I tested the Garmin Forerunner 970 vs Coros Pace 4 Pro — which should you buy?
You can’t really go wrong with either the Coros Pace 4 Pro or Garmin Forerunner 970, but each has its relative pros and cons.
I tested both the Garmin Forerunner 970 and the Coros Pace 4 Pro to determine which sports watch would be the best choice for runners. The Garmin Forerunner 970 is a more expensive option, priced at $749, compared to the Coros Pace 4 Pro at $449. Although it is pricier, the Forerunner 970 does occasionally go on sale, allowing for a discounted price of around $649.
Design-wise, both watches are slim and lightweight, featuring big, bright AMOLED displays and titanium bezels. However, there are some design differences between the two. The Coros Pace 4 Pro is slightly lighter, slimmer, and has a larger display. Personally, I find the look and feel of the Pace 4 Pro more appealing, but both watches are comfortable to wear daily and have excellent lines of watch faces to choose from.
The Garmin Forerunner 970 has five buttons for navigating menus, while the Coros Pace 4 Pro has three buttons, including a digital dial. The Forerunner 970 also features an integrated flashlight, which I found to be incredibly useful compared to the Coros' screen-based flashlight setting. Both watches come with a variety of sensors, including an altimeter, barometer, optical heart rate sensor, and multi-band GPS chipset.
However, the Garmin supports both Bluetooth and ANT+ for connecting to external sensors, while the Coros only uses Bluetooth.
In terms of sports tracking and training analysis, the Garmin Forerunner 970 offers additional features that are not available on the Coros Pace 4 Pro. One of these is the Training Readiness score, which evaluates your overall readiness based on recent training load, sleep, and stress. The Forerunner 970 also includes features like Running Tolerance, Running Economy, Hill Score, and Endurance Score, which provide unique insights into your performance.
The Coros Pace 4 Pro, on the other hand, offers all the standard training analysis data, such as training load, VO2 max estimate, race predictions, and running ability rating.
When it comes to GPS and heart rate accuracy, both watches perform well. However, the Garmin Forerunner 970 does have a slight edge due to its more advanced features and sensors. Ultimately, both sports watches offer excellent features, design, and accuracy, making them great choices for serious runners.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
