When is the Garmin Forerunner 970 launch date?
Let’s determine the most likely answer to that question.
I also point out the obvious fact that the triathlon season has started. Products are either released for Christmas or at the start of the season.
Garmin and its dealers are now discounting the Forerunner 965. It’s a good time to buy the Forerunner 965, but discounts on ‘old’ models are one of several signals that stocks are being cleared out ahead of a new launch. Let’s speculate on a likely Garmin Forerunner 970 launch date.
Historic Trends
A rule of thumb would be that a new Garmin is released on Tuesday or Wednesday in the second or third week of the month; to a reasonable degree, those days control the news agenda in sports tech for the week. That gives us these dates:
6-7 May 202513-14 May 2025(15th also rumoured)- 20-21 May 2025
- 10-11 June 2025
- 17-18 June 2025
Garmin have sometimes announced on a Thursday but rarely on a Monday or Friday.
Past Garmin Launch Timing Patterns:
- Forerunner 965 & 265: Launched March 2023
- Forerunner 955 & 255: Launched May 2022
Fall/Autumn launches tend to be for smart watches
Spring/early summer launches tend to be for fitness watches and bike computers.
January is also popular because, well, I don’t know. CES, perhaps, or waiting until old stock is cleared out for Christmas, or possibly driven by Garmin’s quarterly performance metrics.
Events to Avoid
Garmin would tend to avoid weeks with a holiday Monday/Friday, and has started avoiding weeks with industry shows like CES. It wants everyone at work to focus on its launch, not on holiday, soaking up the sun or thinking about competitor products.
CES Las Vegas, USA – January 7–10, 2025Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, Spain – March 3–6, 2025New Year’s Day – Wednesday, January 1Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Monday, January 20Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) – Monday, February 17- Memorial Day – Monday, May 26
- Juneteenth National Independence Day – Thursday, June 19
- Independence Day – Friday, July 4
- Labor Day – Monday, September 1
- Columbus Day – Monday, October 13
- Veterans Day – Tuesday, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 27
- Christmas Day – Thursday, December 25
Events to Complement
Events like major marathons or UTMB would be a time when Garmin would not be foreshadowed by the event, but would rather have its PR complemented by it. Thus, UTMB would be a great time to announce a trail running watch and the Ironman final (Nice/Kona) on Sept 14th/Oct 11th – a great time for a triathlon watch.
Other possible events would be ‘Global Triathlon Day’ or something similar, if there were one. Which there isn’t AFAIK.
Upcoming complementary events
These could be good candidate events on the day or the week leading up to the event.
Tokyo Marathon – March 2, 2025Boston Marathon – April 21, 2025IRONMAN Texas – April 26London Marathon – April 27, 2025- Global Running Day – Wednesday 4 June
- IRONMAN Hamburg – June 1
- IRONMAN Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendée – June 22
- IRONMAN Lake Placid – July 20
- Sydney Marathon – August 31
- World Athletics Championships Tokyo, Japan September 13–21
- Men’s Ironman final (Nice) – 14 Sep weekend
- Berlin Marathon – September 21, 2025
- Women’s Ironman Final (Kona) – 11 Oct weekend
- Chicago Marathon – October 12, 2025
- IRONMAN Cascais – October 18
- New York City Marathon – November 2, 2025
- T100 Triathlon World Final (Qatar) – 12-13 December weekend
What Has or Hasn’t Been Leaked
The only leaks of a FR970/FR270 come from Garmin employees, directly or due to their mistakes. I know several dealers, and they do not know the launch date of the Forerunner 970 – or they won’t say. I have other intel that I won’t disclose (but nothing meaty and may not be real without corroboration).
- Apr 22: Garmin confirms the name as Forerunner 970
- May 14: There are new rumours of influencers travelling to the USA for a launch
- May 14: Two different leaks that could be connected confirm four colours and Elevate 5.
- May 14: Two apparently separate leaks confirm Eu750 and $750 pricing.
