The thing to remember about the Garmin watches is that they are health and fitness focused, unlike the Samsung and Apple watches. People that are using the Garmin watches are not likely to be searching through an "app drawer" for anything while out for a run, bike ride, or at the gym. The "smart" features, like tap to pay and the ability to play music, are something that's added to watches like the Venu and Fenix line ups to make them a bit more premium than the less expensive Garmin watches, along side the better sensors. Having an OS on the watch that would compete with Wear OS or Apple would also kill one of the main features of the Garmin watches, their battery life. Samsung, Apple, and Garmin are all catering to different usage markets and a final decision is usually made by the consumer based on that.
I agree, I'm the owner of the 4 Apple Watches, all 7 models. I just bought the Epix 2 because of the screen. I really wish for better message and full phone service. I'm 58, I need a watch that will call an ambulance or police for me automatically and accept my American Express Cards for payment. Garmin is almost there.
@@deman19901 apple watches are very different with Garmin watches. Apple doesn't have fitness and sports in mind when building apple watches. Garmin watches are light, durable and with long battery life. Let's be honest, no serious athlete wears apple watches.
My personal preference is a watch, with a clean aesthetic and intuitive interface, that reliably gives me my notifications and tracks my health and fitness metrics. The Garmin Venu series ticks all those boxes for me. I tried the Samsung GW4 for about 6 weeks but ultimately was disappointed by the poor battery life (couldn't even use it for sleep tracking) and uncomfortable fit. And honestly I really don't use apps on my watch, so no loss for me that Garmin's app store is not well developed. Thanks for the balanced review Mike - just might get myself a shiny new toy!
I'm using a Venu 2s as my daily wear and fitness tracker for HIIT, Bike & Swimming mostly. For me its a great fitness tracker. I don't want a smart phone on my wrist with a really poor battery life. I get 4/5 days with my Venu 2S. I also love that's it is super light weight on my small wrist. It also beats my previous Fitbit Versa 3.
Is the HIIT tracking any accurate and does it automatically record and pause when you start biking? I do CrossFit but I’m worried most watches will give a wrong reading.
My fitbit sense died yesterday..my 3rd Fitbit to die after 2 years..I loved my sense but considering going to Garmin..does this do everything the versa 3 did..there are so many to choose from
It’s been a few years since I’ve considered a smartwatch (I’ve owned a hybrid smartwatch before), but as someone who collects and loves wearing mechanical pieces I don’t think I could give up wearing my watches… good to know that these have been improving a lot, so maybe I will get one someday for my workouts and runs
Great video as ever. I personally am not really in the market for a general smartwatch, as my interest is in understanding my health and fitness metrics now I'm getting older and looking to focus more on those things. I have my smartphone on me all day to look at apps, social media, internet browsing, shopping, emails, listening to music, audiobooks, podcasts, making and receiving calls/messages etc. So the Venu 2 series is very much for me.
I had a Venu 2, which I loved, except for lack of voice assistant. Two things I worry about after watching your review is how long it will take the watch to connect to Google Assistant. The other is if I can reply to texts using my voice on the watch.
Bought the cream gold ... turn every sensors on and always display with default brightness & auto brightness Able to use 2.5 days with three 60 minutes workout
I have to agree with your assessment of this watch. With that being said I have the Galaxy watch 4 that does all of the phone calls, texts and other features. But I just ordered the Venu 2 and not the plus because I always have my phone on me to make phone calls and texts and it saved me 150.00 with the Venu 2 on sale. I'm not crazy about taking phone calls on my watch TBH. I think Garmin hit it out of the park with the Venu 2 as well as the "S" and Plus
@@mikeschinzel4633phone calls, texts, and the venu 2 plus has ecg monitoring too. But the plus does have less battery life and is smaller. Those are the differences that I'm aware of.
I used my student discount to get the Venu2+. I've never had a smartwatch before and I am loving it so far. There is so much it can do that it can become overwhelming lol. I wish I had this earlier in college
I will return my venu 2 plus. It uses 30% battery with AOD off, no uses of GPS, no exercise, no music listening. The day that I uses some these functions it used like 60% battery on 1 day. I read on Garmin forum site many people complain about battery drain issue.
