The Garmin Forerunner 70 ($249 as tested) is the brand’s latest entry-level running watch. It’s basically a Garmin Forerunner 170 with fewer smart features and slightly less impressive under-the-hood tech for $50 cheaper.
However, the Forerunner 70 is positively bursting with training insights, recovery advice, and race-day metrics for runners. It also boasts a bright AMOLED screen, a comfortable case, and impressive battery life.
I’m a newbie runner, and I wore the Garmin Forerunner 70 for two weeks. In that time, I compared tracking performance against the competition while running and walking, tested battery life claims, analysed sleep insights versus other popular wearables, tried out the few smart features on offer, and ultimately, put it through hell (I’m hard on my smartwatches).
Here’s everything you need to know about the Garmin Forerunner 70.
Garmin Forerunner 70: Versus the competition
Forerunner 70 |
Forerunner 55 |
Forerunner 170 |
Coros Pace 4 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Launch price |
$249 |
$199 |
$299 |
$249 |
Dimensions |
42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm |
42 x 42 x 11.6 mm |
42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm |
43.4 x 43.4 x 11.8 mm |
Weight |
40 g |
37 g |
41 g |
40-41 g |
Display type |
AMOLED |
MIP |
AMOLED |
AMOLED |
Display size |
1.2-inch |
1.04-inch |
1.2-inch |
1.2-inch |
Battery life |
13 days |
14 days |
10 days |
19 days |
GPS battery life |
23 hours |
20 hours |
20 hours |
24 hours |
Water resistance |
50 meters |
50 meters |
50 meters |
50 meters |
The Coros Pace 4 is the nearest non-Garmin competitor to the Forerunner 70. Both cost about the same, but the Pace 4 offers more precise multi-band GPS, an altimeter for elevation tracking data, superior battery life, and support for multisport workouts.
That said, the Forerunner 70 has a more polished user interface — both on the watch and in the app — better physical controls, and valuable metrics, like Training Readiness Score, which are absent on the Pace 4.
Another option at $249 is the Suunto Run, which also has some advantages over the Forerunner 70 — like dual-band GPS and onboard music storage — but it lacks the level of training insights and refined user experience of the Garmin.
In terms of the Garmin Forerunner 70 vs 170, the latter sports an altimeter and an onboard temperature sensor for advanced women’s health tracking. The Forerunner 170 additionally supports NFC for mobile payments, and if you pony up extra cash for the ‘Music’ edition, you even get onboard storage for saving Spotify/Amazon Music/Deezer tunes for offline enjoyment.
Finally, the jump from the Forerunner 55 to the Forerunner 70 is a big one, with the newer model gaining a bright AMOLED screen, an updated user interface, and lots of new advanced training insights for runners.
Garmin Forerunner 70 value: 3/5
- The Garmin Forerunner 70 is $249 and available now
- The Forerunner 70 is the same cost as the Coros Pace 4, its closest competitor
- Garmin's new entry-level watch is $50 more than its predecessor, the Forerunner 55, at launch, but the price will likely come down
The Garmin Forerunner 70 is priced at $249.99, which is $50 more than the launch price of its predecessor, the Forerunner 55. However, $199 in 2021 dollars — when the Forerunner 55 first debuted — is equivalent to roughly $240 in 2026 dollars, accounting for inflation. This makes the price hike a bit more digestible.
Moreover, I fully expect the Forerunner 70 to see a price drop, perhaps even by the holiday season. After all, the Forerunner 55 regularly sells for $149.
The Garmin Forerunner 70 is available now in your choice of Tidal Blue, Soft Pink, Cool Lavender, Citron, Whitestone (shown), and Black.
Garmin Forerunner 70 design and comfort: 5/5
- Lightweight, comfortable case design with five buttons and a bright AMOLED touchscreen
- There's only one size: 42mm
- 50 meters of water resistance is enough for surface-level swims and showers
The Garmin Forerunner 70 is nearly identical in case size, weight, and button placement to its predecessor, the Forerunner 55, and exactly the same as its higher-end sibling, the Forerunner 170.
Unlike the Forerunner 55, which has a somewhat dull, Memory in Pixel (MIP) display that isn't touch sensitive, the new Forerunner 70 sports a bright and well-saturated 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which I found responsive, and had no issue reading in direct sunlight.
Made from fiber-reinforced polymer, aka plastic, the case is delightfully lightweight and easy-wearing. There's only one size available, 42.6mm, which some users might find a tad larger than their liking, especially if you have smaller wrists.
Water resistance is a respectable 50 meters, which is enough to survive surface-level swimming, sweaty workouts, showers, etc.
Garmin Forerunner 70 fitness tracking: 4/5
- New, high-end training tools for runners compared to its predecessor
- Onboard GPS provides location data without a smartphone, but no onboard altimeter for elevation tracking
Even though the Garmin Forerunner 70 is an entry-level model, it's positively brimming with high-end running metrics, insights, training tools, and recovery advice.
