Garmin approach S72 vs S70: What changed in price – Trendy gadget

Garmin has a new flagship golf watch, and the Garmin Approach S72 landing right on top of the Approach S70 that has anchored the lineup since 2023. Announced on October 6, the S72 brings vibration metrics, green reading, a speaker and microphone, and a flashlight, while the Approach S70 remains on sale for less. Here’s what actually changed and whether the upgrade is worth it.

Swing metrics and green readings come on the wrist

The biggest change is how much the S72 tries to explain your game instead of just measuring distance. It adds up on-wrist swing metrics such as hand speed, backswing length, and wrist rotation, a Driving range activity that logs practice sessions on Garmin Connect, and Golf biometric data that shows how your heart rate has moved over a lap. Both watches hold 43,000 preloaded courses, a virtual caddy, and PlaysLike distance.

The putting tools are the other headline. With a Garmin Golf membership, the S72 adds read green on selected courses, shows which way a putt should break and the average slope, plus Aerial reconnaissance in the Set analysis in the app. This subscription requirement is the main limit: without it, a good part of the new course functions remains locked.

Speaker, Mic, and Flashlight Included in the kit

Garmin says the S72 is its first golf watch with one built-in speaker and microphoneso you can take calls and use voice commands from your wrist. It also gets one LED flashlight with variable white light and a red light, which is handy for reaching through a dark golf bag or walking off the course after an evening round. The S70 has no feature.

Storage jumps from 16 GB on the S70 to 64 GB on the S72, which gives more space for music and cards. Both watches use AMOLED touchscreens with an optional always-on mode and carry a 5 ATM water rating.

Lighter Titanium Build and Known Battery Life

The materials get a clear upgrade. The S72 pairs a Titanium bezel with a Sapphire lenswhere the S70 uses a ceramic bezel and Gorilla Glass 3. Garmin lists the 47mm S72 48 g with its ComfortFit fabric strapagainst 56g of for the 47mm S70. The smaller size also grows out 42 mm on the S70 to 43 mm on the S72, with a 1.3 inch 416 x 416 Display instead of 1.2 inches and 390 x 390.

Battery claims barely move. The 47mm models of both watches are rated for up to 16 days in smartwatch mode and 20 hours on the course, and the smaller models for up to 10 days and 15 hours. So the new hardware and speakers didn’t cost any runtime on paper, but they didn’t add any either.

Who should upgrade and who should stay with the S70

The S72 makes sense if you practice on the range, want swing data without a separate sensor, or already pay for Garmin Golf and use green readings. The phone calls and flashlight are nice extras for golfers who wear the watch all day. If you mainly need yards, hazards, a virtual caddy, and scorekeeping, the S70 still covers that well and will save you $100 to $150. Owners of older entry-level models like the Garmin Approach S50 golf smartwatch get a bigger jump from either.

Garmin list the Approach S72 at $799.99 in both 43mm and 47mm on its Garmin Approach S72 product page, and it’s available now. Those Approach S70 Currently selling for $649.99 (42mm) and $699.99 (47mm) at Garmin.com, both prices see October 7, 2026. The 47mm Approach S72 and the 47mm Approach S70 are also sold on Amazon. As an Amazon affiliate, Trendy Gadget earns from qualified purchases.