How Garmin Venu 4 stacks up vs Forerunner 570

The Venu 4 landed just days ago. The Forerunner 570 came earlier in the year. This article compares the two watches directly. While Garmin markets them under different lines, they’re built on the same foundation and share nearly all the same internals.

A few differences are there. Both sell for $450, but Venu adds a flashlight, ECG support and a stainless steel bezel. It also drops from five buttons to two and leans harder into lifestyle features. The 570 keeps the full button layout, includes SatIQ for more efficient GPS, and sticks to a no-nonsense design aimed at the sportier crowd. Most of the core tracking and software is the same, but the experience on the wrist is not.

Let’s dive into the detail.

Design and size tell different stories

The Venu 4 is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes. The larger model matches the Forerunner 570’s 1.4 inch AMOLED display (the smaller 1.2 inches), but the case is slightly smaller and thinner. The Venu swaps in stainless steel for the bezel and case accents, giving it a more premium appearance. It also weighs a little more as a result. This design shift is intentional. Venu wants to appeal to users who are after something a bit more stylish.

The Forerunner 570 comes in 42mm and 47mm sizes. Its build is more stripped back, with fiber-reinforced polymer throughout and an aluminium bezel. The five-button layout is classic Garmin and remains better suited to sweaty fingers, gloves or training sessions where touchscreens fall short. The Venu’s two-button setup feels sleeker but relies more heavily on swipes and taps.

Flashlight built into the case

A important differences is that Venu 4 includes an LED flashlight built into the top edge of the case. Once you’ve used it a few times, you’ll realise how handy it is. Whether it is for walking at night, quick visibility on early morning runs, or just finding your way to the bathroom in the dark, there are lots of use-cases. It is similar to the ones found on Fenix and Epix models, but without the bulk.

The Forerunner 570 skips the flashlight entirely. That fits its minimal, lightweight ethos, but it does remove one of the more versatile additions Garmin has made to its newer watches.

ECG support only appears on Venu 4

ECG has been on the Venu line for a few generations now. Venu 4 continues that support. Users can take on-demand electrocardiogram readings, with results saved in Garmin Connect. These recordings help flag signs of atrial fibrillation and provide a new layer of heart health data.

Forerunner 570 does not include ECG. That might not make a difference to most, but it will to some.

The other sensors are exactly the same. This includes the Elevate Gen 5 heart rate sensor.

Battery life stays close

In smartwatch mode, Venu 4 lasts up to 12 days. Battery Saver mode pushes that to 25. GPS-only tracking runs for around 20 hours. Using multi-band brings it down to 17. Music playback cuts these numbers further, but even then you get around 9 hours.

Forerunner 570 comes in just behind. It manages 11 days in smartwatch mode and 18 hours in GPS-only. Multi-band tracking gets around 14 hours. With music, it drops to 8 or 9 hours depending on settings.

In practice, both watches hold up well. If you are pushing long GPS workouts with music, you will hit similar limits on either model.

Activity tracking is almost identical

Both watches share the same heart rate sensors and GNSS capabilities, with one exception. The Forerunner 570 adds SatIQ, which automatically adjusts satellite settings based on signal quality. This can help conserve battery while maintaining tracking accuracy. The Venu 4 supports multi-band GNSS but does not include SatIQ.

The list of supported activity profiles is quite similar. You get triathlon, duathlon, pool triathlon, swim-run, strength training, hiking, climbing, golf, snow sports, and a long list of others. The layout and tracking experience are consistent across both models.

Venu 4 includes a few wellness-focused extras like sleep alignment, lifestyle logging, meditation, breathwork and accessibility tools such as a spoken watch face and colour shift. Mind you, some of these features will be coming to 570. For example, lifestyle logging has already started rolling out.

Worth noting is that Forerunner 570 offers a bit more in terms of  swim and golf features. But the difference there is not big – as shown in the table at the end of this article.

Navigation is limited to breadcrumb trails

Neither the Venu 4 nor the Forerunner 570 includes onboard topographic maps. You won’t find colour maps, contour lines, or map downloads on either device. Instead, both rely on breadcrumb-style navigation. Routes are displayed as simple lines with directional guidance, and turn prompts are available when following a course.

This limitation is consistent with how Garmin draws the line between mid-tier and premium models. Full mapping is still reserved for the more expensive watches. If onboard maps are a must, these are the ones to look at. But for basic route following and course navigation, both Venu 4 and Forerunner 570 handle it well.

Which one should you go for?

Both the Venu 4 and the Forerunner 570 retail for $550 on Garmin’s website. The price is identical, but the user experience is not.

Venu 4 brings ECG, a flashlight and stainless steel styling. It also adds some extra wellness tools. Forerunner 570 sticks to Garmin’s training roots, keeps the full button layout, and includes SatIQ for more efficient GNSS use. It drops the lifestyle extras and focuses on workouts, structure, and reliability.

Both offer deep tracking capabilities, a wide range of activity profiles, and strong battery life. If you care about styling, health features, and daily comfort, Venu 4 is the better match. If you want a no-nonsense training tool with full button control, Forerunner 570 stays on target.

Garmin Venu 4 vs Forerunner 570: Tech specs comparison

This table only shows the differences between the two watches. The larger variants.

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