Garmin Forerunner 970 / Apple Watch Ultra (49 mm, 1st generation)

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

Apple Watch Ultra (49 mm, 1st generation): Apple Watch Ultra, 49 mm natural titanium case, GPS + Cellular. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Ultra 3 are separate models.

SpecificationGarmin Forerunner 970Apple Watch Ultra (49 mm, 1st generation)
Release year20252022
Announcement and saleAnnounced 15 May 2025; on Garmin.com from 21 May 2025 Garmin—
Part numbers010-02969-00, 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
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Case47 mm; titanium bezel Garmin—
LensSapphire crystal

The Forerunner 965 used Gorilla Glass 3 DX; sapphire is more scratch-resistant.

Garmin
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DisplayAMOLED touchscreen; five-button design

Garmin calls it its brightest AMOLED yet but publishes no nit figure. Touch and buttons can be used together.

Garmin
LTPO2 OLED always-on Retina; 410 × 502 pixels; 1185 mm² display area; up to 2000 nits

LTPO lets the refresh rate drop very low, so the screen can stay on without draining the battery. 2000 nits was twice as bright as any earlier Apple Watch display.

Apple
FlashlightBuilt-in LED flashlight; adjustable brightness, strobe and red light

Red light disturbs night vision less in the dark.

Garmin
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Speaker and microphoneBuilt-in; call handling with a compatible phone and voice commands Garmin—
Health sensorsWrist-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
Electrical heart sensor (ECG); third-generation optical heart sensor; blood oxygen sensor

Availability of the ECG and blood oxygen apps varies by country.

Apple
Running metricsRunning 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
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Battery typeRechargeable 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
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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
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StorageUp to 32 GB media storage

Used for music and maps; this is not RAM.

Garmin
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Water ratingSwim, 5 ATM

Withstands pressure equivalent to 50 m depth; it is not a dive watch.

Garmin
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Operating temperature-20 °C to 60 °C; charging 0–45 °C Garmin−20 °C to 55 °C on the wrist Apple
Wireless frequencies2.4 GHz (17 dBm maximum); 13.56 MHz NFC

13.56 MHz is the NFC band used for contactless payments.

Garmin
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MapsBuilt-in maps Garmin—
Case and glass—49 mm natural titanium case; flat sapphire front crystal; ceramic and sapphire back

The flat front crystal is protected by a raised titanium edge.

Apple
Chip—S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor; W3 wireless chip; U1 Ultra Wideband chip; 32 GB storage

Availability of Ultra Wideband features varies by country.

Apple
Location and navigation—Dual-frequency GPS (L1 and L5), GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou; compass; always-on altimeter

The L5 signal helps separate signals reflected by tall buildings and trees; Apple called it the most accurate GPS of any Apple Watch at the time.

Apple
Diving and water—WR100 (ISO 22810); dive-ready to 40 metres (EN 13319); water temperature sensor and depth gauge; IP6X dust

Apple points to the third-party Oceanic+ app for recreational scuba diving to 40 metres; the watch itself is not certified as a dive computer.

Apple
Safety—86-decibel emergency siren; Fall and Crash Detection (high-g accelerometer up to 256 g); Emergency SOS

The siren plays two distinct patterns, one signalling distress and one mimicking SOS.

Apple
Connectivity—LTE and UMTS; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 2.4 and 5 GHz; Bluetooth 5.3

With cellular, the watch can make calls and get messages without the phone nearby; carrier support is required.

Apple
Battery—Up to 36 hours; up to 18 hours with LTE; USB-C magnetic fast-charging cable

Runtime depends on display, workout and cellular use; using LTE away from the phone drains the battery noticeably faster.

Apple
Low-power setting—Up to 60 hours

Apple announced that this setting would arrive in software after launch, in autumn 2022; it extends runtime by taking some readings less often.

Apple
Weight—61.3 g (without band) Apple
Compatibility—iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 or later

The watch can only be set up and used with an iPhone; it does not pair with Android phones.

Apple