Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 965
Our pick: Garmin Forerunner 965 takes it — 86 vs 84.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Apple Watch Series 12 — You're on a Series 9 or older and want the most accurate wrist heart rate Apple has made, plus a readiness score you can use to steer clients' training, with no subscription.
- Garmin Forerunner 965 — You coach or run endurance/triathlon and want race-grade GPS, full maps and the complete readiness/load suite in a light premium AMOLED watch.
Apple Watch Series 12
The new Health Sensing System is the real upgrade: heart rate every five seconds, far more frequent HRV and a daily Readiness score, with testers finding it close to a chest strap. Battery is still rated at 24 hours and the design is unchanged, so Series 11 owners can skip it.
Garmin Forerunner 965
Garmin’s near-complete premium running and triathlon watch — a gorgeous AMOLED, deep training analytics and full maps. Price and 47 mm size are the only real trade-offs.
Compare side-by-side
| Apple Watch Series 1284Scorefrom€434Review → | Garmin Forerunner 96586Scorefrom€489Review → | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | — | — |
| Battery life | — | — |
| Screen | — | — |
| Sleep tracking | — | — |
| Recovery / HRV | — | — |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Water resistance | — | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
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