Thinking of buying a Garmin Venu? Compare all models and prices
Looking for a Garmin Venu? This is Garmin’s lifestyle range: a bright AMOLED display, a slim watch you can wear all day and night, and a focus on health, sleep and recovery rather than extreme sports. You get the measurement quality Garmin is renowned for, in a design that doesn’t scream ‘I’ve just come down from a mountain’. We compare all Venu models with the current prices from all retailers, 100% independently. Use the filters for case size, battery life and features to find the model that’s right for you straight away.
What should you look out for with a Garmin Venu?
The Venu is the Garmin for those who aren’t looking for a competition watch. You get the same health tracking as in the more expensive ranges, but in a slimmer watch with a screen that looks like that of a standard smartwatch. The current generation is the Venu 4, available in 41mm and 45mm. When making your choice, consider three things: the case size, whether you want the screen to be on all the time, and whether you’ll actually use the sports features of a fēnix or Forerunner.
A screen you can read even in direct sunlight
The Venu 4 has a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 454 by 454 pixels and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits – twice as bright as the previous generation. In practice, this means you can read your pace without tilting your wrist, even on a sunny summer’s day. The downside is the power consumption.
Battery life: twelve days, or four
Garmin claims up to 12 days in watch mode and 4 days with the screen permanently on. That’s the key trade-off with this watch: the always-on feature is convenient, but it cuts your battery life by two-thirds. Even those 4 days are still well over the one to two days offered by an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch. That’s exactly why people end up choosing Garmin: you can sleep with it on without having to plug it in every morning.
Health takes centre stage here
Whilst the fēnix is all about sport, the Venu is all about how you’re feeling. Sleep tracking with a score for the regularity of your sleep pattern, Body Battery for your energy levels, Training Readiness to help you decide whether you’re better off training or resting today, and a continuous health overview that combines heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing, skin temperature and oxygen saturation. The Venu 4 also has an ECG function; whether this is available in your country depends on medical approval, so please check before you buy.
Venu, fēnix or vívoactive?
The three series overlap in terms of measurement features, but are aimed at different people.
Choose the Venu if you want a stylish watch that you can wear day and night and which, above all, tracks your health and sleep.
Choose the fēnix if you do outdoor sports, want navigation on your wrist and prioritise a robust case over appearance.
Choose the vívoactive if you’re looking for the same type of watch but don’t need the screen or the extra health features of the Venu.
What are you giving up?
Two things. The price of the Venu 4 has risen significantly compared to its predecessor, putting it on a par with serious sports watches; if you only want to track steps and sleep, a vívoactive will work out cheaper. Furthermore, the Venu lags behind an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch when it comes to smart features: the range of apps is limited and replying to messages isn’t quite as smooth. The Venu 4 also has two physical buttons instead of three, which takes a bit of getting used to when your fingers are wet or cold.
