Every Black Friday, we see newly-released Garmin watches go on sale for the first time — and this year is no different. While last year belonged to casual exercisers, in 2025, it is the runners and triathletes who get dibs on the best deals. These two models were only released in May this year, but they have just been discounted for the first time.
First, the Garmin Forerunner 970 — this premium running smartwatch is now $100 off and at its lowest-ever price. The same deal can be found at Walmart, Best Buy, Garmin, REI and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Anna Gora is a health writer and product reviewer at Live Science, as well as a highly experienced personal trainer, nutritionist and fitness coach. She has extensive knowledge of fitness trackers, having personally tried and tested a wide range of wearables over the last two decades. She has also written or co-authored our buying guides on smart rings, fitness trackers, budget fitness trackers and Garmin watches.
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There is plenty to like about the Garmin Forerunner 970. To start with, it is exceptionally accurate thanks to its advanced multiband SatIQ GPS and Elevate Gen 5 heart rate sensor. As Andrew Williams, our trusted reviewer, succinctly put it: "We’re basically looking at a quality level the best Garmin has to offer in terms of GPS and HR accuracy, which is also among the best found in any wearable at present."
Then, there is the beautifully bright and colorful 1.4-inch AMOLED display, a surprisingly lightweight design and a host of advanced features. For example, it is one of the handful of Garmin watches that come with a built-in LED flashlight, speaker and microphone. Not to mention, it has a host of useful smartwatch features, such as NFC payments, offline music playback and voice control. All in all, the Garmin Forerunner 970 is a full package, and now you can get it for $100 less.
Key features: 1.4-inch AMOLED display, 32 GB of internal storage, dual-band GPS, up to 15 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 26 hours in GPS mode, built-in LED flashlight, speaker and microphone
Product launched: May 2025
Price history: The price of the Garmin Forerunner 970 has firmly sat at $749.99 since its release in May this year. Today's offer from Amazon and other major retailers brings the price down to $649.99 for the first time.
Price comparison: Amazon: $649.99 | Walmart: $649.99 | Best Buy: $649.99 | Garmin: $649.99 | REI: $649.99 | Dick's Sporting Goods: $649.99
Reviews consensus: The Garmin Forerunner 970 is universally praised for its exceptional accuracy, lightweight design, bright display and comprehensive set of workout tracking features, with many reviewers considering it one of the best running smartwatches on the market. The only major complaint was that it cost a rather steep $749.99, and some testers were also disappointed at its limited size and color options.
TechRadar: ★★★★½ | Android Central: ★★★★½ | Tom's Guide: ★★★★½ | T3: ★★★★½ | Live Science: ★★★★½
Featured in guides: Best running watches, Best Garmin watches
✅ Buy it if: You want an elite GPS sports watch.
❌ Don't buy it if: You are looking for something slightly more affordable, such as the older Garmin Forerunner 965 (now 25% off at Amazon), or something with a better waterproof rating — the Garmin Instinct 3, for example (also on sale, also with a 25% discount).
Check out our other guides to the best fitness trackers, budget fitness trackers, smart rings, sleep trackers and much more.
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