Garmin S70 vs MARQ Golfer Gen 2 Comparison

Key Takeaways

• The only advantages the Garmin S70 has over the MARQ Golfer Gen 2 is an improved virtual caddie with a new shot dispersion chart and a slightly larger AMOLED display. Click on the following link to learn how the Garmin s70 compares to s62: garmin approach s62 vs s70 specs comparison.
• The Garmin MARQ Golfer Gen 2 has a more durable domed sapphire lens and titanium bezel in comparison to the gorilla glass lens and ceramic bezel of the S70.
• The Garmin MARQ Golfer Gen 2’s larger housing allows it to carry a larger battery with a longer battery life than the S70.
• The Garmin MARQ Golfer Gen 2 comes with more running, swimming, mountain biking, climbing, and hiking features than the S70, making it one of the most featured packed golf and fitness tracking smartwatches for running, cycling, swimming and hiking.

Who Will Be Victorious: Garmin S70 or Garmin Marq Golfer Gen 2?

For golfers seeking a high-tech GPS watch, two choices stand above the rest – the Garmin S70 golf watch and the Garmin Marq Golfer Gen 2. Both feature vibrant AMOLED touchscreens perfect for visualizing holes and hazards. But with a sizeable price gap between them, it pays to dig into the details.

At first glance, the watches seem similar. But a closer look reveals key differences. The Marq Golfer boasts a smaller 1.2” display wrapped in durable sapphire crystal glass. The S70 counters with a 1.4” display lidded with Gorilla Glass – more scratch prone but 0.2” bigger.

Under the hood, advances give each watch a tech edge. The S70 packs an improved virtual caddie with shot dispersion mapping for smarter club selection. But the Marq strikes back with more extensive activity profiles for running, hiking, and climbing.

In battery life, the heftier Marq Golfer prevails. It squeezes out up to 42 hours of GPS runtime thanks to its bulky titanium case. The lighter S70 taps out at 20 hours with its smaller build.

For most golfers, the S70 still delivers the best balance of features, performance, and value. But those wanting a bigger, burlier watch with more battery life for outside the course can justify the Marq Golfer’s steep price. Either way, both watches will help scratch your tech itch while improving your scores.

Display

When it comes to golf watch displays, brightness, visibility, resolution, and size are paramount. Let’s compare how the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 displays stack up.

Display Technology – Vibrant AMOLEDs

Both the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 utilize AMOLED display technology which produces vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent clarity even in direct sunlight. The optional always-on mode ensures yardages and hazards are visible with a quick glance. For viewing graphics and data, AMOLED is the gold standard.

Display Size – Advantage S70

With a 1.40″ diameter display, the S70 provides 14% more screen real estate than the Marq Golfer Gen 2’s 1.20″ display. The larger display on the S70 makes interacting with touch gestures easier and graphics more immersive. When visualizing a hole or green, bigger is definitely better.

Display Resolution

The S70’s 454 x 454 pixel resolution produces sharper images than the Marq’s 390 x 390 pixels. With 205,116 pixels in total, the S70 packs in 47% more pixels into a smaller area for added crispness and clarity. Higher resolution displays are easier to read at a glance.

Display Glass – Sapphire vs Gorilla

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 uses highly scratch-resistant domed sapphire crystal glass to protect the display while the S70 relies on Gorilla Glass. The domed shape of sapphire glass deflects impacts and also reduces glare and reflections for improved optical clarity. Sapphire is virtually scratch-proof thanks to its hardness. Gorilla Glass scratches easier but provides good scratch resistance.

The Display Winner?

For golf watch displays, the S70 takes the crown thanks to its larger screen size and higher resolution. But the Marq Golfer Gen 2’s domed sapphire glass provides unparalleled scratch protection and optical clarity. Both vibrant AMOLED displays will enhance your golf game with stellar visuals.

Durability

Ruggedness and durability are essential for golf watches used outdoors. Let’s see how the construction of the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 compare for resilience and toughness.