So came back to this video. I've had a Garmin Venu for a little over a year now. Samsung has been offereing incredible deals on it's Watch 5 series and tried 1st the Pro (way too big) & now the 5 40mm (small size). Bluntly the battery on the 40mm sucks. Tried the tips and tricks. Still sucks. I love all the functionality of the Samsung, but the battery life just doesn't cut it. I see people on Reddit acting like it's some great leap forward. It's not. The Venu 2 + is sure looking more appealing
Better comparison probably with the Galaxy Watch 4, 44mm, not the bulkier classic? I just went from TicWatch Pro 3 GPS to the Venu 2+, but now switched to the Galaxy Watch 4. I tried the Venu 2+ for several days. a) the price is double of what you pay for the Galaxy Watch 4, 44mm (goes for $40 off right now). b) I had serious issues with the companion apps. I spent a whole day until I got it to work. c) I think I got so used to WearOS that I could not get used to the new interface. The Garmin Pay would not accept my CC. Lots of other small minor things that I just couldn't get used to. I returned it. I did love the build quality and it might justify the price but coming from WearOS that was a hurdle too high for me. And for the steep price I could not comfortably justify keeping it. Thanks for the great review!
One good thing to know is how well the watch works with apps on your phone. How well do notifications work from apps instead of requiring apps to be supported on the watch.
Hey Mike, there's an "app drawer" on Garmin watches, but little bit different than you would think. Apps are in the activity section where you start your sports. I agree it's a bit weird, but there are your apps. 😉
I just got this watch. The screen is bright and it tracks a ton of data. No problem with the battery performance on this. The apple watch and the galaxy watch struggles to get a day of use on it. I can't do long runs on those watches to track performance.
Been waiting for you to release this video, and it did not disappoint. I’m completely brand new to fitness trackers and smart watches since November 2021, and decided to make an investment into getting one. Started out with a Fitbit, then got the Venu 1 in December. Was going to wait for a bit for the Venu 2 Plus since I felt the extra price would be worth it, and I have to say that it was and didn’t expect to come out so early in the year when I bought it. As someone who has never owned and Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch, and while the interface isn’t as sophisticated as both of them, I think it holds up really well given that the Venu 2 Plus is a fitness tracker first, smartwatch second. Doing activities on the watch is such a breeze and how watch and Connect App gamifies your data from your activities. The speaker and microphone really is a plus for me. Having this watch makes me look forward to achieving my fitness goals for 2022. I hope to see that it becomes an everyday watch for you despite the interface. Overall I’m extremely satisfied since purchasing it, and excellent video! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the Garmin Vivomove Sport!
As a user of venu 2 plus and galaxy watch 4 both , i can say you can go for galaxy watch for everyday to day easeness ! Venu is more health oriented but isn't very much cut out for dayto day activities! Moreover you can get the classic version of galaxy watch 4 which is still cheaper than the venu 2 plus
@@aritrabhattacharya3817 but price should not be the main point... for me I hate the annoying very short battery life of GW4 44mm BLT, but its smart features is great. I think that Venu 2 Plus can be a better answer to me that like sports and smart features.
Looking into my first smart watch and was heading towards the galaxy watch 4 but due to being able to get money off Garmin I've found myself here and this seems to have everything I need and the battery life and accuracy is definitely a winner. Great reviews
As someone who owned 2 samsung watches ( gear sport and s3 frontier) and now a garmin (vivoactive 4). The features and practicality my garmin offers far surpass the better ui on the samsung. I am now convinced I will only own garmin going forward. My favorite features: battery life, GPS, true always on display, lightweight, golf, hr and GPS accuracy, integration to my fitness pal and strava. Just an exceptional experience
It's a pity the Voice Assistant can't control or read you information from the watch itself instead of just being an extension of the phone. Maybe they could make a deal with Amazon to use Alexa to fill that role, kind of like what Fitbit did before the Google buyout.
