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Garmin Forerunner 170 vs Garmin Forerunner 265

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

GarminForerunner 170GarminForerunner 265
Overview
ReleasedMay 2026March 2023
Display
Case sizes42.6 mm42 mm or 46 mm
PanelOLEDOLED
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 buttonsForerunner 265S has a 1.1″ (28.1 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 360 x 360 pixels; Forerunner 265 has a 1.3″ (32.5 mm) AMOLED touchscreen, 416 x 416 pixels; five buttons; optional always-on mode
Screen protectionChemically strengthened glassCorning Gorilla Glass 3
Health and fitness
ECGNoNo
Blood oxygenYesYes
Skin temperatureNoNo
Sleep apnoea alertsNoNo
High blood pressure alertsNoNo
Body compositionNoNo
Fall detectionNoNo
Crash detectionNoNo
GPSSingle-bandDual-band (L1 and L5)
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 temperatureGarmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor; Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope; accelerometer; thermometer; ambient light sensor
Health featuresContinuous 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 appHigh and low heart rate alerts; HRV status; Body Battery; all-day stress; sleep score, sleep coach and nap detection; breathing variations; respiration rate; Health Snapshot; menstrual cycle and pregnancy tracking; jet lag adviser
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 mapsTraining readiness and training status; training load, load ratio and load focus; training effect, VO2 max and recovery time; wrist-based running power and dynamics; PacePro; race predictor; Garmin Coach running, cycling and strength plans; daily suggested running and cycling workouts; triathlon and open-water swimming; course navigation with a breadcrumb trail, TracBack and Up Ahead
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 during select activities; assistance; LiveTrack; spectator messaging; live event sharing (Android only); these features require a paired phone
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 10 daysUp to 15 days
In low-power modeUp to 19 days–
Mobile data optionNoNo
Works withiPhone and AndroidiPhone and Android
Storage4 GB8 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; actual life depends on enabled features and usageForerunner 265S up to 15 days in smartwatch mode, 24 hours GPS only, 18 hours SatIQ (AutoSelect), 15 hours All-Systems + Multi-Band; with music up to 7.5, seven and six hours respectively. Forerunner 265 up to 13 days in smartwatch mode, 20 hours GPS only, 16 hours SatIQ, 14 hours All-Systems + Multi-Band; with music up to seven, 6.5 and six hours respectively
ChargingGarmin proprietary plug charging/data cable; rechargeable built-in lithium-ion battery; USB charging temperature 0–45 °CGarmin proprietary plug charger; USB-C charging/data cable included
ConnectivityBluetooth 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 connectionBluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; multi-band GPS with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and SatIQ; Garmin Pay; offline music from Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music (premium subscription required); Connect IQ; notifications and Android text responses; Garmin Share
Storage4 GB memory/history; standard Forerunner 170 does not support offline music playback–
Design
Weight (lightest version)41 g39 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; silicone band; 5 ATM water rating
Size42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9 mm; Garmin lists 41 g without a separate body-only weightForerunner 265S is 41.7 x 41.7 x 12.9 mm and 39 g; Forerunner 265 is 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 mm and 47 g; Garmin does not publish case-only weights
BandsStandard 20 mm quick-release two-tone silicone band; fits 126–203 mm wristsQuick-release 18 mm bands for the 265S, fitting 115–178 mm wrists; quick-release 22 mm bands for the 265, fitting 135–205 mm wrists
ColoursBlack with Black/Amp Yellow band; Whitestone with Whitestone/Cloud Blue band; Teal Green and Red Pink belong to the separate Music model–
In the boxForerunner 170; charging cable; documentationForerunner 265 or 265S, USB-C charging/data cable, documentation

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