Garmin Forerunner 170 vs Garmin Forerunner 230

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Forerunner 170 compared with Forerunner 230

	GarminForerunner 170	GarminForerunner 230
Overview
Released
Released	May 2026	November 2015
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	42.6 mm	45 mm
Panel
Panel	OLED	Memory-in-pixel
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 and large-font setting; five physical buttons	Sunlight-readable colour display, listed as 1.0 inch (25.4 mm) on Garmin Singapore's exact product page, 215 x 180 pixels, with button controls.
Screen protection
Screen protection	Chemically strengthened glass	–
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	No	No
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	No
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; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor; thermometer measures activity/ambient temperature, not overnight skin temperature	GPS, GLONASS and accelerometer; heart-rate data requires an optional external sensor.
Health features
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; smart wake alarm; Health Snapshot; lifestyle logging; Health Status; women's health tracking via Garmin Connect; no ECG app	Daily steps, calories and sleep tracking; no built-in optical heart-rate sensor.
Fitness features
Fitness features	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	Outdoor and indoor running, cycling, advanced workouts and pace alerts; VO2 max estimate, recovery advisor and race predictor with a compatible heart-rate strap.
Safety features
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)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 10 days	Up to 35 days
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	Up to 19 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 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; actual life depends on enabled features and usage	Up to five weeks in smartwatch mode with activity tracking and notifications, or 16 hours in training mode.
Charging
Charging	Garmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °C	Rechargeable lithium-ion battery with charging/data clip.
Connectivity
Connectivity	Bluetooth and ANT+; 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 without offline playback; no Wi-Fi, speaker/microphone calls or cellular connection	Bluetooth and ANT+; smart notifications, Connect IQ, Garmin Connect automatic uploads, LiveTrack through a paired phone and phone music controls.
Storage
Storage	4 GB memory/history; standard Forerunner 170 does not support offline music playback	Stores 200 hours of activity history.
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	41 g	41 g
Software
Software	Garmin	Garmin
Case materials
Case materials	Fibre-reinforced polymer bezel; silicone band; chemically strengthened glass; 5 ATM water rating; operating/storage temperature –20–60 °C	5 ATM water rating.
Size
Size	42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 41 g without a separate body-only weight	45 x 45 x 11.8 mm; 41 g.
Bands
Bands	Standard 20 mm quick-release two-tone silicone band; fits 126–203 mm wrists	–
Colours
Colours	Black with Black/Amp Yellow band; Whitestone with Whitestone/Cloud Blue band; Teal Green and Red Pink belong to the separate Music model	Black case with force yellow band.
In the box
In the box	Forerunner 170; charging cable; documentation	–