Display Durability – Sapphire vs Gorilla

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 uses a domed sapphire crystal lens which is extremely scratch resistant and shatterproof. The domed shape deflects impacts to prevent cracking. Sapphire rates 9 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, just under diamond. The S70 relies on flat Gorilla Glass 3 which provides good scratch resistance but not at the level of sapphire. For display durability, domed sapphire glass is unrivaled.

Bezel Construction – Ceramic vs Titanium

The S70 uses a ceramic bezel which provides decent scratch protection and a sleek look. Ceramic rates around 7 on the Mohs scale. The Marq Golfer Gen 2 uses a titanium bezel which is much more scratch resistant with a rating of 6 on the hardness scale. Titanium also has greater impact protection. The titanium bezel is more durable.

Case Construction – Polymer vs Titanium

The S70 uses a fiber reinforced polymer case which provides lightweight durability but is not extremely impact resistant. The Marq Golfer Gen 2 uses a titanium case which offers excellent scratch protection and impact absorption. Grade 5 titanium offers the best combination of hardness, toughness and low weight. The titanium case is superior.

Weight – Heavy Duty vs Ultralight

At 87g, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 weighs over 50% more than the 56g S70. The extra heft from the titanium case contributes to durability by better absorbing impacts and reducing damage from drops. The S70’s lightweight polymer case is easier to wear but not as impact-resistant.

Water Resistance Rating

With a 10 ATM rating, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 can withstand greater water pressure and is safe for swimming and snorkeling. The S70 with 5 ATM can handle splashes and rain but not being submerged.

For serious outdoor use, the Marq Golfer Gen 2’s heavier titanium and sapphire construction provide the best impact and scratch protection. The S70 favors lightweight wearability over ruggedness.

Pricing

With price tags of $699 and $2,300 respectively, neither the Garmin S70 nor the Marq Golfer Gen 2 are cheap GPS golf watches. Let’s break down what accounts for these lofty prices.

Premium Materials

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 costs over 3 times more than the S70 primarily due to its use of high-end titanium and sapphire crystal materials. These durable yet lightweight metals are more expensive to source and machine. But they provide excellent ruggedness. The S70 uses more affordable polymer and ceramic instead.

Advanced Sensors

Both watches are packed with top-tier sensors like GPS/GLONASS/Galileo, optical heart rate, compass, accelerometer and more. These advanced electronics don’t come cheap. The more sensors included, the higher the price.

Golf Features

Both watches have full color maps of over 42,000 courses, virtual caddie, slope mapping, shot tracking, hazard distances, and more. Providing detailed hole maps and analytics requires sophisticated technology and development.

The Marq Golfer also includes 3 Approach CT10 sensors for auto shot tracking. These add to the cost. The S70 lacks CT10 sensors.

Activity Tracking

The S70 has basic activity profiles for running, biking etc. But the Marq Golfer has far more detailed metrics and analysis for sports beyond golf. The extra development work to enable these features contributes to the higher price tag.

Smartwatch Capabilities

In addition to golf features, these watches also have AMOLED touchscreens, music controls, notifications and all-day activity tracking. The hardware for these smart functions adds expense.

Brand Cachet

As premium offerings from the leading golf GPS brand Garmin, both watches come with the brand cachet expected from a high-end product. pay more for the perceived quality and status of the Garmin brand.

Development Costs

Bringing a new tech product to market requires extensive R&D spending. Garmin invests heavily in developing and perfecting these devices. Those costs are passed along in the retail price.

While undeniably expensive, the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 watches justify their premium pricing with high-end materials, wide array of sensors, the best selection of golf features, and branding. For serious golfers, the investment pays dividends in performance and prestige.

Sensors

The array of sensors packed into a golf watch provide detailed metrics both on and off the course. Here’s a deeper look at the sensor tech in the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2.

Multi-Frequency GPS

Both utilize multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS and Galileo systems for more accurate positioning. Multi-frequency receivers tune into multiple bands for enhanced location tracking, especially near obstructions. This boosts yardage precision.

SatIQ Technology

SatIQ allows both watches to intelligently manage satellite connections to optimize battery life. By alternating between satellite systems and bands, SatIQ maximizes accuracy while conserving power.

