Apple Watch Series 9 vs Garmin Forerunner 170
Sqwod verdict
Dead heat — 85 vs 85. Your use case is the tiebreaker.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Apple Watch Series 9 — You want one device for training, daily life, and health basics.
- Garmin Forerunner 170 — You coach runners or endurance clients and want Garmin's readiness and load metrics on a first 'real' training watch, without the €500 tier.
Apple Watch Series 9
85Score · High
from €419
The best all-rounder — workouts, notifications, sleep, ECG — no subscription. Battery and depth-of-recovery data are the compromises.
Garmin Forerunner 170
85Score · Medium
from €250.56
A software-led upgrade on the 165: Training Readiness, Training Status, running power and dynamics and Garmin Pay arrive at the entry price, on the same AMOLED and sensor. Street prices have settled near where the 165 was, but battery is a touch shorter and GPS is still single-band.
Compare side-by-side
| Apple Watch Series 985Scorefrom€419Review → | Garmin Forerunner 17085Scorefrom€250.56Review → | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Watch | — |
| Battery life | ~18 h (36 h low-power) | — |
| Screen | Always-on OLED | — |
| Sleep tracking | Basic | — |
| Recovery / HRV | HRV metrics | — |
| Subscription | None (Fitness+ optional) | — |
| Water resistance | 50 m | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
Affiliate disclosure. We may earn a commission from links on this page. It never affects the Sqwod Score — scores are set by the methodology, not commission.