02969-00, 010-02969-01, 010-02969-02 The numbers correspond to colour options; the US page does not map each number to a colour. The page image belongs to 010-02969-01, Whitestone case with Whitestone/Amp Yellow band. Garmin	—
Case	47 mm; titanium bezel Garmin	—
Lens	Sapphire crystal The Forerunner 965 used Gorilla Glass 3 DX; sapphire is more scratch-resistant. Garmin	—
Display	AMOLED touchscreen; five-button design Garmin calls it its brightest AMOLED yet but publishes no nit figure. Touch and buttons can be used together. Garmin	Always-On Retina LTPO OLED; 396 × 484 pixels; 1,143 mm² display area; 1,000 nits brightness The 41 mm case has 352 × 430 pixels and 904 mm² of display area. The LTPO panel lowers its refresh rate when the wrist is down so the screen can stay on. Apple
Flashlight	Built-in LED flashlight; adjustable brightness, strobe and red light Red light disturbs night vision less in the dark. Garmin	—
Speaker and microphone	Built-in; call handling with a compatible phone and voice commands Garmin	—
Health sensors	Wrist-based heart rate (PPG); ECG app; skin temperature The ECG app screens for signs of atrial fibrillation; it is for adults 22 and over and is not available in every region. Garmin	Blood oxygen sensor (Blood Oxygen app); electrical heart sensor (ECG app); third-generation optical heart sensor Blood oxygen readings are not for medical use. The ECG app and irregular rhythm notification need the latest watchOS/iOS and are not intended for people under 22. Apple
Running metrics	Running tolerance; running economy and step speed loss (with HRM 600) Running tolerance suggests a weekly maximum distance. Running economy and step speed loss need the separately sold HRM 600 chest strap. Garmin	—
Battery type	Rechargeable built-in lithium-ion Garmin	—
Battery (smartwatch)	Up to 15 days With activity tracking, notifications and wrist heart rate; Garmin notes active features affect the result. Garmin	—
Battery (GNSS)	GPS only 26 hours; Auto Select 23 hours; All systems + multi-band 21 hours With music the figures are 14, 13 and 12 hours. Multi-band uses several satellite frequencies to improve accuracy in cities and valleys at the cost of more power. Garmin	—
Storage	Up to 32 GB media storage Used for music and maps; this is not RAM. Garmin	32 GB Apple
Water rating	Swim, 5 ATM Withstands pressure equivalent to 50 m depth; it is not a dive watch. Garmin	—
Operating temperature	-20 °C to 60 °C; charging 0–45 °C Garmin	—
Wireless frequencies	2.4 GHz (17 dBm maximum); 13.56 MHz NFC 13.56 MHz is the NFC band used for contactless payments. Garmin	—
Maps	Built-in maps Garmin	—
Chip	—	S7 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor; W3 wireless chip; U1 (Ultra Wideband) Ultra Wideband availability varies by region. Apple
Motion and safety	—	Accelerometer up to 32 g-forces with fall detection; gyroscope; ambient light sensor; Emergency SOS On the GPS model, Emergency SOS needs the iPhone nearby or a known Wi-Fi network with Wi-Fi Calling; international emergency calling is only on the GPS + Cellular model. Apple
Location	—	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; compass; always-on altimeter Apple
Connectivity	—	Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 2.4 and 5 GHz; Bluetooth 5.0 LTE/UMTS is only on GPS + Cellular models. Apple
Battery and charging	—	Up to 18 hours; built-in lithium-ion battery; USB-C magnetic fast charging cable Apple’s battery test was done in August 2021 with preproduction watches paired to an iPhone; actual life varies with use and settings. The fast-charge test used the A2515 cable and a 20 W USB-C adapter; the adapter is not in the box. Apple
Durability	—	Water resistant to 50 metres under ISO 22810:2010; IP6X dust resistant; ceramic and sapphire crystal back Suitable for shallow-water activities such as swimming in a pool or the sea; not for scuba diving, waterskiing or high-velocity water. Apple
Size and weight	—	45 × 38 × 10.7 mm; aluminium: 38.8 g The 45 mm stainless steel case weighs 51.5 g and titanium 45.1 g. Apple
Compatibility	—	Requires iPhone 6s or later with the latest iOS Per Apple’s launch documentation; some features are unavailable when the watch is set up through Family Setup. Apple
Colours	—	Aluminium: Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, (PRODUCT)RED Apple