The biggest deal breaker for me when I tried the Vivoactive 4 was the notifications. I liked everything else about the watch but I was frustrated with the way notifications worked on it. As a pebble user I am able to bypass the native system for something that is way more powerful and useful. I picked up a Watch 4 classic used and honestly it is just better for me (even though it is by no means perfect), but I got the smaller size so poor battery life. I am returning it for the larger 46mm I got off of swappa for about the same price I paid for the 42mm. I really want to like Garmin but their interface pushes me away somewhere else.
Thanks for the review! One thing that would really help is for us to know the circumference and width of your wrist so we could form an option about the size of the watch. Thanks
I have a GW4 and a Garmin Vivoactive 4. As smart as my GW4 is, it's still my back up watch. I'm hard of hearing and smartwatches help me out a lot. That said the Vivoactive has a stronger vibration, the find my phone feature flashes my camera light, and of course I love the health info. But I got the GW4 for it's wireless charging because that proprietary charging Garmin uses has not been reliable for me. If you're going to charge over $400 for a smartwatch, you should probably build wireless charging into it.
At my age (74), diagnosed with three artery blockages despite a rating of excellent veins overall, (like a 30-40 year old clean living man), I'll be looking for an excellent health tracker with SpO2 and blood pressure/heart rate monitoring after bypass surgery. A former career Marine who has regularly run up to 5 miles daily until 6 months ago, I am also looking for one with long battery life. Until recently I've been using a 5 year old Fitbit for basic information. I'm not an Apple iOs fan and routinely use Android phones. HELP? Suggestions from you and your followers??
Check out the Garmin range. They have multiple options within a vast price range with battery that actually lasts. Look to your own usage but for more activity than smart watch, Garmin could be good. Also, Withings if you go for something different. Fitbit is in my mind a bit of a rip off with subscriptions in addition to the purchase price, to get the full experience. Good luck ✌️
Imo, if garming revamps its interface and os with a more modern approach will get a lot more f sales, and hey could do a little like zepp os 2.0 adding mini apps, not need to have the same apps as my phone in my watch but extra utilities are always welcomed. But for me is the UI and os look what draws me back from buying a garmin..
Okay, what you love about the Garmin also describes the Fitbit Sense with its latest updates. Google & Alexa Assist, multi-day battery, incredible health and sleep data tracking, etc. Perhaps you could share a comparison of these two?
Not a bad idea. The Fitbit sense is a strong competitor! It is not my daily wear right now because I personally prefer the accuracy and health insights of Garmin. A full comparison would be quite interesting though... maybe I'll make it :)
They did a solid "smaller" watch, to bad Fenix/Tactix is the only ones i been rocking for many years and just love the tank feeling of them, for more smartwatch Aw is the way to go for myself.
I just got this venu 2 plus today so watching videos to learn the ins and outs. So far i really like it better than my previous sw even though i haven't utilized all the features yet. It is replacing my Samsung Active2. Thanks for this video.
can you compare the venu 2+ with the new Epix 2 ? I am confused on what's best for me. I am on my second Garmin Fenix. Great products! Great review as always!
I'll buy it after the first price drop. It's 100 dollars more than the Venu 2 here in Sweden which is a lil crazy. Size is perfect for me though and a third button is a welcome addition.
I agree that the garmin ui is next to none. But its still unclear if the garmin vue is more accurate than the apple watch or galaxy watch. More in depth comparisons would have been nice
For that check out Desfit channel; he just reviewed and compared to other watches, tho not to GW (but he does review the GW on its own). He does fitness-focused granular comparisons in an easy to understand way
I quess I'm the only one that feels 1.3 display AMOLED screens are a bit out of date. Epix line of watches should've been this. Storage 8g 😮. Nice review
Aren’t the looks a bit the same as Galaxy Watch 4 (non classic) but twice the price. And those 9 days are only realistic when using the phone as a watch. With normal smartwatch use (AOD on) it’s more like 3 days which is still good. Good thing it’s compatible with Android and iOS
After having watched a lot of reviews on this watch, yesterday I went out determined to buy it. I returned home empty handed. Why? While the aesthetics of the watch were pleasing, the quality of it looked and felt cheap and plasticky and not of a watch at this price tag. Secondly, even though Garmin watches are renowned for the accuracy of their HR sensors, the readings I got from the HR tracking on the Venu 2 Plus were well off as compared to the oximeter I had taken with me. Thirdly, it was not giving analytics such as recovery time, aerobic or anaerobic phases and was missing out on the analytics as given on other Garmin watches. And my question is, how on earth did you make this your everyday watch with an HR sensor deviating so much? If the HR accuracy is not there, then all the other metrics based on the HR are totally messed up. I can only guess why you favored it.
