Apple Watch Series 11 vs Garmin Forerunner 970
Our pick: Apple Watch Series 11 takes it — 86 vs 84.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Apple Watch Series 11 — You're upgrading from a Series 6 or older and want the best all-round Apple Watch — real battery life, brighter screen, and the new health alerts, with no subscription.
- Garmin Forerunner 970 — You coach or train for endurance and triathlon and want maps, the full readiness and load suite, and data you can use to manage clients' weekly volume.
Apple Watch Series 11
The battery finally goes the distance — up to 24 hours — and hypertension notifications plus 5G land real health wins. But it's an iterative jump: Series 9 and 10 owners gain little, and the cheaper SE undercuts it.
Garmin Forerunner 970
The most complete Forerunner yet: a brighter AMOLED under sapphire, a flashlight, speaker and mic, ECG, a Gen 5 heart-rate sensor and new load tools such as Running Tolerance. It also costs about 135 EUR more than the 965 we reviewed, and smartwatch battery drops from 23 to 15 days.
Compare side-by-side
| Apple Watch Series 1186Scorefrom€380.99Review → | Garmin Forerunner 97084Scorefrom€624Review → | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | — | — |
| Battery life | — | — |
| Screen | — | — |
| Sleep tracking | — | — |
| Recovery / HRV | — | — |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Water resistance | — | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
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