Compare Garmin Approach S70 vs Garmin Forerunner 165

Automatic tracking and shot detection are useful and often praised, but reviewers also report missed shots and only acceptable performance without extra sensors.

Garmin’s broader app ecosystem receives clear praise from one reviewer who liked how Garmin Golf and related apps tie product data together.

The app ecosystem was useful through Connect IQ and Garmin features, but Garmin's broader platform could still feel intimidating.

Band quality is mixed because reviewers liked the feel and comfort but preferred older straps that laid flat.

Band quality was mostly comfortable and flexible, but one reviewer warned the stock strap needs frequent washing to avoid irritation.

Battery life is one of the strongest consensus wins, with reviewers reporting multi-day or multi-round use and very little drain.

Battery life was generally good for an AMOLED Garmin and daily training, but reviewers flagged limits for long adventures, always-on use, or heavy GPS/music.

Blood oxygen tracking receives limited but positive usefulness evidence as another health metric the reviewer liked monitoring.

Blood oxygen tracking was treated as a useful extra by reviewers who valued the reassurance, though broader accuracy was not deeply tested.

Bluetooth headphone pairing was reported to work without problems.

Brightness is strongly praised, with reviewers highlighting vivid colors, clarity, and easy readability.

Brightness was strongly praised in sunlight and adaptive lighting conditions.

Build quality is mostly positive, with confidence-inspiring design but one reviewer only calling the quality about right for the price.

Build quality was viewed as solid and well-made for a lightweight running watch.

Button controls are generally useful and easy, though one reviewer still noted a learning curve.

Button controls were a major strength, especially for workouts, gloves, sweat, rain, and avoiding touchscreen reliance.

Charging convenience is the main hardware annoyance, with proprietary charging, USB-C adapter needs, and awkward face-down charging drawing criticism.

Charging convenience was mixed: secure contacts helped, but the proprietary/short cable was a drawback.

Charging speed has limited positive evidence from one reviewer who said it does not take long to charge fully.

Charging speed was praised in the reviews that discussed it, ranging from under two hours to very fast top-ups.

Coaching features are a signature strength, especially PlaysLike, Virtual Caddie, tempo help, and shot-planning guidance, though paid features reduce value for some.

Coaching and structured workouts were praised as approachable, flexible, and valuable for beginner and intermediate runners.

Comfort is consistently praised, with reviewers saying it disappears on the wrist, fits well during swings, and can be worn around the clock.

Comfort was consistently excellent, with reviewers praising the lightweight feel for all-day wear and sleep.

The Garmin Golf app is praised as a strong all-in-one hub, but another reviewer said it could use an overhaul.

Garmin Connect was seen as powerful and useful, with cleaner or comprehensive analysis, though one reviewer found the redesign not much easier.

Contactless payments are limited by bank support in the evidence, especially for the UK reviewer who could not test Garmin Pay with his bank.

Garmin Pay was viewed as a straightforward, effective contactless payment feature.

Cross-platform compatibility has a weakness around Apple Health syncing, where one reviewer wanted more imported data.

Customization is a strength, especially watch-face data fields and widget organization that reviewers found easy to tailor.

Customization was a strength, from watch faces and widgets to activity screens and data pages.

Display quality is the clearest consensus strength, with reviewers repeatedly praising the AMOLED screen as beautiful, crisp, bright, and golf-changing.

Display quality was a standout strength thanks to a crisp, vibrant AMOLED screen, though one reviewer still preferred MIP for always-visible use.

Durability was reassuring, with reviewers reporting no concerns and even real-world abuse without damage.

Fit is praised by reviewers who found the watch nonrestrictive during swings and valued the smaller size option.

Fit was strong for many wrists, with secure wear and little slipping, though the single case size remained a caveat.

Fitness tracking accuracy has a clear caveat: one reviewer saw golf-cart movement distort distance and stair-related activity data.

Fitness tracking accuracy was praised for broad data quality and even strength-training rep counting in testing.

GPS and yardage accuracy are a major strength, with reviewers praising fast locks, accurate yardages, and highly precise on-course distances.

GPS accuracy was one of the strongest themes, with most reviewers finding reliable tracks even without dual-band GPS; a few dense-terrain issues remained.

Review evidence supports Garmin-level sensor confidence overall, with health tracking described as accurate for a high-end Garmin watch.

Reviewers described the Forerunner 165 as having reliable sensors and detailed data collection for general health and fitness tracking.

Heart-rate accuracy was generally praised across runs, rides, and intervals, with only occasional optical-sensor lag or spikes.

Mapping and navigation are major strengths, with detailed hole maps, PinPointer, dispersion views, and wrist-based planning repeatedly praised.

