Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 70

Best for: Buyers who want the most accurate continuous heart-rate and HRV tracking Apple sells. The higher sampling rate is the change the sources single out, and ZDNET verified it against a chest strap.; Upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 8 or older. Reviewers treat the sensing system and the S11 as the generational step, while the screen and case are unchanged.; Buyers who do not want a health subscription. The health features carry no subscription, and reviewers note the price did not rise over the previous generation.

Skip it if: You own a Series 10 or 11. Every group analysed describes the panel and the case as carried over from the Series 11; the change is inside the watch, not outside it.; You want Audio Intelligence today. Two of its four features were still unavailable at the cut-off, and CNET reports frequent false Sound Recognition alerts.; You were buying it for the Ultra's battery. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a separate product at $799 with its own longer rating, and it is not part of this analysis.

From $389.99 at Amazon (US, checked Sep 27, 2026)

Best for: First-time and beginner runners who want Garmin's training and recovery stack at the lowest Garmin price, accepting an interface that reviewers describe as harder to learn than simpler rivals (Runner's World, The5KRunner, Tom's Guide).; Runners with smaller wrists who want a light 40 g, compact 42.6 mm AMOLED watch with buttons for mid-run control, knowing that some reviewers find the case plasticky and easy to scratch (The Run Testers, Lifehacker, Tom's Guide).; Runners who train with a phone and value tracking accuracy over smart features: GPS and heart rate held up against pricier multi-band watches in testing, with the caveat that dense urban canyons remain unreliable (DC Rainmaker, The5KRunner, The Run Testers).

Skip it if: You need reliable elevation data, or run hilly or ultra terrain. Without a barometric altimeter, elevation comes from GPS alone and is the most consistently criticised measurement; the Forerunner 170 adds an altimeter for about £40/$50 more (Tom's Guide, The5KRunner, The Run Testers).; You want contactless payments, offline music or Wi-Fi. All three are absent, and Garmin Pay starts at the Forerunner 170 (The5KRunner, The Run Testers).; You run in dense urban canyons or want the peace of mind of multi-band GPS. The Coros Pace 4 and Suunto Run include dual-frequency GPS, and the Suunto also adds offline music, at the same price or less (The Run Testers, The5KRunner, TechRadar).

From $224.00 at Amazon (US, checked Sep 30, 2026)