Sunday Runday
In this weekly column, Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks talks about the world of wearables, apps, and fitness tech related to running and health, in his quest to get faster and more fit.
Garmin-loving runners are eagerly awaiting a new Garmin Forerunner 975 or Forerunner 275. The last models launched in March 2023, but we’ve yet to see any concrete leaks despite the usual two-year gap.
The 5Krunner excited everyone by suggesting a mystery Garmin device at the FCC might be the Forerunner 975; a closer look suggested it’s a rectangular, non-watch device, meaning the Forerunners still aren’t imminent. But the mere suggestion set my brain racing on what the new 975 and 275 should offer whenever they do arrive.
I’ve reviewed about a dozen Garmin watches, and the Forerunner series has always catered directly to me as a runner and hiker. The Fenix 8 has obvious perks to justify the $1,100 price tag, but the Forerunner 965 remains my favorite smartwatch I’ve ever worn. I’m predictably excited for the next one!
Maybe Garmin thought March 2025 would put the new Forerunners too close to the Instinct 3 launch, or its schedule is still messy after the three-year wait for the MIP Forerunner 955, followed by a nine-month wait for the AMOLED 965.
Either way, I think it’s fair to expect a Forerunner 275 and 975 in the next three months, and I think it’ll be the most important launch Garmin has this year. Why? It’ll show whether Garmin has any new ideas for serious runners and their training — or if it’ll rely on incremental upgrades and gimmicks.
What’s the post-AMOLED plan, Garmin?
The Garmin Venu series started the company’s AMOLED experiment, but it was really the Garmin Forerunner 265 and 965 launch in 2023 that, in hindsight, kicked off AMOLED as the new normal. Since then, the Fenix, Vivoactive, and Instinct lineups have transitioned partially or fully to AMOLED.
Now the question is, what’s next?
Garmin spent the last few years pushing useful tools like multi-band GPS and improved Elevate health sensors across its sub-brands. Most recently, we’ve seen flashy hardware changes like the mic/speaker on the Venu 3 and the flashlight on the Instinct 3.
But there are signs that the rate of innovation is slowing down, especially for the mid-tier watches. Just look at the Instinct 3, which didn’t get the new Elevate v5 sensors for ECG and skin temp readings, nor the Fenix 8’s new UI or any kind of mapping support. It was a significant but safe upgrade over the Instinct 2.
The Forerunner 275 will clarify how Garmin’s tiered system will work moving forward — whether Garmin continues to price-lock features that you’ll see on much cheaper rival watches or not. The Forerunner 975 will show what Garmin has planned next to keep its core audience of serious runners and cyclists happy. Will it be flash or substance?
What I expect (and want) from the Garmin Forerunner 975
I don’t want the Forerunner 975 to be a mere Fenix 8-lite, but I’d certainly expect the 975 to get its Elevate v5 sensor suite, and Garmin may give it a flashlight, too. Maybe Garmin throws a mic and speaker in there, just to enable the same Bluetooth calling and offline voice assistant.
Otherwise, the Forerunner 975 should keep the titanium bezel on top of a light polymer body, and I’d be shocked if its AMOLED display gets any larger than 1.4 inches since even the Fenix 8 stopped there. Almost any other smartwatch at this price has sapphire glass, but I’d bet Garmin sticks to Gorilla Glass, unfortunately.
(Sidenote: Yes, Garmin is working on MicroLED displays, but I doubt this expensive tech would start on any Forerunner. It sounds more like a Fenix or MARQ fit, to start.)
The Forerunner 965’s 23-day battery life estimate is already excellent; the bigger priority for this generation would be increasing its SatiQ and multi-band GPS battery life above 22 and 19 hours, respectively.
I’m also curious if Garmin would debut a new GPS chipset or antenna design on the new Forerunners for better accuracy, but quite frankly, I’m already satisfied with the current tracking quality and think that might be overkill. But maybe Garmin will convince me otherwise.
My first big request is that Garmin finally bring back LTE for the first time since the Forerunner 945 LTE. Better safety tracking is just the start. If Garmin does give it a mic, then you get cellular calls and the option to message folks via Explore and voice-to-text. And in theory, Garmin could enable music streaming if that’s your thing. This could be an optional upgrade at launch for $50–100 more.
My second request is that Garmin sell both 47mm and 43mm 975 watches, so runners with smaller wrists can benefit from the perks the 275 lacks. This is one of the few complaints I had with the 965, even though I prefer a larger size.
Since Garmin gave the Fenix 8 leak-proof buttons, that could theoretically benefit the 975 as a triathlete’s watch, making it better suited for the swimming portion of your races.
I’m most interested in what kind of running or triathlete software Garmin could introduce or revamp.
The 965 has tools like chronic load, real-time stamina, endurance/ hill score, heat acclimation, and advanced cycling dynamics that you don’t get on the 265 — not to mention maps. These vary from vital to novelties for athletes, and I’m curious if Garmin has any other improvements up its sleeve that can live up to training status and readiness for usefulness.
If Garmin has map-layer or route improvements for hikers, that’d certainly make outdoorsy types happy; for me, I just want faster zooming in and out, which would require Garmin to put more effort into its processor.
For my personal pet peeves, I’ve already written about how Garmin should revamp the training load so it splits out low/high aerobic and anaerobic portions based on time spent in each HR zone — not all to one category based on your HR average. I’d also like to be able to edit suggested workouts on the 965 based on how I’m feeling and to see my challenge progress on the watch, too. But that’s more about nitpicking than finding a new “signature feature.”
The Garmin Forerunner 275 probably won’t rock the boat
The Forerunner 265 is an excellent running watch, but the main reason it’s so useful is that Garmin artificially locks features like training load from the cheaper Forerunner 165. With the Forerunner 275, you can expect it to keep its mid-tier placement while maybe adding a couple of 965 exclusives like Endurance score or Strava Live Segments to keep things fresh.
Still, Garmin will keep some perks locked to the 975. I’d be shocked if Garmin gives it any materials besides polymer, though maybe it could add an aluminum bezel like the Vivoactive 5. The 275 should have music storage by default but no mapping based on Garmin’s choice with the Instinct 3. And maybe Garmin will stick with the Elevate v4 sensors on this model, too (though I hope they don’t).
In terms of flashy new features to excite the journalists, I wonder if Garmin is watching rival brands adding “AI insights” and LLM coaching and considering a “Garmin Coach” rebrand to make it a chatbot that inputs your fitness data and explains features for beginner runners.
I don’t necessarily want this and am pretty happy with the current Firstbeat Analytics and daily suggested workouts, but AI is a fact of our daily lives now, and Garmin shareholders may want them to look into this option to appear cutting-edge in the fitness space.
Overall, though, I think the Garmin Forerunner 275 and 975 constitute such an important launch for Garmin because things do feel a bit stale right now, particularly below the $1,000 tier. These watches will represent whether Garmin watches still have some momentum in terms of innovation or if Garmin is starting to run out of fresh ideas.
But hey, if the Forerunner 975 and 275 are incremental upgrades, at least they can coast on the fact that their predecessors provide a fantastic foundation and already have most of the training tools you could ever want.