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I walked 5,500 steps with the Apple Watch 10 vs Garmin Forerunner 570 — here’s the winner
The Garmin Forerunner 570 is one of Garmin’s newest AMOLED-screen sporting smartwatches aimed at runners. It boasts loads of training tools, Garmin’s best heart rate sensors and a small smattering of smart features.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 10 is perhaps the best full-featured smartwatch on the market today. It’s also no slouch when it comes to fitness and wellness tracking.
While the Garmin Forerunner 570 is a tad pricier than the Apple Watch Series 10, both are well equipped to keep tabs on your daily workout efforts, whether you’re a runner, walker, hiker or prefer the gym.
Each watch sports an onboard GPS and the best holistic tech offered by Apple and Garmin, respectively. The question is, which one is more accurate when it comes to tracking a basic workout? I decided to find out.
Apple Watch 10 vs. Garmin Forerunner 570: Walk test
For this walk test, I wore the Apple Watch Series 10 on my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 on my right wrist before setting out on my manually-counted jaunt around Seattle, Washington, on the longest day of the year.
To keep track of my steps, I clicked an old-school tally counter every time my count hit 100 before starting over again at one. With my left foot taking only odd-numbered steps and my right foot only making even-numbered ones, I trekked three miles before ending tracking and examining the results.
In addition to the manual count, I also recorded my walk using Strava as a control for distance, elevation and pace data.
See all the results below:
Apple Watch 10 vs. Garmin Forerunner 570: Walk test results
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Apple Watch 10 | Garmin Forerunner 570 | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
Step count | 5,568 steps | 5,542 steps | 5,500 steps (manual count) |
Distance | 2.99 miles | 2.98 miles | 3.00 miles (Strava) |
Elevation gain | 216 feet | 207 feet | 212 feet (Strava) |
Average pace | 18 mins 23 secs per mile | 18 mins 28 secs per mile | 18 mins 6 secs per mile (Strava) |
Average heart rate | 128 bpm | 128 bpm | n/a |
Max heart rate | 163 bpm | 164 bpm | n/a |
Calories burned | 437 calories | 375 calories | n/a |
Device battery usage | 12% | 6% | n/a |
Both the Garmin and Apple Watch were within 100 steps of my manually-counted total, an impressive showing for sure! However, while the Series 10 overcounted by 68 steps, the Forerunner 570 only overcounted by 42. Strava, meanwhile, calculated my total steps at 5,548.
All three devices measured roughly the same total distance covered and fairly similar elevation gain metrics. Assuming Strava is correct here, both watches are within five feet of the actual total.
Pace data also matches up nicely across the board. It’s worth noting that both Garmin and Strava offer two average pace figures, including a moving average and an elapsed average, the latter of which is reported above.
Garmin’s average moving pace for my walk was 16 minutes and 4 seconds per mile and Strava’s was 16 minutes and 48 seconds per mile.
Despite the Apple Watch being worn on my right wrist and the Garmin adorning my left, heart rate data is a near match between the two, though Apple calculated slightly more calories burned during my roughly 50-minute walk.
Finally, the Series 10 burned roughly twice as much battery using its onboard GPS to track my trek compared to the Forerunner 570.
Apple Watch 10 vs. Garmin Forerunner 570: Winner
Before acknowledging our winner, it’s worth pointing out that both the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Apple Watch Series 10 did extremely well in this walk test, and I’d gladly reach for either before recording my next adventure.
However, the Garmin Forerunner 570 officially takes the belt in this bout against the Apple Watch Series 10. The margin may be razor thin, but a win’s a win.
Which smartwatches or fitness trackers would you like to see me test head-to-head in a future walk test? Let me know in the comments below. Until then, get those steps in!