Mapping and navigation were useful for breadcrumb routes and GPX/course following, but the lack of full maps was a repeated limitation.

Materials quality is acceptable rather than premium in the available evidence, with the straps described as nice enough but not special.

Materials quality was mixed: plastic kept it light and affordable but felt less premium.

Menu navigation ranges from intuitive and easy to frustrating, with the touchscreen-heavy golf-map controls creating the sharpest complaint.

Menu navigation was considered intuitive after a short adjustment period.

Music controls are positively framed in limited evidence, with one reviewer calling music performance a strength.

Music controls were criticized as unintuitive during runs.

Onboard music storage drew split views: handy or smooth for some, but tedious and poor value for others.

Operating system experience is mixed: one reviewer found it intuitive, while others preferred competing smartwatch platforms or criticized the OS.

The operating experience was familiar and straightforward for Garmin users.

Outdoor visibility is excellent in the evidence, including no issues in sun, glare, or bright conditions.

Outdoor visibility was excellent in direct sun and bright conditions.

Pairing reliability receives strong positive evidence from a reviewer who said phone pairing was easy and app-guided.

Pairing reliability for headphones was described as generally solid.

Recovery-style explanations are praised because the watch does not just show metrics but helps explain what they mean.

Recovery insights were useful but clearly limited versus higher Forerunners, with some reviewers calling out missing readiness/load tools or odd recovery estimates.

Reliability was praised in workout use, with one reviewer reporting no issues with stability.

Safety features such as LiveTrack were valued for sharing location during activities.

Size options are a meaningful improvement, especially for smaller wrists, though the large model may still be too big for some.

Size options were limited because the watch comes in only one size, though one reviewer liked the in-between fit.

Sleep tracking is generally treated as interesting or strong, though one reviewer questioned how beneficial its daily sleep-quality warnings are.

Sleep tracking was mostly viewed as useful and directionally accurate, though one reviewer reported a poor night that the watch missed.

Notifications are useful but divisive: reviewers liked getting alerts, yet several found them distracting, limited, or poorly ordered.

Smartphone notifications were described as reliable and easier to read on the AMOLED display.

Smartwatch features are versatile but not best-in-class, with reviewers praising breadth while preferring dedicated smartwatch platforms for everyday use.

Smartwatch features were considered respectable for a training watch, especially notifications, Garmin Pay, music features, and basic phone-linked tools.

Software smoothness has a notable criticism from one review that described panning and zooming as not particularly smooth.

Software smoothness was praised as simple, fast, and accurate in use.

Step counting gets limited positive evidence, with one reviewer finding the advanced step counter useful in daily use.

Step counting was reported as close to other tested devices.

Stress tracking is mostly valued and sometimes described as accurate, though one reviewer found little personal value in the metric.

Stress tracking was mentioned as part of the watch's helpful health-glance system for knowing when to ease off.

Style and design are positive overall, with reviewers calling it stylish, high-end, social-setting friendly, and lightweight.

Style and design were viewed as slim, low-profile, sleek, and suitable for daily wear, though still sporty.

Third-party app support is positive but not seamless, with Spotify/Connect IQ setup described as smooth and straightforward rather than Apple-like.

Third-party app/widget support was available and sometimes useful for tailoring data, though one reviewer did not find it especially useful.

Touchscreen responsiveness is mixed, ranging from nice and responsive to fiddly and frustrating on course.

Touchscreen responsiveness was widely praised, including smooth swiping, reliable taps, and usability with gloves or wet screens.

The user interface is polarized: it can feel intuitive, but one review said the S70 feels unlike previous Garmins in a bad way.

The interface was repeatedly described as simple, approachable, and easy to use.

Value depends heavily on use case: many reviewers justify the price for serious golfers, while others say it is too expensive for basic yardages.

Value for money was one of the strongest areas, with reviewers repeatedly calling it a high-value or sweet-spot Garmin.

Watch faces are liked, with praise for beautiful faces and the default face, though evidence is limited.

Watch face quality was praised for full customization.

Water resistance performs well in limited real-use evidence, including showering and swimming without issues.

Water resistance was considered more than enough for rain, sweat, showering, and swimming use.

Wellness insights are one of the strongest non-golf positives, with reviewers saying the data is useful, in-depth, and motivating.

Wellness insights such as Morning Report and Body Battery were considered fun, useful, and sometimes addictive.

Wi-Fi/music setup drew criticism when troubleshooting made the watch appear connected even though playlist syncing failed.

Workout variety is viewed as broad and useful, though one review frames the sports tracking as basic but solid rather than elite.

Workout variety covers most mainstream running, gym, cycling, swimming, and fitness needs, but reviewers consistently noted missing triathlon or backcountry profiles.