Garmin Forerunner 70 review: Substantial upgrades that come at a cost

Garmin Forerunner 70: One minute review

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is a Garmin watch that we’ve waited a long time for. This is the natural successor to the Forerunner 55, the watch that was pitched at beginner runners or runners who like to stick to the basics (and can even run a marathon in under two hours, as it was worn by record-breaker Sebastian Sawe).

With such a large time gap between the two watches, it’s hardly surprising to see Garmin make some big changes, not only with the hardware but the software too.

It’s clearly been a task of bringing the 70 in line with other new Forerunner watches, which includes adding an AMOLED display and touchscreen while keeping the full array of physical buttons to give it that traditional running watch feel. While keeping the AMOLED on at all times does dent the battery much quicker, it elevates the software and what it’s like to use the 70 as a smartwatch.

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There’s some upgrades to the sensors, and while you don’t get Garmin’s latest multi-band GPS or Gen 5 Elevate optical sensor, the improved GNSS sensor and move from Gen 3 to Gen 4 sensors does deliver strong GPS and heart rate tracking performance still.

The additions made in the training and smartwatch departments also make this feel like a more advanced watch than the Forerunner 55. You now have a watch that has full access to Garmin’s Connect IQ store and brings in some of Garmin’s nicest smartwatch features like morning and evening reports. No you don’t get payments, Bluetooth calls or a music player, but if you’re looking for the basics that go beyond what the 55 offered, the 70’s got you well covered.

It’s also great to see some of Garmin’s best training features. Training Readiness now features on a cheaper Garmin to help you decide when to train and rest. You can now use the 70 to navigate your way. You don’t get full maps, but the breadcrumb navigation still makes it useful to have on your wrist when exploring new surroundings or struggling to get back home after a run.

Those added features do, unsurprisingly, come at an added cost. A cost that does push the Forerunner 70 out of that entry level category into more of a mid-range one. That does mean you can find cheaper alternatives like the Suunto Run or can pay a bit more for the Coros Pace 4 and get newer sensors including dual-band GPS. If you’re sold on Garmin’s software, still want that strong tracking performance and like the idea of having an AMOLED screen and the best smartwatch experience you’ll find on a running watch at this price, those are going to be the biggest reasons to grab the Forerunner 70.

Garmin Forerunner 70: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70: Price and availability

• $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399
• More expensive than the Forerunner 55
• Cheaper than the Forerunner 170

The Garmin Forerunner 70 has a launch price of $249.99 USD / £219.99 UK / $399 AUS, which puts it firmly in the mid-range running smartwatch category. That’s in contrast to its predecessor the Forerunner 55, which launched with a sub-$200 price tag when it landed back in 2021.

Given there’s been some pretty sizable upgrades with the hardware and software, including adding an AMOLED display and richer smartwatch features, it’s not surprising that the price has leapt up a bit. It does feel like it’s lost a bit of the beginner-friendly appeal of the Forerunner 55 in the process.

The Forerunner 70 was launched alongside the Forerunner 170, which at $299 / £259.99 / AU$479 gives you additional features like contactless payments and a music player, longer battery life and additional sensors like an altimeter.

• Value score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Design

• One case size option
• Added AMOLED screen
• Combination of touchscreen and physical buttons

Like the Garmin Forerunner 55, the Forerunner 70 remains a watch that sits pretty small on your wrist. That might be an issue for fans of bigger watches like a Fenix. For runners, typically smaller and lighter is better and that is what you get here.

Garmin has moved up slightly from a 42mm sized-polymer case to a 42.6mm one. It’s just the one case size that’s light to hold and comes in four different colors. Whether you want something plain or like a splash of color, you’re catered for here. The strap attached to the case is pretty typical of the ones you find partnered up to most Garmin Forerunners. It’s a 20mm silicone one that uses a pin mechanism, so you can remove it when the strap included gets sweaty or dirty or you just fancy switching to another color.

Garmin sticks to including five physical buttons for that classic running watch navigation experience. That’s now matched up with a 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 resolution AMOLED touchscreen. That sees Garmin move away from the memory pixel display on another watch line, sacrificing the longer battery life and more impressive viewing angles in brighter outdoor light for that added colour, vibrancy and to be more in keeping with other smartwatches. It’s still going to be a screen you can view comfortably outside when it’s really sunny. You just might need to crank up the brightness to do that, which will have an impact on battery life.

Like the Forerunner 50 and most other more affordable Garmin watches, the Forerunner 70 carries a 5ATM waterproof rating. That makes it safe for swimming and showering with it. There’s only a pool swimming tracking mode as Garmin leaves out open water and triathlon modes. That’ll be disappointing for anyone hoping they could pick this up as an affordable triathlon watch.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Features

• Upgraded Gen 4 Elevate sensor from Forerunner 55
• Includes latest training insights like Training Readiness
• Offers breadcrumb-style navigation

Garmin is pitching the Forerunner 70 as an entry-level running smartwatch, so it’s giving you some running features, but not all that it has to offer.

