Garmin Forerunner 170 Music vs Garmin Forerunner 735XT

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Forerunner 170 Music compared with Forerunner 735XT
GarminForerunner 170 MusicGarminForerunner 735XT
Overview
ReleasedMay 2026May 2016
Display
Case sizes42.6 mm44.5 mm
PanelOLEDMemory-in-pixel
Always-on displayYesYes
Display detail1.2-inch (30.4 mm diameter) colour AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display and large-font setting; five physical buttons1.23-inch (31.1 mm) sunlight-readable semi-round colour MIP display, 215 x 180 pixels, with button controls.
Screen protectionChemically strengthened glass–
Health and fitness
ECGNoNo
Blood oxygenYesNo
Skin temperatureNoNo
Sleep apnoea alertsNoNo
High blood pressure alertsNoNo
Body compositionNoNo
Fall detectionNoNo
Crash detectionNoNo
GPSSingle-bandSingle-band
Water resistance50 m50 m
SensorsGarmin Elevate wrist heart rate; Pulse Ox; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; thermometer measures activity/ambient temperature, not overnight skin temperatureGPS, GLONASS, Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate and accelerometer.
Health featuresContinuous 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 appAll-day heart rate, steps, calories and sleep tracking.
Fitness featuresMore 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 mapsRunning, cycling, pool and open-water swimming, triathlon, hiking and skiing profiles; auto multisport switching, VO2 max estimate, race predictor and recovery advisor. Detailed running dynamics need an HRM-Run or HRM-Tri strap; underwater heart rate needs an HRM-Swim or HRM-Tri strap.
Safety featuresIncident 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 10 daysUp to 11 days
In low-power modeUp to 19 days–
Mobile data optionNoNo
Works withiPhone and AndroidiPhone and Android
Storage4 GB–
Battery life detailSmartwatch 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 usageUp to 11 days in watch mode with activity, notifications and optical heart rate; 14 hours in GPS activity mode with optical heart rate, or 24 hours in UltraTrac without it.
ChargingGarmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °CRechargeable lithium-ion battery with charging/data clip.
ConnectivityBluetooth, 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 connectionBluetooth and ANT+; smart notifications, Garmin Connect, Connect IQ, LiveTrack through a paired phone and phone music controls.
Storage4 GB memory/history with offline music supportStores 80 hours of activity history.
Design
Weight (lightest version)41 g40.2 g (better)
SoftwareGarminGarmin
Case materialsFibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; chemically strengthened glass; 5 ATM water rating; operating/storage temperature –20–60 °CSilicone band and 5 ATM water rating.
Size42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 41 g without a separate body-only weight44.5 x 44.5 x 11.9 mm; 40.2 g.
BandsStandard 20 mm quick-release two-tone silicone band; fits 126–203 mm wrists–
ColoursBlack with Black/Amp Yellow band; Whitestone with Whitestone/Cloud Blue band; Teal Green with Teal Green/Citron band; Red Pink with Red Pink/Mango bandBlack case and band.
In the boxForerunner 170 Music; charging cable; documentation–

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