Garmin has released the first stable update for its new Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 smartwatches, which were introduced in mid-May 2025. Software version 6.17 introduces several changes to the operation of these devices.
According to Garmin's description of the update, the new firmware increases the battery life of the Forerunner 970 and the 47mm version of the Forerunner 570. However, the company did not specify how much the autonomy has increased. Before the update, the Forerunner 970 could work up to 15 days, and the Forerunner 570 - up to 11 days.
In addition to improved battery life, the update includes translations for Japanese users and mysterious "changes to support production." However, as NotebookCheck reports, the new software version does not seem to fix issues previously reported by users on Garmin's official forum. In particular, it was noted that the Forerunner 570 has touchscreen failures, and the Forerunner 970 is experiencing reboots related to Google Assistant, GPS, and other functions.
Update 6.17 is now available for all Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 owners. You can download it through the watch menu by going to the "System Update" section, then "Software" and selecting "Check for Updates."