Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Garmin Forerunner 970
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 lists for about $49 more than the Garmin Forerunner 970. On the headline smartwatch-mode figure, 15 days for the Garmin Forerunner 970 against 50 h for the Apple Watch Ultra 4. For a GPS workout the figures are 26 h and 18 h. Phones differ: the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is iphone only, the Garmin Forerunner 970 android; iphone with limits. Only the Garmin Forerunner 970 carries full topo maps. Every other published figure for both is in the table, with the rows where they differ tinted.
Apple
Apple Watch Ultra 4
~$799
Apple's outdoor and endurance model keeps the 49 mm titanium case and sapphire crystal but adds the 2026 Health Sensing System, which Apple says samples heart rate 60x more often than Ultra 3.
Best for: iPhone owners who hike, dive or race long and want two days between charges
Garmin
Garmin Forerunner 970
~$750
Garmin's top Forerunner since May 2025 brings fēnix-class tools into a 56 g running watch: preloaded road and trail maps, an LED flashlight, the ECG app, a sapphire lens and a titanium bezel.
Best for: A marathoner or triathlete who wants maps and a flashlight without the size of a fēnix
| Specification | Apple Watch Ultra 4 | Garmin Forerunner 970 |
|---|---|---|
| Approx. price | ~$799 (49mm titanium (GPS + Cellular is the only version), 'From $799' on apple.com/shop/buy-watch) | ~$750 (Forerunner 970, 47 mm, $749.99 list on garmin.com/en-US/p/1462801) |
| Type | Rugged outdoor | Running |
| Platform | watchOS | Garmin |
| Case sizes | 49 mm | 47 mm |
| Weight | 49 mm: 63 g (natural titanium, case only (black: 63.1 g) (Apple spec page)) | 47 mm: 56 g (Garmin spec: 'Weight: 56 g' (band inclusion not stated)) |
| Battery, smartwatch mode | 50 h (Apple: 'Multiday battery life, up to 50 hours of normal use' (includes 12 hours of sleep tracking)) | 15 days (Garmin: 'Smartwatch mode: Up to 15 days') |
| Battery, always-on display | Not published by the maker | Not published by the maker |
| Battery, GPS workout | 18 h (Apple: 'Up to 18 hours workout tracking' — outdoor run, without iPhone, heart rate on; Apple does not separate single- and dual-frequency GPS figures) | 26 h (Garmin: 'GPS-Only GNSS mode: Up to 26 hours'; 'SatIQ (AutoSelect) GNSS mode: Up to 23 hours') |
| Battery, dual-band GPS | not published | 21 h |
| Battery note | Apple: up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, 25 hours Extended Workout and 45 hours Max Extended Workout (Low Power Mode on, some metrics off) | Garmin: 'All-Systems GNSS mode + Multi-Band: Up to 21 hours'; with music 12 hours; no always-on figure published |
| Works with | iPhone only | Android; iPhone with limits |
| iPhone | Yes | Yes, with limits |
| Android | No | Yes |
| Phone limits | Needs iPhone 11 or later with iOS 27 or later; Apple sells no Android pairing | Garmin's spec table marks text replies and reject-call-with-text as Android only; iPhone owners get notifications but cannot reply from the watch |
| Paid tier | Apple Fitness+, $79.99/year | Garmin Connect+, $69.99/year |
| What the paid tier gates | No watch feature requires it; it adds guided workout and meditation video classes that use the watch's metrics on screen | No watch feature requires it: Garmin's chart keeps activity details, health stats, performance metrics, Garmin Coach plans, courses and LiveTrack in the free app. Connect+ adds Active Intelligence AI insights, nutrition logging, a desktop performance dashboard, live activity on the phone, 3D maps and offline Garmin Trails downloads |
| Update years | Not published by the maker | Not published by the maker |
| Cleared health features | ECG app (FDA), Irregular rhythm notifications (FDA), Sleep apnea notifications (FDA), Hypertension notifications (FDA) | ECG app (FDA) |
| Display | OLED | AMOLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-band GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Maps | Downloadable maps, no topo (Apple: 'Offline maps with custom route creation', 'Topographic maps for thousands of national and regional parks (U.S. only)', plus Backtrack and elevation alerts) | Full topo maps on the watch (Garmin: 'Preloaded road and trail maps', routable Cycle Map, ski resort maps, round-trip course creator and ClimbPro) |
| Music on the watch | Yes | Yes |
| LTE | Optional (GPS + Cellular version needs a carrier plan; the carrier sets the price (apple.com/watch/cellular)) | No LTE version |
| Contactless pay | Yes | Yes |
| Flashlight | No | Yes |
| Water rating | WR100 (100 m, ISO 22810:2010), EN13319 dive to 40 m, IP6X | 5 ATM |
| Case | titanium | titanium bezel (Garmin does not list the case material) |
| Released | 2026 | 2025 |
Apple Watch Ultra 4: what it gives up
- 63 g titanium case is heavy for sleep tracking and small wrists, with no smaller size
- Highest Apple Watch price
- Still iPhone-only
- Topo maps cover U.S. parks only, not the worldwide topo of a Garmin fenix
- Satellite features are free for two years only
Garmin Forerunner 970: what it gives up
- One 47 mm size only, large on small wrists
- 5 ATM rather than the 10 ATM of the fēnix and Enduro lines
- No always-on battery figure published
Full pages: Apple Watch Ultra 4 · Garmin Forerunner 970