Garmin Forerunner 170 Feature Scores
Explore all 50 feature scores for Garmin Forerunner 170, organized into pros and cons.
Scores by Feature
Summary
50 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.027 (54%)
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Positive 3.5-4.414 (28%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.44 (8%)
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Negative 1.5-2.45 (10%)
Pros
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Training Readiness, Training Status, HRV, load, and recovery guidance are the watch’s most consistently praised upgrades. They make the 170 useful well beyond beginner-level run tracking.
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Garmin Coach, Training Status, adaptive plans, and Quick Workouts give beginners and regular runners unusually strong guidance. Quick Workout targets can be aggressive and its duration options may feel restrictive.
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The 1.2-inch AMOLED is colorful, sharp, and easy to read while moving. It is not as fluid or premium as flagship smartwatch displays, but testers still rate it highly.
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The compact 41 g design is widely praised for all-day, sleep, and long-run comfort. One reviewer warned that the plastic rear casing may irritate sensitive skin during prolonged wear.
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Reviewers like the compact proportions, colorful two-tone options, and modern AMOLED look. The plastic construction keeps it sporty rather than luxurious.
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More than 80 sport profiles make the watch versatile for running, cycling, gym work, swimming, and outdoor activities. The main gap is a dedicated triathlon or multisport mode.
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Five physical buttons are a major usability strength, especially during runs, with gloves, or when sweaty hands make touch controls awkward.
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The updated UI is polished and easier to use, with quick access to settings and rich data. New Garmin users may still find the menu depth intimidating.
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Garmin Pay is a useful convenience and a key reason to choose the 170 over the 70. Its value depends on bank support and whether buyers can justify the price premium.
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Steady running and treadmill readings usually tracked closely to chest straps. Rapid intervals, strength work, steep climbs, and some trail sessions exposed lag from the older sensor.
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Body Battery, HRV, sleep guidance, Health Status, and lifestyle logging create a broad wellness package that supports recovery as well as training.
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Wrist-based running power and dynamics bring advanced training metrics to a relatively affordable watch and are strongly praised.
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The refreshed software is faster, more polished, and easier to adjust before a run, with useful hidden settings and widgets.
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The touchscreen is responsive without feeling overly sensitive, while physical buttons remain available for workouts.
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The base 170 offers a strong blend of training analysis, accuracy, and smart features. Value is less convincing beside the cheaper Forerunner 70, Coros Pace 4, discounted Forerunner 165, or the expensive Music upgrade.
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The AMOLED remains clear outdoors and is easy to glance at during runs, even though brighter flagship panels exist.
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Most testers found all-systems GPS impressively close to multi-band reference watches on roads and open routes. Dense canopy, steep terrain, and technical trails produced drift or corner cutting for at least one long-term tester.
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LiveTrack and location-sharing tools are valuable at this price, though live tracking still depends on carrying a connected phone.
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Garmin’s training ecosystem is repeatedly praised as polished and deep, with strong analysis, coaching, and device integration.
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Overall workout tracking impressed testers, with strong agreement between the watch and trusted comparison devices in controlled runs.
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The silicone strap is soft, stretchy, and easy to replace, while the 170’s metal clasp feels nicer than the cheaper model’s plastic hardware.
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The AMOLED is consistently described as bright enough for everyday and outdoor use, though it is not Garmin’s brightest panel.
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Battery opinions depend heavily on settings: raise-to-wake users often approach a week, while always-on users commonly report about three to four days. It trails the cheaper Forerunner 70 and several rivals.
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Road-running performance is dependable enough for several reviewers to use it as a primary training watch. Reliability becomes more mixed in dense forest, steep terrain, and technical hiking.
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Data layouts, swappable bands, report themes, and vibration patterns give the watch a pleasing level of personalization.
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The 43 mm case fit testers securely and should suit many wrists, although the single-size design may not be ideal for everyone.
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Garmin’s newer OS looks more polished, feels more modern, and aligns the watch with higher-end Forerunners.
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The lightweight plastic case feels sturdy and better finished than older entry models. It avoids feeling cheap, even if it lacks premium materials.
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The Music model supports useful phone-free playback and major streaming services. Reviewers like the feature but criticize the extra cost and unchanged storage capacity.
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Charging is quick, reaching a full charge in roughly 65 minutes and providing a substantial top-up in about 20 minutes.
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Garmin Connect remains free, easy to use, and effective for reviewing workouts and daily activity.
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The refreshed Garmin interface makes menus smoother and faster to move through than on earlier entry-level models.
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On-wrist music control is convenient during runs and contributes to the Music model’s beginner-friendly appeal.
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Connect IQ supports major services such as Spotify and YouTube Music plus a wide range of community apps and widgets.
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Pulse Ox is considered a meaningful upgrade over the previous entry-level generation and adds depth to overnight health monitoring.
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Despite its low weight and plastic build, the watch is considered sturdy enough for regular training and daily wear.
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Wi-Fi is useful for downloading music on the Music model. The standard model lacks it, but reviewers found Bluetooth phone syncing adequate for normal use.
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The 170 offers payments, notifications, optional music, and apps, but it remains a training watch first and lacks the breadth of Apple or Samsung smartwatches.
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Calorie estimates stayed within about ten percent of a chest-strap comparison, which reviewers considered reasonably useful.
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Notifications are useful for daily wear, but one tester found the buzzing overly reactive during workouts.
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Report themes add playful personalization, but the default progress-bar watch face can feel frustrating because its goals rarely align.
Cons
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Breadcrumb routes are usable for familiar roads, but the absence of offline or topographic maps is a major limitation for trails, hiking, and exploration.
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A built-in flashlight is missing. Reviewers did not expect it at this tier, but several still considered its absence disappointing.
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The watch cannot take calls from the wrist because it lacks a microphone and speaker, limiting its appeal as a full smartwatch.
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ECG is not available on the Forerunner 170, and reviewers note that buyers must move to a pricier Garmin to get it.
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There is no onboard voice assistant because the watch lacks a microphone and speaker.
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The fiber-reinforced plastic keeps weight down but does not feel luxurious, and the glass is below sapphire or premium Gorilla Glass standards.
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Temperature-related capability is valued for cycle tracking, but reviewers also note that Garmin reserves some skin-temperature features for more expensive models.
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Sleep tracking produced conflicting results: one tester found it close to trusted wearables, while another found REM and deep-sleep estimates inaccurate.
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The compact single case works well for many smaller wrists, but buyers who need multiple case sizes have no alternative.