Elevate Heart Rate Tracking

The Elevate wrist heart rate sensor uses an array of LEDs to detect blood flow pulsing under the skin. Advanced signal processing filters out noise to measure heart rate 24/7, even during intense activities.

Pulse Ox Sensor

They both have a Pulse Oximeter that uses red and infrared light to determine blood oxygen saturation. This identifies variations that can reflect health issues or altitude adjustment needs.

Altimeter

The always-on barometric altimeters track elevation changes in real-time. By sampling air pressure, ascent and descent during hikes, climbs and runs can be measured.

Compass

The built-in 3-axis compass shows your heading and orientation. This aids navigation for hiking and climbing, even without cellular service.

Motion Sensors

The gyroscope and accelerometer track orientation, speed of movement, steps, calories and more. These motion sensors enable tracking both in sports and all-day activity monitoring.

Ambient Light Sensor

To conserve battery, the light sensor detects dim conditions to dim the watch face. This provides visibility when needed while optimizing for longevity.

Thermometer

Only the Marq Golfer Gen 2 contains an integrated thermometer to measure ambient temperature. Real-time weather data enhances environmental analysis and planning for outdoor activities.

Loaded with advanced sensors, both provide detailed golf and outdoor activity metrics. But the Marq’s thermometer gives it an edge for exploring and adventuring.

Battery Life

For active users, battery life is crucial to keep your watch powered through long days of golf and outdoor adventures. Here’s how the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 battery performance compares.

Smartwatch Mode

In smartwatch mode, battery life is very similar:

With basic activity tracking and notifications, you can expect over two weeks of runtime from both.

Extended Smartwatch Mode

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 also has a Battery Saver watch mode providing up to 21 days of battery life. By limiting features, it stretches smartwatch runtime even longer.

GPS Mode

For golfing with GPS yardages, the differences are more significant:

With a slimmer build, the S70 has less room for battery capacity. The Marq Golfer’s larger case holds a bigger battery for enhanced longevity.

Outdoor Activity Modes

The Marq also provides various extended GPS modes:

• All systems on: Up to 32 hours
• Multi-band added: Up to 20 hours
• Music + systems: Up to 10 hours
• Max GPS mode: Up to 75 hours
• Expedition GPS mode: Up to 14 days

These modes optimize battery life for outdoor adventures.

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 offers far greater GPS runtime for exploring. But both provide ample longevity for most users’ needs.

Why Does the Marq Golfer Gen 2 Have a Longer Battery Life?

When comparing the battery performance of the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2, the size and weight differences between the watches provide insight.

The S70 has a more compact build with dimensions of 47 x 13.4 mm and weighs just 56 grams. This sleeker design comes at the cost of limited space for a battery.

In contrast, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 measures 46 x 15 mm thick and tips the scales at a heftier 87 grams.

The Marq’s larger case size and weight indicates it packs a physically bigger battery with greater capacity. This allows it to provide significantly longer GPS and outdoor activity runtimes up to 75 hours in Max GPS mode.

Meanwhile, the S70’s smaller battery accounts for its shorter GPS operating time of just 20 hours before needing a recharge.

The Marq Golfer Gen 2’s bigger physical proportions enable it to carry a larger battery, which directly translates to superior battery life compared to the more compactly designed S70. For serious outdoor users that require extended GPS tracking, the Marq delivers the longevity they need. But for most users, the S70 provides sufficient runtime in a lighter package.

Golf Feature

When it comes to providing detailed golf data and analysis, the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 are stacked with features. Here’s how they compare.

Garmin S70 Virtual CaddieLearn MorePreloaded Courses

Both come preloaded with over 43,000 course maps worldwide. No downloads needed – just show up and start playing. Front/middle/back yardages and imagery of each hole are available.

Yardages and Distances

The watches display distances to hazards, greens, doglegs and more. You can also check the exact shot distance from anywhere on the course. Critical yardages are never out of sight.

Scoring and Stats

Built-in digital scorecards, stats tracking and handicap scoring are provided. Store stroke totals, putts per round, fairways/greens hit percentages and more.

