Forerunner 570

What others have said. Smart watch vs running watch is the real choice. In theory, Apple watches have more than enough juice to run a marathon. In practice, sometimes they drain battery faster for whatever reason. I traded in my s10 for a Garmin 570 around 2 months ago as my runs got longer and I had a 13 mile training run drain my battery from 90% -> 10%. Can’t say Garmin is all sunshine and roses (much of their app UX is garbage, including just not explaining what does/doesn’t trigger certain stats to update) - but I can definitely say I don’t worry about battery life anymore.

I had the pace pro and now 570. I often regret the switch. Yes the Garmin feels more premium and the device has some extra features and stats. The reality is you will never really use them, even if they sound good on paper. The only think I would miss going back to pace pro is the body battery as I do think it gives a good representation. Coros listens to its users and community, pushes updates that actually benefit the consumer and is a much slicker app by far. If coros overhauled its watch faces to make the data customisable and/or they bring out and amoled premium device it would push me to go back. If I could turn back time I wouldn’t have ordered the 570 and kept the pace pro. Pace pro + HR band or shokz or pod 2 is so much better value

I’m really struggling to settle on a fitness watch and keep going round in circles, so would appreciate some honest advice. Here’s my journey so far: Started with Apple Watch Series 6 → upgraded to Ultra 2 Liked it overall but found it too bulky and got fed up with charging Moved to COROS Pace Pro Loved the simplicity and the app (probably my favourite app overall) Felt a bit “cheap” on the wrist compared to Apple Switched to Garmin Forerunner 570 (influenced by reviews/social media) Really didn’t like the Garmin app or ecosystem Felt like an awkward middle ground between smartwatch and fitness watch Ended up selling it at a loss Tried Amazfit Balance 2 Feature-packed but felt worse than both Garmin and COROS Screen was a fingerprint magnet → returned Tried Huawei GT6 Pro Loved the premium feel and hardware App wasn’t great → returned Now I’ve come full circle and ordered an Apple Watch Series 11 through Vitality (so it’s basically free if I hit activity targets). But I’m hesitating again because: I didn’t like charging my previous Apple Watches I actually enjoyed moving away from “smartwatch” features I keep thinking about going back to COROS (Pace 4 or Pace Pro) For context: I mainly do spin classes and swim regularly Getting back into running after a knee injury I care a lot about the quality of the app and overall user experience I also like a watch that feels nice/premium on the wrist So I guess my question is: Should I stick with the Apple Watch (because it’s free and versatile), or go back to COROS because I enjoyed the experience more? Would really appreciate thoughts, especially from anyone who’s been between Apple and COROS. I intent to cross post this as I know most here love COROS. If the Apple Watch wasn’t basically free I probably wouldn’t be considering it to be honest.

The initial summaries are spot on. Garmin is a great running watch first, with a limited set of smart functions and apps. Apple Watch is a great smartwatch first, with some running and fitness functions. They each have the things that they are brilliant at, and they each have the things that they are so-so at. Your own priorities determine which is the right watch for you. (Oh, and why did they choose these two models as the comparison? Apple Watch series 10 is the 2024 model and can be found at a discount, Garmin 570 is their 2025 mid-range model which explains the price discrepancy. Why not compare the AW 11 with the 570 which would be more similarly priced, or the AW 10 with the 165 which would be more similarly priced, or the AW 11 and the 165 which would see the price discrepancy reversed?)

Do you want maps? Get the 965 Do you want the speaker and microphone so that you can make call (as long as you have your phone with you)? Get the 570 Obviously there are other differences between the two Thoroughly read the in-depth reviews of each watch on DC Rainmaker to understand more and help you decide

It depends on what's important to you, because each has features that the other does not [965](https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/03/garmin-forerunner-965-depth-review.html) has maps, longer battery life, and a few extra data features [570](https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/05/garmin-forerunner-everything.html) has the mic/speaker for calls (if you have your phone with you), the newer HR sensor, auto lap by timing gates (for more accurate distances in races), triathlon coaching For me, the maps were what made me choose the 965 because I a bit of hiking. I wasn't interested in the mic/speaker. But I was gutted that Garmin didn't add auto lap by timing gates to the 965 in a software update. It's about which is the right watch for you, what your goals are etc

The more expensive 570 doesn't have flashlight or maps either!

Classic every company ever, not just Garmin "Why does the entry level car not have the fancy features and big engine of the more expensive car?" "Why does the entry level computer not have as nice a screen, as fast a processor, as much storage and memory as the more expensive computer?" Etc Products are split into tiers If you want more features, you spend more money to get the next model up the range

IMO Garmin is the best. I have the FR970 and it has the Garmin triathlon coach but I think the 570 or even the 265 would be perfectly good enough. Garmin also integrates with Strava and has the absolute best customer service.

Just swapped from an Apple series 9 to a garmin 570. There’s a couple things that Apple does better: - just a hey siri to start a timer vs needing to hit a button for the garmin - Apple health visualizations are generally better - notifications are less annoying with the apple, why does it take up the whole screen and show for 30 seconds garmin? - much easier to change bands What garmin does better - actual buttons, main reason for me to change, needed for running in the rain for me - more health stats (am enjoying body battery) also prefer how they calculate some stats (like hrv and resting) - way more customizations for you watch face while running, can fit 7 widgets and I don’t know how many faces. Apple can only customize two, with something like four widgets.

If you ever see yourself running in the rain needing to do any manual lapping feature or use the touchscreen quickly, don’t get an Apple Watch, it’s not very usable. If you are in long sleeves in the rain, you need to lock the touchscreen to prevent accidental touches. But that prevents you from using the touchscreen without holding to unlock for a few seconds. So if you are doing intervals, it can be hard to end the interval quickly. If you do run in the rain, get a watch with buttons, Ive also had issues with digital crowns not working well with wet hands. 165 is a great value, hard to top it. Does pretty much everything you need a running watch to do. Buttons, accurate heart rate monitor, manual lapping, more than enough watch faces for activities, good gps. Started with this before springing for the 570. 570 is double the price for not a lot more unless you’re deep in the running game. The differences that stand out for me are the metal buttons, more customization for watch faces during activities, better screen. Voice command for timers. Overall better build quality. There’s some additional training features that I don’t find very valuable. Despite what it sounds like I really like the 570 so far, just wish it was a bit cheaper.