Garmin Forerunner 170 vs COROS PACE 4
The Garmin Forerunner 170 lists for about $51 more than the COROS PACE 4. With the screen always on, their makers quote 6 days for the COROS PACE 4 and 4 days for the Garmin Forerunner 170. For a GPS workout the figures are 41 h and 20 h. Phones differ: the Garmin Forerunner 170 is android; iphone with limits, the COROS PACE 4 iphone and android. Garmin sells a paid tier (Garmin Connect+) for the Garmin Forerunner 170; COROS sells none for the COROS PACE 4. Only the COROS PACE 4 carries full topo maps. Only the COROS PACE 4 has dual-band GPS. Every other published figure for both is in the table, with the rows where they differ tinted.
Garmin
Garmin Forerunner 170
~$300
Built on the Forerunner 70, this model adds Garmin Pay, a barometric altimeter, a compass and 4 GB of storage in the same 42.6 mm case.
Best for: A newer runner who wants to pay for a drink mid-run and track elevation, on a mid-range budget
COROS
COROS PACE 4
~$249
Launched in November 2025, PACE 4 moved COROS's lightest running watch from a memory LCD to a 1.2-inch AMOLED with 164% higher resolution than PACE 3, per COROS.
Best for: Runners who want a light, inexpensive AMOLED training watch that lasts more than a week between charges
| Specification | Garmin Forerunner 170 | COROS PACE 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Approx. price | ~$300 (Forerunner 170 (Black with Black/Amp Yellow band), $299.99 list on garmin.com/en-US/p/1915560; Forerunner 170 Music $349.99) | ~$249 (PACE 4 with fiber-reinforced polymer bezel, silicone or nylon band, $249.00 on coros.com) |
| Type | Running | Running |
| Platform | Garmin | COROS |
| Case sizes | 42.6 mm | 43.4 mm |
| Weight | 42.6 mm: 41 g (Garmin spec: 'Weight: 41 g' (Garmin does not say whether the band is included)) | 43.4 mm: 40 g (with silicone band (32 g with nylon band)) |
| Battery, smartwatch mode | 10 days (Garmin: 'Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days') | 19 days (COROS spec: Daily Use & Sleep Tracking 19 Days) |
| Battery, always-on display | 4 days (Garmin: '(4 days display always-on)') | 6 days (COROS spec: 6 Days (with Always-On Display)) |
| Always-on keeps | 40% of the headline figure | 32% of the headline figure |
| Battery, GPS workout | 20 h (Garmin: 'GPS-Only GNSS mode: Up to 20 hours'; 'All-Systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours') | 41 h (COROS spec: High All Systems 41 Hours; 30 Hours with Always-On Display; 14 hours with offline music playing) |
| Battery, dual-band GPS | not published | 31 h |
| Battery note | Garmin: 'Battery Saver Smartwatch mode: Up to 19 days'; Forerunner 170 Music: GPS-only with music up to 7.5 hours | COROS publishes no GPS-only mode for PACE 4; the headline is all-systems. Dual-frequency: 31 Hours, 24 with AOD. |
| Works with | Android; iPhone with limits | iPhone and Android |
| iPhone | Yes, with limits | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Phone limits | Garmin's spec table marks text replies and reject-call-with-text as Android only; iPhone owners get notifications but cannot reply from the watch | COROS app on iOS and Android; COROS lists Message/Call Alert on both, and its FAQ says the app syncs with Apple Health and Google Fit. |
| Paid tier | Garmin Connect+, $69.99/year | No paid tier sold by the maker |
| What the paid tier gates | No watch feature requires it: Garmin's chart keeps activity details, health stats, performance metrics, Garmin Coach plans, courses and LiveTrack in the free app. Connect+ adds Active Intelligence AI insights, nutrition logging, a desktop performance dashboard, live activity on the phone, 3D maps and offline Garmin Trails downloads | not published |
| Update years | Not published by the maker | Not published by the maker |
| Cleared health features | None the maker cites | None the maker cites |
| Display | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-band GPS | No | Yes |
| Maps | Route line only (Garmin lists Courses, Back to start and TracBack; no built-in maps) | Full topo maps on the watch (COROS spec: Landscape (with trail and street names) and Topo downloadable global maps on 4GB storage; COROS's September 2026 update added maps to PACE 4) |
| Music on the watch | No | Yes |
| LTE | No LTE version | No LTE version |
| Contactless pay | Yes | No |
| Flashlight | No | No |
| Water rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Case | fiber-reinforced polymer | fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Released | 2026 | 2025 |
Garmin Forerunner 170: what it gives up
- Music storage needs the costlier Forerunner 170 Music
- No multi-band GPS; the Forerunner 265 has it
- Three days less battery than the Forerunner 70
- iPhone users cannot reply to texts from the watch
COROS PACE 4: what it gives up
- 4GB storage leaves far less room for maps and music than the 32GB PACE 4 Pro
- No speaker, so no calls or spoken alerts as on the PACE 4 Pro and APEX 4
- No contactless payments
- Mineral glass instead of sapphire
- Notifications only; no app store or message replies listed
Full pages: Garmin Forerunner 170 · COROS PACE 4