Virtual Caddie and Mapping

Both have Virtual Caddie features that account for slopes, wind, and pin position when recommending clubs. The S70 takes it further with shot dispersion data to enhance suggestions.

Auto-Tracking and Tempo Training

Automatic shot tracking works on both models with CT10 sensors. Swing tempo and training features are also included. The S70 adds TruSwing club sensor integration.

Green Contours and Updates

With a Garmin Golf membership, green contour maps can be accessed. Both watches also get over-the-air course map updates.

Stacked with robust golf technologies, the S70 and Marq Golfers provide the data to lower scores. The S70’s enhanced Virtual Caddie gives it the edge.

Running Metrics and Features

When it comes to providing detailed running metrics, both the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 offer advanced capabilities that provide the essential data for training, tracking performance, and analyzing progress over time. But the Marq includes extra dynamics for next-level insight. Here’s how they compare:

Common Running Features

Both watches cover the key running features including:

• Cadence
• Virtual Partner
• Custom workouts
• Recovery time
• Auto lap
• VO2 max
• Training load/effect
• Workout history

Basic Run Profiles

Both watches cover the essential run activity profiles including outdoor, treadmill, track and trail running. GPS tracks your pace, distance and route.

Advanced Data and Training

For gauging performance, the watches provide VO2 max, recovery time, training effect and more. You can create guided workouts and analyze your training load.

You can also create guided workouts and review workout history on the watch.

Foot Pods and Cadence

External foot pods can connect to each watch for cadence and improved distance data indoors. Cadence measured through the wrist is also available.

Safety and Navigation

Incident detection and assistance alerts are ready if needed. Downloadable maps let you navigate new areas.

Advanced Marq Features

Only the Marq Golfer 2 takes run tracking to the next level with:

• Vertical oscillation and ratio
• Ground contact time
• Stride length
• Running power
• Grade-adjusted pace
• Performance condition
• Lactate threshold (with accessory)
• PacePro strategies
• Hill score
• Race predictor

Efficiency Dynamics

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 takes running analysis deeper by adding metrics like vertical oscillation and ratio, ground contact time, stride length, and running power.

Vertical oscillation measures bounce height during your stride, indicating efficiency.

Ground contact time tells how quickly your foot strikes and leaves the ground, assessing form.

Stride length shows your actual vs. typical step length, evaluating technique.

Running power measures effort exerted, helping optimize pacing.

These advanced dynamics provide a window into your true running efficiency and biomechanics.

Performance Indicators

Further insight comes from the Marq’s grade-adjusted pace, performance condition metric, lactate threshold, and race predictor.

Grade-adjusted pace maintains goal pacing on hilly routes.

Performance condition shows if you’re tiring or improving during a run.

Lactate threshold marks your rate of lactate accumulation, gauging sustainable effort.

The race predictor estimates your times for various distances based on fitness.

These performance metrics offer a detailed look at your sustainable pace ranges, fatigue levels, and projected race times.

While both cover the basics, the Marq Golfer 2 goes further to fulfill serious runners’ data needs. But the S70 still delivers ample metrics for most.

Hiking, Climbing and Skiing Features

When you take your watch beyond the golf course and onto trails, slopes, and cliffs, advanced outdoor activity features become important. Here is how the S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 compare:

Core Metrics

Both watches provide heart rate data, elapsed time, distance traveled, and GPS location during hikes, trail runs, and climbs. This gives you the essential feedback on your effort and route in real-time. Pacing yourself and tracking progress on routes is simplified.

Elevation Tracking

Total ascent, descent and elevation gain stats are available on both watches after completing treks and climbs. Seeing total vertical feet traveled lets you quantify the challenge overcome.

Music Storage

Up to 2000 songs can be loaded onto each watch so your pump-up playlist can keep you motivated on long outdoor endeavors. Streaming services like Spotify are supported.

Downhill Ski Tracking

On the slopes, both watches auto-detect ski runs and record details like time, speed and vertical descent. Reviewing the day’s highlights is quick and easy.

