Garmin announces new Forerunner watches with splashy colors and running metrics

is a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 13 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine. Garmin’s back with a bunch of goodies for runners. That includes two new Forerunner watches, a new chest strap, and several new running and triathlete features that won’t be paywalled behind its newly launched Garmin Connect Plus subscription. On the watch front, there’s the $749.99 Forerunner 970, which replaces the 965 as its top-of-the-line running watch and includes offline maps. Meanwhile, the $549.99 Forerunner 570 is a new mid-range option that’s a slight step-up from the more affordable Forerunner 265. It doesn’t have offline maps. Let’s start with what the Forerunner 570 and 970 have in common. (There are currently eight lineups of multisport watches on Garmin’s site, each with several models and SKUs.) Both add a built-in speaker and microphone so you can take calls on the go, OLED displays, skin temperature sens ... Read full article.