- Titanium bezel – confirmed by one source
- Normal buttons – confirmed by one source
Spoiler Announcements
Wahoo’s recent announcement of the Bolt 3 and Roam 3 was perhaps a spoiler announcement. The company’s product isn’t available for purchase until next week.
Wahoo may or may not have more competitive intelligence about the upcoming Edge 550/850 than me. I suspect Wahoo wanted to a) grab some headlines in a relatively quiet week and b) make sure people considering an Edge know that a new ELEMNT is an alternative to consider.
That said, Garmin isn’t the game of spoiler announcements. As the market leader, it doesn’t have to be. Instead, it sometimes reacts by discounting its existing alternative to a competitor launch.
Likely Forerunner 970/975/270 Details
This Is All Made Up
Clearly, it’s obvious that the Forerunner 970 might not exist and that we’re making this all up. The product doesn’t exist until Garmin says it does.
I love those comments. Silly people.
Then you just have to say, “Well, here’s Garmin Taiwan (where it’s made) saying it exists…”
Thousands of Forerunners will already exist in a box somewhere, probably in multiple locations. The products don’t just magically appear on the shelves one day, delivered by Santa overnight during his off-season. Of course, think about it like an intelligent person; thousands of people in the supply chain know about their existence. Perhaps hundreds in the retail distribution chains, too.
Launch Date
In my opinion, these are the most likely dates.
- (1) FR970 and probably FR270 – w/e 16 May 2025
- (2) 20-21 May 2025
- (3) FR270 Global Running Day – Wednesday 4 June (or the day before)
- (4) Tuesday/Wednesday 10/11 June.
I can’t see a launch later than 11th June.
Thanks for keeping us posted. Intrigued by “I have other info but won’t disclose” . Do we think anyone has this product in for review yet but under embargo ?
Well whenever DCRainmaker and Desfit go on an exotic vacation together, it’s usually because they’re testing a highly-anticipated new product that’s not released yet. They don’t usually go off the Mallorca or whatever just to test a new Amazfit or fitbit, they usually just test those things that fewer people care about, briefly in their respective basements.
They’re on vacation together somewhere exotic, as we speak. So they’re testing SOMETHING new. But we can only speculate on whether it’s the 970, or something else. I highly doubt it’s to test the Instinct Tactical, the watch they’re both *shown* wearing, since they’ve already posted their reviews for that days ago and it’s hardly a watch that justifies a lavish vacation for testing.
yes and I am tentatively sure that Edge is further away from release . so….
Ray moved to Mallorca to trick us all
the info i have is not of that nature.
however to answer your question i would bet that testers and reviewers have the product. (If it’s a June launch then they won’t, except maybe dcr)
Do you think Tariffs will have a big impact on pricing for European markets ?
T5KR made a post about that a couple weeks ago – basically the answer is no, tariffs won’t have any impact on Garmin wearables. For one thing, Europe isn’t doing the tariffs, so it wouldn’t affect you, regardless. But even in the US there’s little or not impact since Garmin’s wearables are made in Taiwan, not China.
yes.
but
1. dumping of products on the EU/UK could lower prices
or as we saw with Sony
2. multinationals might not want to fully raise prices in the USA and so look to recoup lost profit by raising prices in the EU/UK
so it will vary on a compnay by company basis.
interestingly as we see with sports watches Coros (China) and Garmin (Taiwan) are differently affected by tariffs and their respective competitive positions, How would Garmin react if coros raised its prices (which it has to) to cover US tariff losses in it largest market. Garmin could just choose to wait and watch Coros sales collapse as they are priced too highly.
so. I don’t know how exactly it will pan out but its going to be interesting! (or, more likely all tarifs will be removed and the status quo will return…that’s not a very good media story tho)
https://the5krunner.com/2025/04/14/coros-presidents-tariffs-will-bankrupt-the-company-the-winner-a-garmin/
https://the5krunner.com/2025/04/13/how-tariffs-hurt-garmin-a-not-so-much/
Can someone translate this? Is this speculation?: https://preview.redd.it/garmin-forerunner-975-v0-mmfuogbztdye1.png?width=2116&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0bb71cb0e642db1401e09664688f696b3ac4200
Expected Specifications of the Forerunner 975
Although official details are lacking, rumors and leaks point to the following possible features:
AMOLED display: Comparable to the Forerunner 965, with a resolution of 466×466 pixels.
