Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Forerunner 70

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Forerunner 165 compared with Forerunner 70

	GarminForerunner 165	GarminForerunner 70
Overview
Released
Released	February 2024	May 2026
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	43 mm	42.6 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	OLED
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display; five physical buttons	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
Screen protection	Chemically strengthened glass	Chemically strengthened glass
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	No	No
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	No
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	No	No
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	No	No
Crash detection
Crash detection	No	No
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo	Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; accelerometer; ambient light sensor; no built-in barometric altimeter or body-temperature sensor
Health features
Health features	Continuous heart rate with high/low alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; stress, respiration and blood oxygen; advanced sleep and sleep score; sleep coach and nap detection; Health Snapshot; hydration and women's health tracking; no ECG app	Continuous heart rate with high/low alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; stress and respiration; advanced sleep, sleep coach, breathing variations and nap detection; smart wake alarm; Health Snapshot; lifestyle logging; Health Status; women's health tracking via Garmin Connect; no ECG app
Fitness features
Fitness features	Daily suggested running workouts and Garmin Coach plans; training effect and recovery time; wrist-based running dynamics and running power; PacePro; VO2 max and race predictions; pool and open-water swimming; running, cycling, strength, HIIT, yoga, Pilates, tennis, pickleball and padel profiles; point-to-point and breadcrumb course navigation, back-to-start and TracBack; no full offline maps or dedicated triathlon mode; no training readiness, load or status (Wareable and Tech Advisor)	More than 80 sports apps; training readiness, status, load, load focus and recovery time; Garmin running, cycling and strength coaching; daily suggested running workouts including run/walk; quick workouts; wrist-based running dynamics and running power; PacePro; VO2 max and race predictions; breadcrumb course navigation, back-to-start and TracBack; pool swimming; no open-water swim or triathlon mode; no full offline maps
Safety features
Safety features	Incident detection during selected activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible smartphone and connectivity; live event sharing is Android-only	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)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 11 days	Up to 13 days
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	Up to 20 days	Up to 28 days
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	No	No
Works with
Works with	iPhone and Android	iPhone and Android
Storage
Storage	4 GB	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Smartwatch up to 11 days; battery saver smartwatch up to 20 days; GPS-only up to 19 hours; all-systems GNSS up to 17 hours; actual life depends on display settings, enabled features and use	Smartwatch up to 13 days, or 5 days with display always on; battery saver smartwatch up to 28 days; GPS-only GNSS up to 23 hours; all-systems GNSS up to 16 hours; actual life depends on enabled features and usage
Charging
Charging	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in battery	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °C
Connectivity
Connectivity	Bluetooth and ANT+ ; controls smartphone music without offline playback; no Wi-Fi; Garmin Pay; Connect IQ apps, watch faces and data fields; smart notifications; Android-only text responses and notification images; Garmin Share and Garmin Messenger; no cellular connection or multi-band GNSS	Bluetooth and ANT+; GPS, GLONASS and Galileo; no multi-band GNSS; Android-only text responses and notification images; Connect IQ apps/watch faces/data fields; Garmin Share; controls smartphone music without offline playback; no Garmin Pay, speaker/microphone calls or cellular connection
Storage
Storage	4 GB memory/history ; standard model has no offline music player	512 MB memory/history; not storage for offline music playback
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	39 g (better)	40 g
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; chemically strengthened glass; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; chemically strengthened glass; 5 ATM water rating; operating/storage temperature –20–60 °C
Size
Size	43 x 43 x 11.6 mm; Garmin lists 39 g without a separate body-only weight	42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 40 g without a separate body-only weight
Bands
Bands	20 mm quick-release silicone bands; fits 126–203 mm wrists	Standard 20 mm quick-release silicone band; fits 126–203 mm wrists
Colours
Colours	Black/Slate Grey; Mist Grey/Whitestone	UK Black, Whitestone, Citron and Cool Lavender; global range additionally offers Tidal Blue and Soft Pink
In the box
In the box	Forerunner 165; charging/data cable; documentation	Forerunner 70; charging cable; documentation