Like the GPS support, where the Forerunner 70 uses multi-GNSS, as opposed to the latest multi-band GPS included on the Forerunner 570 and above watches. This means you miss out on having improved tracking accuracy when running or moving near tall buildings or locations with a lot of tall trees.

Other hardware improvements include upgrading from the Gen 3 Elevate optical heart rate sensor to the Gen 4 version. That’s actually not the latest version of Garmin’s in-house sensor technology. That’s Gen 5, which gives you added features like ECG heart rate measurements. This will cover continuous monitoring and tracking heart rate during exercise. You can also pair external heart rate monitors to it as well.

In terms of software features, there’s a lot that’s been added to the Forerunner 70 over the Forerunner 55. Along with bringing the UI up to date with other AMOLED-toting Garmins, you’re now getting more smartwatch features. You can set up smart alarms, view morning and evening reports for a summary of your day and recommendations for the following day.

There’s improved notification support for Android users, so now you can view more information being shared in notifications. A big one is the added Connect IQ support: previously, this was restricted to only downloading watch faces. Now you have full access to the storefront to download apps, watch faces and data fields.

There’s plenty that’s been upgraded on the tracking and training front too. You can now follow routes using breadcrumb-style navigation as opposed to the full maps you’ll find on pricier Garmin watches. Garmin has brought in a raft of its latest training metrics and features including Training Readiness, wrist-based running power, more strength-focused training support and this is a watch that’s compatible with Garmin’s Coach. That’s free access to Garmin’s training platform that now comprises running, cycling and strength training plans that can be synced over to the watch.

• Features score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Performance

• Good GPS despite lack of dual-band
• Smartwatch features work well across Android and iOS
• Heart rate tracking solid with support for external sensors

In terms of tracking your runs, the Forerunner 70 does a sterling job like most other Garmins and not just for running. When I’ve used it for pool swims, indoor rows, treadmill runs and bike sessions, the tracking has been as solid as other Garmins I’ve tested.

Some will be disappointed that Garmin doesn’t include its latest multi-band GPS technology. As I’ve found when using Garmin’s watches with multi-GNSS setups, they still perform better than a lot of dual-band watches. I’d say it’s the same story for the Forerunner 70. It might get a bit more shaky in places with a lot of tall buildings for the GPS technology to deal with, but I’ve been using it alongside the Forerunner 170 and Garmin’s markedly more expensive Garmin Forerunner 970, and the 70 has more than held its own.

It’s a similar story with heart rate tracking. While you’re getting the older Gen 4 version of Garmin’s Elevate optical heart rate sensor technology, that doesn’t equal a bad performance. For steady paced runs and runs in some significantly hotter running conditions, the 70 held up well against Garmin and MyZone heart rate monitor chest straps. It can take a bit longer to match up when you’re easing off during interval work. Overall though, the 70’s older sensor gets the job done, with the option to pair a Bluetooth heart rate sensor to improve performance.

Where Garmin has really bolstered things on the 70 compared to the 55 is the influx of training insights and bringing it more up to speed in terms of smartwatch features. It’s great to see Training Readiness make the cut where previously Garmin had left this useful insight into your preparedness to tackle a tough session off from its more affordable watches. It’s also about the presentation of these features, which is something Garmin does better than the competition. Like the well integrated daily suggested workouts or helping you keep an eye on your recovery time.

While you’re not getting the best that Garmin has to offer in smartwatch features, the added AMOLED touchscreen and general changes made to the user interface does mean it operates better as a smartwatch than most other running-focused smartwatches. The stream of Glances (widgets) offer a nice snapshot of your data, morning and evening report summaries are great additions, while the music playback controls work well with third party music services like Spotify. Unlike the Forerunner 55, you do now have full access to the Garmin Connect IQ store and that means increasing your ability to personalise the watch software with the features, apps and data fields you care most about.

Sleep tracking has been a bit of a weakness for Garmin. Particularly when overreporting sleep duration and the time it’s taken to recognise when you’d fallen asleep. Things thankfully have gotten better and I count the Forerunner 70 in the 'good' camp of sleep trackers. I’ve been wearing it to bed with an Oura Ring 5 and core sleep stats have largely told a similar story about my night’s sleep. The now added sleep coach and recommendation features brings sleep more into the training equation as well as helping you think more about your recovery time between runs and other workouts.

In terms of battery life, you’re unsurprisingly not getting the best Garmin has to offer on that front. What you are getting is a watch that should hold for a week’s worth of training. If you’re using it with the always-on display mode while tracking outdoor runs, you’re going to get less than a week.

GPS battery numbers give you a good amount to play with as well. I found that an hour's worth of running in the best available GPS mode hit the battery by just shy of 10%. That doesn’t add up to the 16 hours promised.

• Performance score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Scorecard

Garmin Forerunner 70: Should I buy?

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How I tested

I’ve been wearing the Garmin Forerunner 70 for three weeks, tracking my outdoor and treadmill runs. I’ve also used it for pool swimming and indoor cycling, wearing it alongside other running watches to compare GPS performance. I’ve also been using it alongside a heart rate monitor chest strap to compare heart rate tracking during exercise.

First reviewed: June 2026