Wait what :( , ive been meaning to buy like a sport smartwatch and been eyeing the venu 2 plus but now that u say theres a lack of analytics like the aerobic / anaerobic phase during runs, makes me double think about my decisions. Why do u think they dont include it?
@@erensfeet5563 That's for Garmin to answer. But besides those shortcomings, the software is not that intuitive with menus and submenus for doing simple things. I was mainly attracted to it by the exercise graphics and the workout plans for the gym, with analytics such as muscle groups trained for each specific exercise. But hey,, I've go a great app installed on my phone, which does all those things, so not really needing that. All in all, the main dealbraker for me was its looks and the cheap, plasticky feeling of its structure, including the glass. I don't like it when the screen is surrounded by rings. I feel that the screen is somewhat suffocated by boundaries, and as a person, I like to be free, with the sky being my limit. That's not a watch I would want on my wrist. So, I went out on a limb and earlier today, I placed an order for the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro. I love the chic, minimalistic design of it, plus it's got all the analytics I want it to have at half the price. HR accuracy was not perfect but neither was that of the Venu 2 Plus. You will know if the Garmin is the right one for you once you touch it. And always take these reviews with a fat grain of salt!
It's because those kinds of metrics are intended for more serious athletic or endurance individuals generally, and so Garmin chose to keep those on their watches intended for that market. My view is that Venu 2 is for those with an interest in health and fitness but not true athletes, it's a nice middle ground between a consumer smartwatch design with the good essential parts of Garmin's ecosystem, with an updated sensor to give the best data they can at this point. It isn't the rugged design for those looking for serious outdoor pursuits where it might get damaged or scratched, but Garmin are assuming those people aren't the core consumer for this particular product.
@@iangrant3615 I get your point and you're very right in your rationale. But, as I was holding it in my hands, I wondered "Is this worth the 450 Euro price tag, given that it has been criticized for the lack of HR accuracy? So, I bought the Amazfit GTR 3 PRO instead, and it's got all the analytics and metrics that I want.. Smooth operation, continuous BT connectivity and I believe pretty decent metrics. Maybe not up to Garmin's level of accuracy but it hasn't given me any blizzard reading so far. Crazy battery life too. I'm not an athlete, just working out in the gym for keeping fit and a regular biker. So for now, I love my Amazfit and happy with my choice. 😃
@@menifo4334 yes definitely agree that it is too expensive. It makes me wonder if Garmin were thinking if they price it around the same as a top Apple Watch consumers will see the two products as comparable, which is a bit of a mistake. I think it should be 50-100 dollars cheaper for sure, and soon enough it will go down to that price hopefully. Glad you like the one you ended up choosing. It's definitely becoming a buyer's market with plenty of choices :)
Which one would you recommend the best when it comes to a smartwatch, with a good heart tracking, sleep tracking, a watch that detects sudden moves or falls? There was a news article a few weeks ago that an Apple watch saved a person's life by detecting he was having a heart attack and called 911... I don't use iPhone, I use Android, so I'm in a search for a "king" watch as good as the Apple, user friendly. Cheers.
