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Garmin Approach S70 · Photo source

Garmin Approach S70
Photo 1 of 56

Garmin Approach S70 · Photo source

Garmin · Approach

Approach S70

Released May 2023

Approach S70 is an AMOLED golf GPS watch with detailed course maps, personalised club suggestions, weather-adjusted distances and offline music.

Type
Smart and sports
Sizes
42, 47 mm
Movement
–
Power reserve
–
Display
OLED
Battery
16 days
Water
50 m
GPS
Dual-band
Weight
44 g

What reviewers say

Plugged In Golf and National Club Golfer liked the clear AMOLED screen, straightforward on-course controls and comfortable fit. Both found the course maps, distances and scoring useful, and praised battery endurance during real rounds. Plugged In Golf's 42 mm still had 40% after one round and a week of daily wear; National Club Golfer's 47 mm had over 60% after 36 holes. Both described it as expensive. National Club Golfer found some advanced wind and shot data more than it personally needed; Plugged In Golf highlighted the extra green-contour subscription. Their on-course accuracy impressions are not a universal measurement guarantee.

From pluggedingolf.com and nationalclubgolfer.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Display

Case sizes
42 mm or 47 mm
Panel
OLED
Always-on display
Yes
Display detail
42 mm version has a 1.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen with 390 x 390 pixels; 47 mm has a 1.4 inch screen with 454 x 454 pixels. Optional always-on mode and ambient-light sensor. Three physical buttons. UK table pairs the 42 mm screen's 1.2 inch figure with 32.02 mm, an inconsistent conversion; neither value is silently recalculated here. Launch German datasheet also incorrectly repeats 390 x 390 for the 47 mm display; exact current model tables establish 454 x 454.
Screen protection
Current UK and US model tables specify Corning Gorilla Glass 3. German launch article calls it sapphire, conflicting with its own attached Gorilla Glass datasheet; no sapphire configuration is established.

Health and fitness

ECG
No
Blood oxygen
Yes
Skin temperature
No
Sleep apnoea alerts
No
High blood pressure alerts
No
Body composition
No
Fall detection
No
Crash detection
No
GPS
Dual-band (L1 and L5)
Water resistance
50 m
Sensors
GPS, GLONASS and Galileo; 47 mm additionally has multi-band positioning and SatIQ. The exact German datasheet distinguishes 42 mm multi-GNSS from 47 mm multifrequency; current UK/US tables likewise list multi-band and SatIQ only on 47 mm. Both have Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and ambient-light sensor. Maker does not number the optical sensor generation.
Health features
Continuous heart rate, resting rate and high/low alerts, respiration, Body Battery, stress, advanced sleep, sleep coach, nap detection, HRV status, Health Snapshot, fitness age and jet-lag adviser. Pulse Ox spot checks and optional sleep monitoring. Hydration and menstrual-cycle/pregnancy tracking use Garmin Connect and an optional Connect IQ widget; these are wellness features, not medical diagnosis.
Fitness features
Over 43,000 preloaded golf courses, full CourseView vector maps, pan/zoom and touch targeting, green view with manual pin position, hazards, layups, front/middle/back distances and PinPointer. Enhanced PlaysLike distances account for slope, weather and air pressure; wind information requires a phone connected to Garmin Golf. Virtual Caddie offers club recommendations and shot-dispersion charts after five rounds with uploaded scorecards and either optional CT10 sensors or Club Prompt enabled; sensors are not mandatory. AutoShot detects fairway shots; optional CT10 sensors add putt/chip detection. Optional CT1 tags and Z30 laser range finder are supported. Scorecard, statistics, handicap scoring, swing tempo and tournament mode. Green contours need paid Garmin Golf membership; base maps and touch targeting do not. Running, cycling, gym, hiking, racket sports and pool-swimming profiles; VO2 max, recovery time, training load/effect, Garmin Coach and animated workouts. Current tables document pool swimming, not an established open-water swimming profile.
Safety features
Incident detection during supported activities and assistance require a paired compatible phone and available network; not standalone emergency communication.