Additional Marq Features

The Marq Golfer Gen 2 adds specialty outdoor activity features like integrated LED flashlight, preloaded topographical maps, ski resort maps, breadcrumb trail navigation, and ClimbPro ascent planner.

The built-in LED flashlight helps illuminate night hikes or dim tent setups. Having the light right on your wrist comes in handy outdoors.

Preloaded detailed topographical, trail, and ski resort maps provide navigation and terrain detail right on the watch. This allows planning routes and exploring new areas without relying on phone connectivity.

Point-to-point navigation, breadcrumb trail, and back to start features help you navigate to destinations and retrace your path even when out of cellular range.

The ClimbPro ascent planner provides details on upcoming climbs like gradient and elevation gain. Storm alerts notify you if conditions are deteriorating.

These enhance navigation, planning, monitoring weather, and analyzing vertical progress on big mountain challenges.

While the S70 covers the basics, the Marq provides specialty outdoor sports tools for unlimited adventure.

Mountain Biking Features

When hitting the trails on two wheels, the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 watches offer robust cycling tracking and analysis. Here’s a deeper look at their mountain biking capabilities:

Core Metrics

Both provide the essential biking data like distance, ride time, speed, elevation gain, and heart rate.

Alerts can also be set for goals like distance or heart rate zones. This covers the basic ride stats for casual cyclists.

Sensor Integration

Each watch can pair with speed and cadence sensors to capture revolutions per minute and precise speed data for those that want to monitor technique and progress.

Advanced Marq Features

Moving beyond the basics, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 adds features targeted at performance mountain bikers:

The preloaded cycle maps allow routing rides on cyclist-friendly streets and trails to optimize your ride. Following turn-by-turn directions on the watch makes exploring new areas easy.

The race an activity feature lets you compete against past activities or others on compatible Garmin devices for extra motivation and intensity.

For structured training, power curve tracking, FTP measurement, and power-based workouts help focus your efforts and refine technique. When paired with Vector power meters, your pedaling force is quantified.

Varia smart bike accessories like rear radar, smart lights, and head-up display integrate seamlessly for added awareness and visibility.

For mountain bikers seeking more detailed performance insights, planning ability, and accessory connectivity, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 delivers a robust ecosystem. The S70 handles the basics well but is designed more for casual usage.

Swim Tracking Features

For swimmers striving to optimize their performance, the pool and open water features of the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 provide comprehensive aquatic insight. Here’s an in-depth look at how they compare:

Pool Swim Essentials

Both watches will nail tracking the essentials for your pool swim sessions.

The length, distance, pace and stroke count metrics let you monitor how much ground you cover and the efficiency of your strokes.

Stroke type detection automatically classifies your swim style – freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly – on different lengths to break down your workout.

The basic rest timer allows easily timing your intervals between sets for structured training.

Underwater heart rate uses the wrist sensor to show your pulse throughout – critical for regulating intensity.

With these core features, you can quantify effort, monitor progress over time, and optimize workouts.

Open Water Swimming

For open water swimmers, only the Marq Golfer Gen 2 can track this type of swimming. Even without pool wall markers, this watch will record distance, pace, stroke count, efficiency and more. This gives open water sessions a structure previously impossible.

Advanced Pool Features

Additional Marq swim features help take your training to the next level:

Drill logging allows naming and recording stroke drills by length for better focus.

Customizable rest timers like “repeat on” or countdown timers make interval training more structured.

Pacing alerts keep you on target for interval times.

Pre-made workouts provide guided training right on your wrist.

Critical swim speed insights quantify your limit pace for a given distance.

While both watches deliver core swim data, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 provides more detailed open water and pool swim analysis for performance-focused swimmers.

Smart Features: Music, Calls and Texting

While designed primarily for golf and outdoor sports, the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 provide some basic smartwatch connectivity when paired with your phone. Here’s a look at their features:

Music Playback

Neither watch has a built-in speaker, so headphones are required for music. Both models let you:

• Control phone music playback
• Download playlists, up to 2000 songs, for offline listening

This allows enjoying your music library and streaming apps without having your phone handy – great for workouts and golf rounds.

