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One of the best Garmin watches you can buy today is still the Venu 2. It does a great job of being both a smartwatch and a running watch, mixing advanced workout tracking tools with everyday apps to make a smartwatch that can be used in any situation. Garmin hasn’t made anything else to replace it yet, especially in its price range.
Like many modern wearables, the Venu 2 puts a lot of focus on health and wellness. It keeps track of your stress all day and gives you a Body Battery energy score to remember you to take care of your mental health. You can also track how much water you drink, how many steps you take each day, how many hills you climb, how many calories you burn, and how you sleep.
Garmin Venu 2 Specifications
Specification | Details |
---|---|
Display | 1.3 inches, AMOLED touchscreen, 416 x 416 pixels |
Battery Life | Smartwatch mode: Up to 11 days; GPS mode with music: Up to 7 hours |
Water Resistance | 5 ATM (swim-friendly) |
Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi |
Compatibility | Android and iOS devices |
Music | Yes, 7.5 GB storage for music |
Payment | Garmin Pay |
Weight | 49 grams |
Garmin Venu 2: Design

The Garmin Venu 2 looks a lot like its predecessor. It has a standard look that makes it stylish enough to wear during the day but also useful enough to wear while working out. The rubber band, metal bezel, and polymer case aren’t anything new, but the new watch fixes one of our biggest problems with the original Venu: it only came in one size.
The standard Venu 2 has a 44mm case and a 33mm screen, but the Venu 2S, which we are trying here, is smaller and has a 40mm case and a 27.9mm screen. Garmin’s basic 18mm bands fit both sizes, so you can switch out the standard strap for something else. You can buy this smartwatch from its official website
Garmin Venu 2: Display
The 1.3″ AMOLED touchscreen monitor has a resolution of 416 x 416 pixels, and it can even be set to always be on. Obviously, setting this on will have a big effect on the battery life, and not in a good way. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen, which is surrounded by a stainless steel frame. The case is made of fiber-reinforced polymer, just like the Garmin Forerunner 945 and the Garmin Forerunner 745. The case can take up to 5ATM of water.
Smartwatch features

The Garmin Venu 2 looks a lot like its predecessor. It has a standard look that makes it stylish enough to wear during the day but also useful enough to wear while working out. The rubber band, metal bezel, and polymer case aren’t anything new, but the new watch fixes one of our biggest problems with the original Venu: it only came in one size.
The standard Venu 2 has a 44mm case and a 33mm screen, but the Venu 2S, which we are trying here, is smaller and has a 40mm case and a 27.9mm screen. Garmin’s basic 18mm bands fit both sizes, so you can switch out the standard strap for something else.
Garmin Venu 2: Fitness tracking
The Garmin Venu 2 can track dozens of indoor and outdoor workouts. During setup, you’ll be asked to choose a few of your favourites, which is a helpful feature that keeps you from having to read through a long list every time you want to work out.
In our tests, the GPS accuracy was very good. It matched our pre-measured 5 km route to within 10 metres, which is a mistake that can be easily explained by the width of the roads and pavements. We’ve come to expect that from a company built on its satellite tracking technology, so it’s good to see that it’s still the same.
Garmin Venu 2: Performance
We need to point out that the software on my Garmin Venu 2 review unit was pre-release, so graphics were sometimes jerky. Garmin has told me that this will be fixed before early buyers get their units. Overall, the watch worked just fine. Using the Venu 2 is nowhere near as easy as using an Apple Watch. The performance is about the same as what you would get from a Fitbit tracker.
Price and availability
Garmin Venu 2 review unit was pre-release, so graphics were sometimes jerky. Garmin has told me that this will be fixed before early buyers get their units. Overall, the watch worked just fine. Using the Venu 2 is nowhere near as easy as using an Apple Watch. The performance is about the same as what you would get from a Fitbit tracker.
Final Words
The Garmin Venu 2 is a great replacement for the first Venu. It solves almost all of our problems, except for the high price. But what do you know, we think many people will be drawn to this watch. We said at the beginning of this review that this is Garmin’s easiest-to-use tracker. Modern smartwatches often have an AMOLED display, and Garmin has finally changed its software to make the most of that screen. With unique features like Health Snapshot and Body Battery, you have a well-rounded device.
Garmin Venu 2 review: The good and The bad
The Good
- Beautiful screen
- Amazing battery life
The Bad
- Plastic body
FAQS
As with all Garmin wearables, the Venu 2 Plus is great at tracking sports and exercise in general. The highest and average heart rates were usually within one or two beats of an ECG chest strap we were using as a control.
The majority of Garmin watches come equipped with a GPS receiver, so you won’t need to use your phone in order to record GPS activities.