Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 970
These watches overlap more than they used to. Series 12 now adds much stronger recovery and health tracking, including Readiness, more frequent HRV measurements and high-frequency background heart-rate tracking. But the Forerunner 970 remains the better tool for runners, with mapping, advanced training metrics and up to 15 days of smartwatch battery life. Series 12 wins comfortably for everyday smartwatch features. For serious running, I’d still take the Garmin.
Full comparison
The full record
76 specifications across 6 areas, with 29 genuine differences.
1. Design & display Mixed
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
Release date
2026-09-18
May 2025
Physical size
Aluminum/titanium: 46 x 40 x 9.7 mm or 42 x 37 x 9.7 mm; ceramic: 47 x 41 x 9.85 mm or 43 x 37 x 9.85 mm
47 x 47 x 12.9 mm
Weight
46 mm: 39.5 g (aluminum GPS), 38.6 g (aluminum GPS + Cellular), 44.9 g (titanium), 51.3 g (Pearl White ceramic), 52.9 g (Night Blue ceramic); 42 mm: 32.2 g, 31.5 g, 36.5 g, 41.7 g and 42.8 g respectively
56 g
Material
Aluminum, titanium or ceramic case, 60% tougher than Series 11
Titanium bezel; fiber-reinforced polymer case; silicone strap
Water resistance
5 ATM; IP6X; depth gauge to 6 m
5 ATM
Color options
Aluminum: Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black, Space Gray; Titanium: Radiant Gold, Natural; Ceramic: Pearl White, Night Blue
Carbon Grey DLC Titanium with Black Case, Titanium with Whitestone Case, Soft Gold Titanium with French Grey Case
Display type
Always-On Retina LTPO3 wide-angle OLED
AMOLED touchscreen
Display size
42 mm or 46 mm case (ceramic cases are 43 mm or 47 mm tall)
1.4 inch diameter
Display resolution
42 mm: 374 x 446 pixels; 46 mm: 416 x 496 pixels
454 x 454 pixels
Display protection
Ceramic Shield 2 on aluminum cases; sapphire front crystal on titanium and ceramic cases
Sapphire crystal
2. Battery & charging Garmin Forerunner 970
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
Battery
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Battery life
Up to 24 hours; up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode
Smartwatch mode: Up to 15 days; GPS-only: Up to 26 hours; SatIQ (AutoSelect): Up to 23 hours; All-Systems GNSS + Multi-Band: Up to 21 hours; GPS-only with music: Up to 14 hours; SatIQ with music: Up to 13 hours; All-Systems + Multi-Band with music: Up to 12 hours
Charging
USB-C magnetic fast charging; up to 80% in about 30 minutes; 15 minute charge for 2 hours of use
Garmin proprietary charging cable
3. Sensors & positioning Garmin Forerunner 970
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
GNSS type
Built-in GNSS
Multi-band GNSS with SatIQ
GPS
Yes
Yes
GALILEO
Yes
Yes
GLONASS
Yes
Yes
QZSS
Yes
Yes
Beidou
Yes
Yes
Accelerometer
Yes
Yes
Gyroscope
Yes
Yes
Barometric altimeter
Yes
Yes
Compass
Yes
Yes
Ambient light sensor
Yes
Yes
Optical heart rate
Yes (always-on optical heart sensor; high-frequency background tracking)
Yes
Electrical heart rate
Yes
Yes
SpO2
Yes
Yes
Temperature
Yes
Yes
Galvanic skin response
No
No
Microphone
Yes
Yes
Speakers
Yes
Yes
Vibration motor
Yes
Yes
4. Health & activity Mixed
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
Steps
Yes
Yes
Distance
Yes
Yes
Calories burned
Yes
Yes
Floors
Yes
Yes
Sports tracking
Yes
Yes
Sleep
Yes
Yes
Heart rate
Yes
Yes
HRV
Yes (Up to 24x more frequent than Series 11)
Yes
Stress
No
Yes
Blood oxygen
Yes
Yes
Respiration rate
Yes
Yes
Skin temperature
Yes
Yes
ECG
Yes
Yes
Blood pressure
Hypertension notifications (no direct blood-pressure measurement)
No
Body composition
No
No
Glucose
No
No
Hydration level
No
No
UV exposure
No
No
Calorie intake
No
No
Hyperglycemia risk assessment
No
No
Arterial stiffness detection
No
No
Pulse wave arrhythmia analysis
Yes
No
5. Smart features Apple Watch Series 12
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
Smartphone compatibility
iPhone 11 or later or iPhone SE (2nd generation or later) with iOS 27 or later
Android and iOS
Operating system at launch
watchOS 27
Garmin proprietary
Processor
Apple S11, 64-bit dual-core processor; 4-core Neural Engine; Audio Intelligence
NXP
Storage
64 GB
32 GB
Bluetooth
Yes (5.3)
Yes
Wi-Fi
Yes (Wi-Fi 4 / 802.11n, 2.4/5 GHz)
Yes
NFC / connected pay
Yes (Apple Pay)
Yes
UWB
Yes (2nd-generation UWB)
No
Cellular
Optional (5G RedCap and LTE on supported regional models)
No
Smartphone notifications
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth calling
Yes (standalone on cellular models; via paired iPhone otherwise)
Yes (paired smartphone)
Smartphone music control
Yes
Yes
On-board music storage
Yes
Yes
Voice assistant
Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence
Yes (paired smartphone)
6. Navigation & safety Garmin Forerunner 970
Fact
Apple Watch Series 12
Garmin Forerunner 970
Maps
Yes
Yes
Offline maps
Yes
Yes
Navigation
Yes
Yes
Emergency SOS
Yes
Yes (paired smartphone)
Satellite SOS
No
No
Fall detection
Yes
Yes
LED flashlight
No
Yes (built-in LED flashlight)
Diving
No
No