Can you make phone calls on the Garmin Forerunner 970?

Watch This Product

Watch products with ShopSavvy for price drops, stock alerts, deals and more.

Ask Agent About This Product

Yep! The Forerunner 970 has a built-in speaker and microphone, so you can actually take and make phone calls right from your wrist.

How it works:

When your phone is connected via Bluetooth and within range, you can answer incoming calls on the watch. Just tap accept, speak into the microphone near the watch, and hear the caller through the little speaker. You can also initiate calls by scrolling through your recent calls or contacts that sync from your phone.

Is the quality good?

Honestly? It's fine for quick calls. Think "Hey, I'm on my way" or "Can you pick up milk?" rather than hour-long conversations. The speaker has improved compared to older Garmins, but you'll probably want to switch to your phone or earbuds for anything lengthy.

Where this really helps:

• You're mid-run and your partner calls with something urgent
• Your phone is in your gym bag and you hear it ringing
• You need to make a quick call but your hands are full

What you need to know:

The watch doesn't have its own cellular connection. It's using your phone's data via Bluetooth. So your phone needs to be within range (usually about 30 feet) for calls to work.

Bonus features:

Beyond calls, the speaker and mic also let you:

• Use voice commands to control the watch hands-free
• Hear turn-by-turn navigation directions out loud
• Play music through the speaker (though headphones sound way better)

This is a feature that previously only showed up on watches like the Venu 3 and Fenix 8, so it's nice to see it on a running-focused watch.