Garmin Forerunner 170 review: An excellent running watch that's not trying to please everyone

Garmin has mastered the art of keeping its product launches under wraps, which, at least in my books, is a good development. Too long have publications, blogs and influencers leaked upcoming Garmin watches, taking the joy out of the actual launch.

The Forerunner 70 and its moderately higher-end sibling, the Forerunner 170, were launched earlier this month, and I’ve been lucky enough to secure the latter a few days before the official 15 May launch.

Two weeks later, I think I have a pretty good idea what the Forerunner 170 is, who it's for and its strengths and weaknesses. In essence, it’s a beginner-friendly running watch with personalised running workouts and a bright AMOLED screen, but it sacrifices the latest heart rate sensor and multi-band GPS to keep the price down.

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Worth a buy? I’d think so, unless you’re very cash-strapped, in which case the entry-level Forerunner 70 is the best option for you. The Forerunner 170 has a lot going for it, is keenly priced and gets you access to a variety of Garmin ecosystem benefits, all in a handsome, colourful package.

Garmin Forerunner 170 review

Price and availability

The Forerunner 170 was launched on 15 May 2026 alongside the Forerunner 70 and is available to buy now directly from Garmin UK, Garmin US, Garmin EU and Garmin AU for the recommended price of £260 / $300 / €300 / AU$479.

The Forerunner 170 Music, which can store offline audio from most major streaming platforms, including Deezer and Spotify, retails for £40 / £50 / €50 / AU$80 more. Both versions have the same internal storage of 4GB.

The even more affordable Forerunner 70 carries a price tag of £220 / $250 / €250 / AU$399 but misses out on features such as Garmin Pay, has a much smaller internal storage (512MB), and fewer sensors (e.g. no ECG or skin temperature).

The Garmin Forerunner 570, the next step up in the Forerunner range, has a recommended retail price of £460 / $550 / AU$999, even though it retails for a little less these days.

The Coros Pace 4, an affordable Forerunner 170 alternative that launched around half a year ago, sells for £229 / $249 / €269, so cheaper than the Forerunner 170. Offers are harder to come by on this model, though.

Design and build quality

The Forerunner 170 follows the recent trend in Garmin wearables and comes in six different colours (two non-Music and four Music options), most of which feature two-tone straps, something Garmin engineers were very proud of last year when I visited the brand’s headquarters in Olathe, Kansas.

It has a 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a maximum resolution of 390 x 390 pixels and appears to use the same panel as the Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 570. It’s bright enough for everyday use, though I can’t tell exactly how luminous it is, since Garmin doesn’t disclose this information.

The case measures 42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm, which makes the Forerunner 170 a hair wider and taller than the Forerunner 570 but also 1 mm thinner (the same dimensions as the Forerunner 170). The watch weighs 41 g, which is roughly the same as the Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 570.

The case and the bezel are both fibre-reinforced polymer (a.k.a. plastic), making the Forerunner 170 light but also not the most luxurious-looking smartwatch. Also, the company opted for chemically strengthened glass lens instead of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 or sapphire crystal lens found on more expensive models.

One of the big differences between the Forerunner 170 and the Forerunner 570 (and other Garmin watches, including the Garmin Fenix 8 and the Garmin Venu X1) is that the former uses the last-generation Elevate v4 sensor. This was introduced five years ago in the Garmin Venu 2, so at this point isn’t particularly cutting-edge technology.

The Forerunner 170 has an industry-standard 20 mm quick-release strap. I quite like the two-tone version that comes with the watch, but if you want to change it, rest assured, you can do so without hassle.

The watch uses the same four-pin proprietary Garmin chargers as all other Garmins from the last god knows how many years. The button layout is also the same as it’s always been. The Forerunner 170 is rated to 5 ATM, just like all other Forerunners, including the flagship Garmin Forerunner 970.

Features

One of the new features on the Forerunner 170 is Quick Workouts, which lets you create a custom workout based on time, intensity, and your overall training readiness. You can choose between 30-, 45-, and 60-minute sessions and four intensity levels, including easy, moderate, hard, and very hard.

This is a useful feature for beginners, who are admittedly the target market for the watch. Plus, it lets you create your own workouts instead of relying on the ones Garmin Coach suggest. Not like there is anything wrong with those; I quite enjoy the variety of Daily Suggestions.

One thing you might have noticed is that the maximum duration for a custom workout is an hour, which might be good enough for a beginner, but those training for half-marathons and full marathons might find this feature too inflexible. I find Garmin’s algorithm modest, at best, as it often avoids giving you long runs. This is clearly reflected in the new Quick Workouts feature.

