Garmin Forerunner 970 is the latest Forerunner in town, released in May 2025. How does it compare to the old and proven Forerunner 945 smartwatch model?
Let us find out in a quick comparison below. Understand the fact that the Forerunner 945 is no longer available for purchase.
So, this quick comparison is for people who already have a Forerunner 945 and wish to upgrade to the Forerunner 970.
We tell you the exact points worthy of your consideration before contemplating an upgrade from Forerunner 945 to Forerunner 970.
Main differences
The differences between Forerunner 970 and Forerunner 945 are substantial.
- Forerunner 970 supports multi-band GPS. Forerunner 945 lack multi-band GPS capability.
- Forerunner 970 has additional sensors for QZSS and BeiDou GPS connectivity.
- Forerunner 970 is compatible with the Garmin ECG app. Forerunner 945 does not work with the Garmin ECG app.
- Forerunner 970 uses Sapphire crystal in the display glass. Forerunner 945 uses a DX coated Corning Gorilla Glass 3. How this affects you is discussed in the section below.
- Forerunner 970 uses AMOLED display technology while Forerunner 945 uses MIP or memory-in-pixel display.
- The display resolution of Forerunner 970 is almost twice the display resolution of Forerunner 945.
- Forerunner 970 has internal storage of 32 GB and Forerunner 945 has 16 GB internal storage.
Let us discuss these feature differences in detail below.
Display
Forerunner 970 definitely uses better display technology.
The AMOLED display of Forerunner 970 leads to the following two benefits:
- The display is brighter
- The readability experience improves because of the enhanced display resolution
Due to the AMOLED display, a Forerunner 970 is able to achieve a display resolution of 454 x 454 pixels.
Forerunner 945 on the other hand uses MIP or Memory-in-pixel display. It offers a display resolution of 240 x 240 pixels.
The AMOLED display of Forerunner 970 is a big improvement in terms of display quality.
Garmin ECG app
Garmin ECG app is FDA approved ECG app that helps in taking on-demand electrocardiogram readings. These ECG readings can be shared with a medical specialist to detect heart anomalies.
Forerunner 970 is compatible with the Garmin ECG app. But, Forerunner 945 is incompatible with the Garmin ECG app.
For people looking to get an ECG feature on the smartwatch, Forerunner 970 ticks all the boxes.
Sapphire glass
The display of Forerunner 970 is made of sapphire crystal. Sapphire is the second hardest naturally available mineral.
Sapphire display glasses are rugged and can handle normal wear and tear more effectively. Some people consider sapphire display lens to be scratch-proof. We consider sapphire glass as scratch resistant.
In comparison, Forerunner 945 uses DX coated Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The DX coating is an anti-reflective coating.
From personal experience, I can tell you that the screen of sapphire display is not as bright as a DX coated Corning Gorilla Glass screen. And the same holds true for display readability. Corning Gorilla Glass offers better display readability than the Sapphire glass.
GPS
Forerunner 970 had additional GPS sensors to support QZSS and BeiDou networks.
QZSS is a Japanese satellite network while BeiDou is the Chinese GPS network.
Forerunner 970, therefore, offers improved GPS connectivity for users in China, Japan and other parts of Asia.
Additionally, Forerunner 970 continues to support the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite networks.
Forerunner 945 only support the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite networks.
Multi-band GPS
Multi-band GPS allows smartwatch users to connect to multiple GPS networks at any point in time. This is especially useful when the GPS connectivity is unreliable or poor.
Forerunner 970 has a multi-band GPS sensor. This improves GPS reliability and accuracy to a great extent in Forerunner 970.
Forerunner 945 lacks multi-band GPS sensor.
For enhanced GPS accuracy, multi-band GPS sensor is a must-have sensor for athletes and professional runners.
Forerunner 970 is a big plus for its multi-band GPS or dual frequency GPS support.
Speaker and mic
Forerunner 970 has an in-built speaker and mic. You can issue voice commands to the Forerunner 970.
And, you could answer calls or make calls through the paired smartphone right off your smartwatch.
Forerunner 945 misses a speaker and mic in the smartwatch.
Trivial differences
- Garmin Forerunner 970 has higher internal storage of 32 GB. Forerunner 945 offers 16 GB internal storage.
- Forerunner 970 has a touchscreen feature; Forerunner 945 lacks touchscreen feature.
- Forerunner 970 has a relatively bigger display size of 36 mm while Forerunner 945 mm has a 33 mm display.
Other Forerunner 970 comparisons