I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

I walked exactly 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 on my right wrist to find out which is the more accurate step-counter when tracking a walking workout.

As a control for pace, elevation gain, and distance data, I ran ol'reliable, Strava, on an iPhone 16 Plus. Which of these popular, premium smartwatches, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Garmin Forerunner 570, came out on top? Read on.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

While the Garmin Forerunner 570 is one of the best running watches on the market today, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the brand's highest-end, toughest-built model and the best Apple Watch for battery life.

We already tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Forerunner 970, the latter of which is nearly the same price as the former. Cupertino won that showdown (by a very small margin). Will Tim Cook and Co. pull off a repeat win? Find out below.

Apple Watch Ultra 3: $799 at Target

The Ultra 3 is Apple's longest-lasting, toughest-built, most-premium smartwatch, boasting a massive screen, 100 meters of water resistance, loads of safety tools, and access to a huge library of smart apps.

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Garmin Forerunner 570: $549 at Best Buy

The Forerunner 570 is Garmin's upper-mid-tier smartwatch for hardcore runners, promising heady training and recovery tools, a sporty design that combines touch functionality with physical buttons, a bright screen, and a solid battery.

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I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

Despite the emo Seattle skies, today's walk test coincided with the Spring Equinox, and the flowers were out in full bloom, adding a cheerful splash of color and perfume to an otherwise gloomy day.

As noted above, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 adorned my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 accesorized my right wrist. Note: Both the Garmin and Apple Watch apps allow you to toggle wrist preference. For this test, preferences were correctly set.

To keep an accurate manual count of my steps, I mentally assigned my left foot even steps and my right foot odds. As always, for every hundred steps counted, I clicked my trusty manual tally counter before beginning the count over at one.

It might sound involved, but after a few hundred steps, the process of counting feels like second nature. A high-quality pair of noise-canceling headphones also helps to limit distractions.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Walk test results

The last half dozen smartwatch step count tests I've performed have all been absolute nail-biters when it comes to declaring a winner. The same can be said for this one. It's also worth repeating that being within 100 steps of the actual manual count is considered an excellent result and well within a reasonable margin for error.

While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 ultimately edged out the Garmin Forerunner 570 with a total just 11 steps greater than my actual count, Strava was somehow even closer with a step count total of 5,004.

All three tracking methods measured roughly the same amount of distance covered. Meanwhile, Garmin and Strava pretty much agree on how much elevation gain the walk entailed, while Apple seems to think I climbed 40+ feet more than the competition.

This isn't the first time an Apple Watch has apparently inflated elevation data. I had similar results when I recently tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. the Garmin Venu 4.

Strava noted a quicker pace than Garmin and Apple, which is par for the course based on numerous previous walk test results. Meanwhile, Apple's average pace proved slowest.

It's always reassuring to see two popular smartwatch models record similar heart rate data for a workout, as is the case here. The same goes for calories burned. Lastly, each device drained about 2% battery during this ~46-minute walk.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: And the winner is...

By a margin oh-so-slim, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 proved ever so slightly more accurate at tracking my steps than the Garmin Forerunner 570. So, does this mean you should definitely buy the Apple Watch over the Garmin? Certainly not.

Both devices proved more than accurate enough in this challenge. Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Forerunner 570 are designed with different customers in mind. The former is a full-featured, rugged smartwatch packed with not just health and fitness tools, but loads of smart functions too.

The Forerunner, on the other hand, is all about helping you train and improve your running. It has far fewer smart features than the Ultra 3, but much better battery life and personalized workout tools.

Which wearables should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

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