One notable omission from the feature list is multi-band GNSS. The watch only has single-band positioning, which might make it less accurate in challenging environments, such as densely built urban areas or forests with thick foliage. I tested the watch in non-challenging areas, by the coast with good sky visibility, and tracking worked just fine.

I pitted the watch against another affordable model, the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2, which I found very accurate for outdoor positioning, and both watches marked distance almost exactly the same way; there was probably a half-second difference between the two. I haven’t taken the Forerunner 170 for long-long runs, but for anything up to 10k, it feels spot on.

Despite the Elevate v4 sensor, heart rate tracking is also on point, especially for running. I also tried the watch for home workouts, and the only time the Forerunner 170 tripped up was when I popped it down onto a shiny wooden surface, which might have tricked the sensor into thinking it was still on my wrist, as it kept measuring my heart rate.

I’d like to stress that even though it’s not new, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the Elevate v4 sensor. Most watches that have it work perfectly fine; if anything, we’re learning that old tech can do wonders when used correctly (see also the Artemis II Mission GoPro story).

The company has refined the algorithm many times over since the launch of the Elevate v4. Even five years ago, it felt good to me. Sure, the Elevate v5 has more LEDs and other sensors that can track ECG and skin temperature, but for running, the predecessor is good enough, to say the least.

You do miss out on a few advanced metrics, such as Heat and Altitude Acclimation, Realtime Stamina, Endurance Score, multisport tracking, and Garmin and Strava segment support. However, you get a ton of health and fitness features that you can actually use in your everyday training.

I won’t list these all because this review would go on absolute forever, but the Forerunner 170 has everything from sleep and stress management tools to Fitness Age and Body Battery.

Speaking of Body Battery, one of my smaller gripes with the wearable is its watch face. Garmin always makes a new watch face for its new models, and the Forerunner 170’s features three bars: steps, Body Battery and weekly running distance. The issue is, if you hit your step goals, your Body Battery will be way down, or vice versa, meaning that the bars will never be completed. Oh well.

One final thing to mention is that the non-Music Forerunner doesn’t have WiFi. In practice, this doesn't affect most day-to-day syncing as much as you might think. Garmin watches primarily sync via Bluetooth to the Garmin Connect app on your phone.

Battery life and charging

Official battery life on the Forerunner 170 is up to 10 days, which is on par with the Forerunner 570 but three days less than the Forerunner 70. The discrepancy between the two new watches is likely down to the Forerunner 170 having more sensors, NFC hardware, and music support on the Music version (plus Wi-Fi).

In my experience, the watch depleted about 10% in 24 hours without GPS enabled, which is in line with the brand’s official numbers. GPS battery life estimation proved to be accurate, too. I went for a three-and-a-half-hour walk with All Systems on, and the battery went from 50% to 25%, giving you 14 hours of GPS battery life.

As for charging, the watch went from 15% to 50% in 20 minutes and to 100% in 65 minutes. Garmins change fast, and the Forerunner 170 is no exception!

Verdict

The Forerunner 170 cuts a few more corners than I'd ideally like to see, especially when it comes to GPS, heart rate hardware and the lack of multisport support. Yet after spending time with the watch, it's difficult not to appreciate how focused Garmin has been with its design.

This isn't a wearable trying to be everything to everyone. It's a running watch for people who want guidance, motivation and reliable tracking in an attractive package without spending big Forerunner money. The AMOLED display is excellent, battery life is strong, and Garmin's training ecosystem remains one of the best in the business.

Multisport athletes should keep moving, and experienced runners may eventually outgrow some of the watch's limitations. For beginners, however, the Forerunner 170 hits a sweet spot few rivals can match, offering just enough features to help you improve without overwhelming you in the process.

Also consider

If your budget is tight, the Forerunner 70 is difficult to ignore. It offers the same AMOLED display, access to Garmin Coach and Daily Suggested Workouts, plus even longer battery life than the Forerunner 170. You lose Garmin Pay, some sensors and a few premium features, but the core running experience remains impressively intact.

The Coros Pace 4 is one of the Forerunner 170's closest rivals and arguably offers more value for experienced runners. It packs dual-frequency GPS, excellent battery life and Coros' increasingly capable training platform into a lightweight package. The software ecosystem isn't quite as polished as Garmin's, but serious runners may appreciate the extra hardware.

If you think you might outgrow the Forerunner 170, the Garmin Forerunner 570 is worth stretching your budget for. It adds Garmin's latest Elevate v5 sensor, multi-band GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity, multisport mode and a range of advanced training metrics. It's more expensive, but also a much more capable long-term training companion.