Should you upgrade from Garmin Forerunner 165 to Garmin Forerunner 170?

Keep your Forerunner 165 unless you want Garmin's newer training tools. The Garmin Forerunner 170 has the same 1.2-inch AMOLED screen, the same 390 by 390 resolution and the same 5 ATM water rating, and on Garmin's own battery figures it runs a little shorter in three of four modes. What it adds is software for planning and reading your training.

What the Forerunner 170 adds

Garmin lists training readiness, training status and training load on the 170, along with health status, an evening report, Garmin's strength coach and its cycling coach, and a longer list of sport profiles. Your watch already has a sleep coach; the other named tools do not appear on Garmin's spec list for it. For cycling it lists only prebuilt plans, and its list of sport profiles is shorter. Your watch already suggests a daily run; the new one adds a readiness score and tracks your training load and status over time. If you want those numbers, this is the reason to look.

What changes for the worse

Battery mostly moves the wrong way. Garmin rates smartwatch mode at up to 10 days on the 170 against up to 11 days on your 165, and battery saver at 19 days against 20. GPS-only tracking gains an hour, up to 20 hours against 19.

All-Systems GNSS, the mode that uses several satellite systems at once, drops from up to 17 hours on the 165 to 14 on the 170. For a marathon both have plenty. If you run ultras past 14 hours with that mode on, or go a week of long runs between charges, those three hours matter.

Garmin lists the new watch at 41 g against 39 g, in a case that is a hair smaller and thicker.

Who should get the Forerunner 170

Buy it if you want the readiness score and the training load and status tracking, or if you are replacing a lost or broken watch and want them on the new one.

Who should keep the Forerunner 165

Everyone who is happy with what their watch already tracks. It records your runs with built-in GPS and wrist heart rate, and it lasts longer in most of Garmin's battery ratings. If yours is lost or broken and you do not want the new tools, Garmin still sells your model, so you can buy the same watch again.

Price and value

Checked Nov. 15, 2026, the Forerunner 170 costs $299.99, Garmin's regular price. We began checking this price on October 21, too short a time to know its low, so we cannot tell you that waiting would get you a lower price. As an upgrade from a working watch, it buys you Garmin's newer training tools, the same screen and slightly shorter battery in most modes. If you do not want those tools, keep your money.