Battery and connections

Battery life (maker's claim)
Up to 16 days
Mobile data option
No
Works with
iPhone and Android
Storage
16 GB
Battery life detail
42 mm up to 10 days in smartwatch mode and 15 hours using GPS; 47 mm up to 16 days and 20 hours. Current maker web conditions use gesture wake in smartwatch mode and always-on while golfing; April 2026 owner guide labels the same 15/20-hour figures all-satellite-systems mode. Headline duration is the longest standard configuration, 47 mm. Actual battery life depends on enabled sensors, notifications and connected devices.
Charging
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; Garmin proprietary charging/data connector and supplied USB cable.
Connectivity
Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; Garmin Golf, Garmin Connect, Garmin Express and Connect IQ. Garmin Pay with supported banks; downloaded personal music and supported Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer services, with subscriptions where required and Bluetooth headphones. Phone notifications, Android-only text replies and notification images, calendar, weather and morning report. No cellular version. Current UK/US tables state 16 GB memory/history for both sizes; a later Swiss S50 comparison leaflet lists S70 at 32 GB without a separate hardware identity, so that conflicting sibling comparison is not used to create a version.

Design

Weight (lightest version)
44 g
Software
Garmin
Case materials
Ceramic bezel, Gorilla Glass 3 lens and silicone band. UK range has White/Peach and Powder Grey/Amp Yellow 42 mm finishes, and Black/Red 47 mm. US regional SKU codes differ, with the same three finishes.
Size
42 mm is 42 x 42 x 12.6 mm and 44 g with silicone band, fitting 115–185 mm wrists with a 20 mm QuickFit attachment. 47 mm is 47 x 47 x 13.4 mm and 56 g, fitting 130–205 mm wrists with 22 mm QuickFit. Headline weight is the lighter 42 mm version. Launch German datasheet rounds thickness to 13/14 mm; exact current UK figures are retained.
Reference and release detail
Garmin's US announcement on 23 May 2023 states available now; German launch likewise says immediately available. This establishes the first documented on-sale day; an exact UK first shipping day is not independently established. No explicit maker predecessor relationship has been found in the read sources.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • CourseView maps, touch targeting and automatic shot detection
  • Two case sizes with AMOLED touchscreens and physical buttons
  • Heart-rate tracking, Garmin Pay and downloaded music

Cons

  • Green contours require paid Garmin Golf membership
  • Multi-band positioning is limited to the 47 mm version
  • No cellular configuration

Closest rivals

Model
TypeSizesMovementPower reserveDisplayBatteryWaterGPSWeightReleased
GarminForerunner 265
Smart and sports42, 46 mm––OLED15 days50 mDual-band39 gMar 2023
Garminfēnix 8 AMOLED (47 mm, Sapphire)
Smart and sports47 mm––OLED16 days100 mDual-band73 gAug 2024
GarminForerunner 965
Smart and sports47 mm––OLED23 days50 mDual-band53 gMar 2023

Sources

  1. garmin.com/en-GB/p/847706
  2. garmin.com/en-GB/p/847697
  3. garmin.com/en-US/p/847706
  4. garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/outdoor/dial-in-all-parts-of-your-game-…
  5. mynewsdesk.com/de/garmin/pressreleases/fuer-den-perfekten-schlag-die-approach-s…
  6. garmin.mynewsdesk.com/pressreleases/ameliorez-votre-jeu-avec-les-nouvelles-mont…
  7. mnd-assets.mynewsdesk.com/image/upload/f_pdf,fl_attachment/mvpzadmhxx9b7p9efp46
  8. support.garmin.com/en-GB
  9. support.garmin.com/en-GB
  10. www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-0F89E6A5-EC1C-4382-964E-27DC4B5FC932/EN-GB…
  11. www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-0F89E6A5-EC1C-4382-964E-27DC4B5FC932/EN-GB…
  12. mnd-assets.mynewsdesk.com/image/upload/f_pdf%2Cfl_attachment/vzirtdmz6hb7y33kg1…

Photo: mnd-assets.mynewsdesk.com

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