Garmin Forerunner 205 vs Garmin Forerunner 570
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| GarminForerunner 205 | GarminForerunner 570 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | 2006 | May 2025 |
| Display | ||
| Case sizes | 53.3 mm | 42 mm or 47 mm |
| Panel | – | OLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | Backlit 33 × 20.3 mm monochrome display, 160 × 100 pixels; configurable training screens and physical buttons. Panel technology is not specified by Garmin. | 42 mm model has a 1.2″ (30.4 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; 47 mm has a 1.4″ (35.3 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 454 x 454 pixels; five buttons; optional always-on mode |
| Screen protection | – | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Health and fitness | ||
| ECG | No | No |
| Blood oxygen | No | Yes |
| Skin temperature | No | Yes |
| Sleep apnoea alerts | No | No |
| High blood pressure alerts | No | No |
| Body composition | No | No |
| Fall detection | No | No |
| Crash detection | No | No |
| GPS | Single-band | Dual-band (L1 and L5) |
| Water resistance | – | 50 m |
| Sensors | High-sensitivity SiRFstarIII GPS receiver with antenna wrapped towards the sky; the 205 does not support the heart-rate or speed/cadence accessories of the 305. | Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor |
| Health features | – | Skin temperature; high and low heart rate alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; all-day stress; sleep score, sleep coach, sleep alignment and nap detection; breathing variations; Health Snapshot; women's health tracking with past ovulation estimates; jet lag adviser |
| Fitness features | Running, cycling and other-sport profiles; quick, interval and advanced workouts, course racing, Virtual Partner, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and pace, time and distance alerts. | Training readiness and training status; training load, load ratio and load focus; training effect, VO2 max and recovery time; wrist-based running power and dynamics; PacePro; race predictor and projected race time; Garmin Coach and Garmin Triathlon Coach plans; daily suggested workouts; multisport workouts; heat and altitude acclimation; course navigation, TracBack and Up Ahead; triathlon and open-water swimming |
| Safety features | Stores 100 locations and 50 routes; basic route display, direction to a stored location and navigation back to the start. No base maps. | Incident detection during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; live event sharing (Android only); these features require a paired phone |
| Battery and connections | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 10 hours | Up to 11 days |
| Mobile data option | No | No |
| Works with | No phone pairing | iPhone and Android |
| Storage | – | 8 GB |
| Battery life detail | Internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery; ten hours of typical use. | Smartwatch mode up to 10 days (42 mm) or 11 days (47 mm); GPS only up to 18 hours for either size; SatIQ (AutoSelect) up to 14 or 16 hours; All-Systems + Multi-Band up to 13 or 14 hours; with music, GPS only up to nine hours and the other two modes up to eight hours for either size |
| Charging | Docking cradle with AC charger and USB cable. | Garmin charging cable with proprietary plug |
| Connectivity | USB computer transfer through the cradle; Garmin Training Center software and MotionBased analysis were supplied at launch. No direct phone pairing. | Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; multi-band GPS with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and SatIQ; Garmin Pay; music storage; speaker and microphone for calls and the phone's voice assistant with a paired phone; voice commands; Garmin Share; Connect IQ |
| Storage | Up to 1,000 laps; smart recording or one-second recording. | – |
| Design | ||
| Weight (lightest version) | 77 g | 42 g (better) |
| Software | Garmin | Garmin |
| Case materials | IPX7 immersion protection, one metre for thirty minutes; the owner's manual says it is not intended for swimming. | Aluminium bezel; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating |
| Size | 53.3 × 68.6 × 17.8 mm and 77 g. Width is used as the case size. | 42 mm model is 42.4 x 42.4 x 12.9 mm and 42 g; 47 mm model is 47 x 47 x 12.9 mm and 50 g; Garmin does not publish case-only weights |
| Bands | Vinyl wrist strap with an expander strap; fabric strap available separately. | Quick-release 20 mm bands for the 42 mm model, fitting 115–178 mm wrists; quick-release 22 mm bands for the 47 mm model, fitting 135–205 mm wrists |
| In the box | Watch, wrist and expander straps, docking cradle, AC charger, USB cable, Garmin Training Center software and documentation. | Forerunner 570, charging cable, documentation |
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