Phone Calls and Texts

When it comes to phone calls, both watches lack a microphone and speaker so calls must be taken directly on your phone.

However, you can:

• Get smart notifications from your phone on the watch
• Quickly respond to or reject texts and calls with preset replies

This allows screening notifications and sending basic responses right from your wrist.

Everyday Convenience

While limited compared to full-featured smartwatches, having the ability to remotely manage music, view notifications, and respond to messages adds convenience for times your phone is tucked away.

But for actual phone conversations, you’ll need to pull your phone out – the onboard microphones and speakers provide connectivity when it matters most for activity tracking.

Gaming Biometric Tracking

For gamers wanting to analyze their biometrics and performance during play, the Garmin watches take diverging paths.

No Gaming Features on S70

The Garmin S70 lacks any gaming-specific functions or apps. There is no way to integrate or view gameplay metrics on the watch itself. It is designed squarely for golf and outdoor activity tracking.

Marq Integrates with Garmin GameOn

Only the Marq Golfer Gen 2 offers integration with the Garmin GameOn app when paired to a compatible gaming PC (not console systems).

After starting a Gaming activity on the watch and linking to GameOn, biometric data like heart rate, stress level, and body responses can be viewed in real-time on the watch and in an on-screen overlay.

The app provides guidance to optimize gameplay based on your biometrics. For example, it may suggest taking a break if excessive stress is detected.

By pairing the advanced sensors of the Marq Golfer watch with GameOn analysis, gamers can gain a deeper insight into how their body reacts during play, helping improve performance.

For golfers who also game recreationally, the biometric tracking gives the Marq an added benefit over the S70. But for primarily golf-focused use, this gaming integration provides limited value.

Strength and Cardio Workout Tracking

For times when you’re off the course and in the gym, the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 provide robust tracking of strength training, HIIT and cardio workouts. Here’s what they offer:

Workout Profiles

Both watches have dedicated activity profiles for strength training, cardio exercise and HIIT-style workouts. Just start the matching activity for your training session.

Guided Instruction

Animated on-screen workout movements and muscle maps provide guidance during training if you need a visual reference for proper form.

Auto Rep Counting

The watches can automatically count repetitions for exercises like bicep curls, squats, pushups and more using the motion sensors. This makes tracking your sets simple.

Custom Workouts

You can build custom cardio and strength workouts with as many intervals and exercises as you want and send them to the watch. Structured training is simplified.

Heart Rate Tracking

Wrist-based heart rate and pairing with a chest strap is supported to quantify intensity and monitor effort during exercise.

So the Garmin watches provide a detailed training toolkit for optimizing your gym performance – no smartphone required. The strength and cardio features are identical between the S70 and Marq models.

Garmin S70 vs Marq Golfer Gen 2: Final Verdict

For golfers seeking a premium GPS watch, the Garmin S70 and Marq Golfer Gen 2 represent the best of the best. But with a sizeable price gap between them, it pays to closely weigh their differences.

More Sports Features on the Marq

While both are loaded with golf functionality, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 offers far more detailed metrics and tracking for running, hiking, climbing, skiing, swimming and cycling. The Marq provides a robust outdoor sports ecosystem beyond the course.

S70 Leads in Golf Value

For pure golfing, the watches offer similar excellent course maps, yardages and statistics. The S70 provides an edge with its upgraded Virtual Caddie with shot dispersion data for smarter club suggestions. Yet it sells for less than a third the price of the Marq.

Marq is More Rugged and Durable

With a titanium and sapphire glass construction, the Marq Golfer Gen 2 provides extra ruggedness for outdoor adventures. But both offer good durability for normal golf usage.

Extra Battery Life on the Marq

The Marq’s larger case size allows a bigger battery, providing up to twice the GPS runtime versus the S70 – a benefit for marathon rounds or outdoor trips. But both deliver full-round battery life.

Which is Better for You?

For hardcore golfers wanting maximum value, the Garmin S70 offers the best blend of features, performance and price. But outdoor athletes wanting more metrics, battery life, and ruggedness can justify investing in the Marq Golfer Gen 2. Either delivers an upscale golf experience, only the usage differs.