For example, unlike its predecessor, the Forerunner 55, the new Forerunner 70 supports Garmin's Training Load, Training Status, and Training Readiness metrics, all of which I find highly useful when planning what types of workouts to do... or not, on a daily basis to avoid overexertion.
You also get hardcore running dynamic insights to help you train and ultimately improve your form, like ground contact time, vertical oscillation, vertical ratio, and stride length. In terms of cardio and performance, the Forerunner 70 measures your running power, VO2 Max, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and blood oxygen saturation levels.
Prepping for an upcoming event, like running your first 5k? The Garmin Coach feature on the Forerunner 70 can generate custom, adaptive training plans to help you make it across the finish line with grace and style.
Despite being a running watch, the Forerunner 70 supports over 80 workout types. Fitness tracking accuracy is solid overall, but the lack of an onboard barometric altimeter led to less than precise elevation gain data in my testing.
For example, when I pitted the Forerunner 70 vs the Apple Watch SE 3 in a 5,500-step tracking comparison, both devices performed extremely well across the board, from step count to total distance to heart rate to pace. However, Garmin's climb data was considerably lower than Apple's and the control.
Garmin Forerunner 70 health tracking: 3/5
- Impressive daily sleep reports with sleep score and Body Battery metric
- Limited women’s health tracking tools; no thermometer
- Accurate heart rate tracking with SpO2 readings
Modern Garmin watches offer comprehensive and digestible sleep insights, and the Forerunner 70 is no exception, with details on your sleep cycles, disturbances, a numeric sleep score, and rating. The Forerunner 70 also supports Garmin's handy body Battery metric, which provides the best overall gauge of your well-being, taking into account sleep, recent workouts, stress, and more.
Finally, the Garmin Forerunner 70 lacks an onboard body temperature sensor, unlike the higher-end Forerunner 170, so women's health tracking insights are, well, lacking. While the pricier model offers period predictions, the Forerunner 70 does not.
Garmin Forerunner 70 smart and safety features: 2/5
- Smart features are limited; for NFC support and onboard music storage, get the Forerunner 170 Music
- The Forerunner 70 supports mirrored smartphone notifications and media control for both Android and iOS
- Safety features include incident detection and Garmin's LiveTrack location-sharing
If you're looking for smart features like NFC payments and onboard music storage, the Garmin Forerunner 70 probably isn't the watch for you. Instead, consider the Forerunner 170 or 170 Music.
However, neither of these Garmin running watches offers anything near the level of smart features you get from the best full-featured smartwatch models, like the Apple Watch Series 11 and Pixel Watch 4. Then again, the Forerunner series wipes the floor with those models in terms of advanced running metrics and insights.
The Forerunner 70 plays nicely with Android and iOS devices, supporting mirrored notification and media control. You can also enter a destination in Google Maps on your smartphone, and the Forerunner 70 will provide turn-by-turn directions on the screen.
Garmin's new entry-level watch also supports two important safety features: Incident Detection, similar to Apple's fall and crash detection, and LiveTrack location sharing.
Garmin Forerunner 70 battery life: 4/5
- Solid battery performance: 13 days in smartwatch mode or up to six days when using the always-on display
- GPS battery life is good for between 16 and 23 hours, depending on your tracking mode
Battery life on the Garmin Forerunner 70 is fairly good. In smartwatch mode, Garmin promises up to 13 days of use. However, I tested the Forerunner 70 with the always-on display setting engaged. Under these circumstances, Garmin says the watch should last up to five days per charge, but I consistently got six days, even with lots of use and 24/7 wearing.
When tracking an outdoor workout with all-system GPS engaged, you can expect around 16 hours of use, or 23 hours if you switch out of all-system GPS. The watch also recharges quite quickly; it took roughly 90 minutes to go from ~10% to 100% in my testing.
Garmin Forerunner 70 review: Verdict
The Garmin Forerunner 70 is a near-perfect smartwatch for folks who crave Garmin's best running tools and training insights but don't want to break the bank
The Garmin Forerunner 70 is a near-perfect smartwatch for folks who crave Garmin's best running tools and training insights but don't want to break the bank. Sure, smart features are all but non-existent, but that's why Garmin also sells the Forerunner 170 and 170 Music.
With a comfortable and sporty design, bright display, refined user interface, solid battery performance, and reliable fitness tracking accuracy (aside from climb data), there's a lot to like about Garmin's new entry-level model. However, it's not the only appealing running watch at this price point.
The Coros Pace 4 is also $249 and offers a lot of the same tools as the Forerunner 70, in a similarly-sized package, but with better battery performance, more accurate GPS, and support for multisport tracking.
That said, I prefer the Forerunner 70s' user interface and greater number of physical controls. Garmin's entry-level model also offers metrics I've come to rely on, like Training Readiness, which you won't find on the Coros.
Garmin Forerunner 70 final score: 21/30
