Garmin seems to have changed how it applies for FCC approval. For many years, that application process has been one of the good sources of information on as-yet unreleased Garmin products. Despite Garmin’s need for secrecy around future events due to its listed status on the NASDAQ, it has been seriously lax with its information security for over a decade, in my experience.
The company seems to have got its act together progressively over the last 3 years, initially removing the most prominent details from FCC applications like…err…the product name. Then, it removed nuanced information that some readers of this blog could quickly decipher and infer to be the new product.
Even the shape of the label in the FCC filing is not guaranteed to match that of the eventual product.
It seems that the game may be up now, and, as the above document shows, Garmin appears to be taking a maximal approach to information security. It looks like we might have to return to be being spoonfed information from the usual approved sources.
Some Details
We seem to know from IPH-04968 that Garmin filed something on 19 December 2024, and we won’t see its FCC details until 17 June 2025 – the result of a 180-day short-term confidentiality request.
That said, the same information was updated last Thursday, and, as the following list shows, the other five filings for 2025 probably represent the products we’ve already seen released: Instinct 3, Tactix 8, Descent G2, Approach S44, Approach S50, Approach G20 Solar, Montana 710, Montana 710i and Montana 760i. Oh!…that’s 9…or even 6 if you count products that might only need one registration to cover all of them. Grrr
Speculation
Garmin will likely release at least one Edge or Forerunner in the next 10 days. Maybe IPH-04968 is the Forerunner 975, or maybe not. There’s a vague chance, but if I had to bet on a watch, it would be on the D2 Mach 2 or Quatix 8. I’m expecting Forerunner 975 in May (ish). The Edge 850/550 is due soon.
If you have any suggestions on places I can dig, you can contact me on this website using the info-at email address or Twitter/X @the5krunner.
13 thoughts on “Garmin FCC Report – Is This the Forerunner 975?”
Good find! I suspect this is not a forerunner. In the past, Garmin released the 265, 265S, and 965 simultaneously, with all three models having different FCC IDs.
This FCC application is missing frequency range for RFID (13.56-13.56) used by Garmin Pay, so I don’t think its a watch, unless a very basic model without Garmin Pay.
i’ll check but i’m not expecting 975 for at least 6 weeks
retailers do have general info of new products well in advance from the reps and the precise details for pre-order a few weeks ahead of announcement day . there seems to me to be some variation in how individual paorducts are launched in respect of which/how dealers are informed and supplied….i’ve not given it much thought
Over here in Malaysia there has been heavy discounts on Forerunner 165, 255 and 265 since January. 165 can be had for around MYR 790 from some retailers (around $180) while 255 has hit $295 and 265 is hovering around $380 or so, discounted.
I was thinking that they’re probably clearing the stock to make way for new successors to the 165 and 265.
Certainly seems like the retailers are now selling off the previous forerunner range at a discount . Question is when will reviewers be sent loaners of the new product ? Or will first we hear about it be retail listings on websites.
reviewers usually get garmin loaners 2 weeks prior to launch.
some retailers have knowledge well before that. I wouldn’t necessarily read too much into the sales meaning a launch is imminent
erroneous/deliberate pre-launch listings are usually no more than 10 days before launch.
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Good find! I suspect this is not a forerunner. In the past, Garmin released the 265, 265S, and 965 simultaneously, with all three models having different FCC IDs.
This FCC application is missing frequency range for RFID (13.56-13.56) used by Garmin Pay, so I don’t think its a watch, unless a very basic model without Garmin Pay.
good spot.
that also scuppers my thoughts of it being an Edge as I would expect new Edge models to have garmin pay. unless it’s a low end Edge 150.
A lot of the U.K. retailers are now discounting the Garmin 965. Do you think they have a steer that 975 is imminent ?
i’ll check but i’m not expecting 975 for at least 6 weeks
retailers do have general info of new products well in advance from the reps and the precise details for pre-order a few weeks ahead of announcement day . there seems to me to be some variation in how individual paorducts are launched in respect of which/how dealers are informed and supplied….i’ve not given it much thought
Over here in Malaysia there has been heavy discounts on Forerunner 165, 255 and 265 since January. 165 can be had for around MYR 790 from some retailers (around $180) while 255 has hit $295 and 265 is hovering around $380 or so, discounted.
I was thinking that they’re probably clearing the stock to make way for new successors to the 165 and 265.
Certainly seems like the retailers are now selling off the previous forerunner range at a discount . Question is when will reviewers be sent loaners of the new product ? Or will first we hear about it be retail listings on websites.
reviewers usually get garmin loaners 2 weeks prior to launch.
some retailers have knowledge well before that. I wouldn’t necessarily read too much into the sales meaning a launch is imminent
erroneous/deliberate pre-launch listings are usually no more than 10 days before launch.
A new InReach mini 3? No NFC/RFID, and the sale cycle would indicate a refresh is inbound.
IPH-04799 could be the 975 forerunner.
The only thing there is it shows the battery as 180mAh, which seems quite small to be a Forerunner.
there’s also https://fccid.io/IPH-A4543
going by this : https://manuals.plus/m/cf9d1968917916f5cd6965c82aeb0588c496a34843fda4b364af90c880fd0dc1
IPH-04968 doesn’t look like a watch at all.