Elevate V5 heart rate sensor: Support for ECG measurements, as previously introduced in the Fenix 8.
New user interface: Based on the Fenix 8, with improved widget display and navigation.
Possible LTE variant: For live tracking and communication without a smartphone.
Battery life: Up to 18 days in smartwatch mode, with fast charging and possible wireless charging.
Memory: 32 GB storage, comparable to the Forerunner 965.
Price indication: Likely around €599, comparable to the launch price of the 965.
🏁 Conclusion
The Forerunner 975 appears to be an evolutionary upgrade from the 965, with improvements such as ECG functionality, a revamped interface, and possible LTE support. If you’re considering buying a new sports watch, it might be worth waiting for the official announcement of the 975.
Elevate V5 wasn’t introduced on the Fenix 8. It was introduced on the Fenix 7 Pro / Epix 2 Pro about 18 months before Fenix 8 came out.
FAKE !
translation of the image:
“At the moment, the Garmin Forerunner 975 has not yet been officially announced. However, there are strong indications that the release will take place very soon. According to a Garmin representative, the launch is planned for May 15, 2025.
🔍 Expected specifications of the Forerunner 975
Although official details are missing, rumors and leaks point to the following possible features:
AMOLED display: Comparable to the Forerunner 965, with a resolution of 466×466 pixels.
Elevate V5 heart rate sensor: Supports ECG measurements, as previously introduced in the Fenix 8.
New user interface: Based on the Fenix 8, with improved widget display and navigation.
Possible LTE variant: For live tracking and communication without a smartphone.
Battery life: Up to 18 days in smartwatch mode, with fast charging and possibly wireless charging.
Memory: 32 GB of storage, comparable to the Forerunner 965.
Price indication: Likely around €599, similar to the launch price of the 965.
🏁 Conclusion
The Forerunner 975 seems to be an evolutionary upgrade from the 965, with improvements such as ECG functionality, a renewed interface, and possible LTE support. If you’re considering buying a new sports watch, it may be worth waiting for the official announcement of the 975.”
this FCC filing looks like a new watch with NFC, WiFi and BT https://fccid.io/IPH-A4724
ty!!
it could be a bike computer with NFC
Did you address the change in numbering? Why 970 as opposed to 975?
some element of the spec will have been lowered eg size, ohr
https://the5krunner.com/?s=970++975
af ter quite a bit of thought, i have not come up with a satisfactory answer to your question
I think that maybe Garmin simply noticed that they were running out of numbering and soon the Forerunners would have to become four-digit, which may not be in line with their ideas…
maybe.
Matt Le Grand did an interesting video on Why apple watches always show the same time in its marketing materials. you might also rememeber that Garmin skipped the Fenix 4. I also like the sound of 3-digit numbering of, say, a BMW 325.
there are many reasons why companies decide their naming conventions.
It would be interesting to know how Garmin approaches this topic
Will there still be a Forerunner 975 and when will it release or will the 970 be a direct upgrade of the 965? And what could the differences between the 975 and 970 be?
there;s quite a bit of content on this site addressing those questions
i doubt there will be a 970 and 975
970 will be something less than 975 would have been
one difference could be a lack of ohr.
I’m really hoping that isn’t the case. Looking to upgrade from the 955 and would be happy if they just made some upgrades to the 965.
Just seen desifit on whoop5, he is wearing new garmin I think, nylon band with plastic ending, it has flashlight, you can pause and see it yourself
It is new tactix nothing about fr, sorry
I figured the edge was coming out before but we will see
No further news this week then ? 👀
gta VI trailer 2 this week , so garmin have to skip 🙂
Any news? Are these watches actually dropping next week?
when there is definitive confirmation you will all know soon enough.
there are no definitive leaks on the date, when there are they will be published.
What’s the conference on the 15th that some are referring to ?