Garmin Forerunner 10 vs Garmin Forerunner 170 Music

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Forerunner 10 compared with Forerunner 170 Music
GarminForerunner 10GarminForerunner 170 Music
Overview
Released2012May 2026
Display
Case sizes52.2 mm or 57.2 mm42.6 mm
Panel–OLED
Always-on displayYesYes
Display detailMonochrome display, 55 × 32 pixels; 2.1 × 2.0 cm on the small version and 2.5 × 2.4 cm on the large version. Garmin does not identify its panel technology.1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display and large-font setting; five physical buttons
Screen protection–Chemically strengthened glass
Health and fitness
ECGNoNo
Blood oxygenNoYes
Skin temperatureNoNo
Sleep apnoea alertsNoNo
High blood pressure alertsNoNo
Body compositionNoNo
Fall detectionNoNo
Crash detectionNoNo
GPSSingle-bandSingle-band
Water resistance50 m50 m
SensorsBuilt-in high-sensitivity GPS; no heart-rate sensor or compatible heart-rate and foot-pod accessories.Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; thermometer measures activity/ambient temperature, not overnight skin temperature
Health features–Continuous heart rate with high/low alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; stress and respiration; advanced sleep, sleep coach, breathing variations and nap detection; meditation; smart wake alarm; Health Snapshot; lifestyle logging; Health Status; women's health tracking via Garmin Connect; no ECG app
Fitness featuresOutdoor time, distance, pace, calories, personal records, Auto Lap, Auto Pause, Virtual Pacer and run/walk intervals. No all-day step tracking.More than 80 sports apps; training readiness, status, load, load focus and recovery time; Garmin running, cycling and strength coaching; daily suggested running workouts and quick workouts; wrist-based running dynamics and running power; ground-contact balance requires a compatible accessory; PacePro and grade-adjusted pace; VO2 max and race predictions; cycling power-meter and Varia radar/light support; pool and open-water swimming; no dedicated triathlon mode; Breadcrumb course navigation, point-to-point navigation, back-to-start and TracBack; elevation profile, future elevation plot and Up Ahead; no full routable offline maps
Safety features–Incident detection during selected activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible smartphone; live event sharing is Android-only; screen flashlight, not a separate LED torch
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 35 daysUp to 10 days
In low-power mode–Up to 19 days
Mobile data optionNoNo
Works withNo phone pairingiPhone and Android
Storage–4 GB
Battery life detailUp to five weeks in watch mode or five hours with GPS training.Smartwatch up to 10 days, or 4 days with display always on; battery saver smartwatch up to 19 days; GPS-only GNSS up to 20 hours; all-systems GNSS up to 14 hours; with music, GPS-only up to 7.5 hours and all-systems up to 6.5 hours (exact series manual; UK web table mislabels 7.5 hours as days); actual life depends on enabled features and usage
ChargingRechargeable lithium-ion battery with a USB charging and data clip.Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °C
ConnectivityUSB cable uploads runs to Garmin Connect through a computer; no Bluetooth or direct smartphone pairing.Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo; no multi-band GNSS; Garmin Pay contactless payments; Android-only text responses and notification images; Connect IQ apps/watch faces/data fields; Garmin Share; controls smartphone music and plays downloaded personal audio or supported music-service content through compatible Bluetooth headphones; third-party services may require subscriptions; no speaker/microphone calls or cellular connection
StorageSeven runs on the watch, with up to 50 laps per activity on Garmin's Taiwan specification.4 GB memory/history with offline music support
Design
Weight (lightest version)36 g (better)41 g
SoftwareGarminGarmin
Case materialsPlastic case and band; 50 m water resistance.Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; chemically strengthened glass; 5 ATM water rating; operating/storage temperature –20–60 °C
SizeSmall 4.01 × 5.22 × 1.57 cm and 36 g; large 4.55 × 5.72 × 1.57 cm and 43 g. Longest case dimensions appear in the size comparison.42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 41 g without a separate body-only weight
Bands–Standard 20 mm quick-release two-tone silicone band; fits 126–203 mm wrists
ColoursOriginal green/white and pink/white small versions and black/red large version; later colours varied by region.Black with Black/Amp Yellow band; Whitestone with Whitestone/Cloud Blue band; Teal Green with Teal Green/Citron band; Red Pink with Red Pink/Mango band
In the boxWatch, USB charging clip and manual.Forerunner 170 Music; charging cable; documentation

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