Garmin Forerunner 170 Music vs Garmin Forerunner 745

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Forerunner 170 Music compared with Forerunner 745
GarminForerunner 170 MusicGarminForerunner 745
Overview
ReleasedMay 2026September 2020
Display
Case sizes42.6 mm44 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 buttons1.2-inch (30.4 mm) transflective colour memory-in-pixel display, 240 x 240 pixels, with button controls.
Screen protectionChemically strengthened glassCorning Gorilla Glass DX.
Health and fitness
ECGNoNo
Blood oxygenYesYes
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, Galileo, Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and thermometer.
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 appPulse Ox, sleep, all-day stress and Body Battery energy monitoring.
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 mapsTriathlon, running, cycling and swimming profiles; daily suggested workouts, training status and load, VO2 max, recovery time, PacePro and course guidance. Detailed running dynamics require a compatible pod or 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 torchIncident detection and assistance require a paired smartphone; LiveTrack.
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 10 daysUp to 7 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 seven days in smartwatch mode, 16 hours in GPS mode without music or six hours with GPS and music.
ChargingGarmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °CRechargeable battery with Garmin charging cable.
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, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; Garmin Pay, Connect IQ, smart notifications and on-watch storage for up to 500 songs.
Storage4 GB memory/history with offline music support–
Design
Weight (lightest version)41 g (better)47 g
SoftwareGarminGarmin
Case materialsFibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; chemically strengthened glass; 5 ATM water rating; operating/storage temperature –20–60 °CFibre-reinforced polymer bezel and silicone band; 5 ATM water rating.
Size42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 41 g without a separate body-only weight43.8 x 43.8 x 13.3 mm; 47 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.
In the boxForerunner 170 Music; charging cable; documentation–

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