@MikeOBrienMedia is this still your preferred everyday watch, or something changed in the meantime? I've just bought one during Amazon Prime Day, waiting for delivery. Wondering if I should cross-shop with something else? i do like the look of Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (and the fact that bezel should protect the screen a bit, I think Venu 2 Plus will be more prone to damage) but the battery life is something I'm concerned about (currently I have old Amazfit GTR 1st gen battery gives me 4-6 days depending on the usage)
Is there stuff like count down timers and alarms on the watch? I use them a lot on my Active Watch 2. Would love to switch to Garmin if the apps are there. Wish you could transfer music from your phone like you can on Samsung watches
Hey Mike, I ve been watching you since days, but I wanna mention that, within some days I am gonna buy a watch. Can ya suggest me any without apple watch? If you want to suggest pls take into consideration that the watch should be fully smooth. I mean to say, some kinda watch feels laggy, so I want a suggestion for a super fast watch under 500 bucks.
Good afternoon. I recently bought a Garmin Venu 2 Plus model. I love it and it has everything I need. There is one problem, can you tell me what the essence is. It's about paying with Garmin Pay. I watched earlier reviews in which bloggers claimed that after the watch is put on the hand and the code is entered before payment, then in subsequent times if the watch was not removed, the code does not need to be entered. After entering the code, I still have the opportunity to pay without entering the code for 10 minutes, and then the watch asks for the code again. I deleted and relinked the card but it did not help. I tightened the belt tightly so that the watch always touched the hand, but it did not help. Is it a marriage or raw firmware? It seems that the sensor periodically does not see the watch on the hand? What do you think about this? I really hope you can give me some advice. Reply
Great video as always, i checked on my V2 + but did not see a watch face like yours, it also did not show in Connect IQ, wondering where did you get it? Thank you👍
Hey Mike! What’s your best recommendation for a good looking round Watch to use with iPhone that will keep its connection and give u all notifications …venu 2 plus, Amazfit gtr 4? Thanks!
Hi mike,first of all,thank you for great review video.I am vivoactive 3 user and Rep counting is my main feature when it comes to smartwatches. My questions are: 1- How is touch response? 2 - Does whatsapp notifications work properly?Would it be possible to reply with voice message through whatsapp? 3 - Did you test step counter? Vivoactive 3 step counting is terribly inaccurate 4 - How big is Internal storage for downloading music? 5- Did you try rep counting feauture at gym?
Nice top Mike, shame about the watch. I prefer a heavy watch personally. The UI does look like it makes sense but all that screen touch, button touch toing and frow-ing would grate on me after a while I think? That amount of expense for no app support is a little hard to accept too. I fully understand why a more health centric person might appreciate Garmin's effort to reach smart watch 2022 parity though. Brilliant review as always young O.B. Many thanks.
Is this still your favourite every day watch? I have huawei and am not wanting to go with apple, and i need something with good battery life. I am just wondering if anything is better to get. Or worth holding off to get
These reviews don't seem to be concerned with actually thoroughly testing these devices. I found loading my own music through Garmin Express onto my Venu 2 was extremely frustrating and seldom worked. Sometimes Express just wouldn't start. This forced me to signup for Spotify which did not have all of my track. Express appears to be full of bugs. Gestures are also a problem. Lifting my arm or turning my wrist did not activate the display. I changed sensitivity from low to high. Same problem. I tried all options for timeout with same results. I'd just like a watch with GPS tracking and music, but none of them appear to do what the manual says they will.
It is hard to compare the battery life of real smart watch to a watch with RTOS. I love my old Garmin but Garmin only has 1 language. Being someone using 4 languages, Garmin can't even show message of other languages if you get the English version.
I love garmin because of the health tracking but they don't have two major things that my gw4 has. Ecg and blood pressure. I have both on my gw4. Someone made a video on how to put it on the watch. If garmin would ever put those two things on the watch I would switch. Because I do hate having to charge my phone everyday.
@@paulao5834 The tracking seemed too unreliable and inaccurate for me. It didn't track SP02 at night. I had trouble getting the Bluetooth to connect to headphones and it was a bit too thick especially for sleep. The charging wasn't that bad. I usually got at least two days out of it.
@@CaptainJonathan thanks for response. Ive read that some pieces had problems with tracking and it was usualy caused by damage or by missing permissions. This Garmin seems great but I need something that allows to response to notifications. We will see, my E3 arrives today.
I have the galaxy watch 4 and I am not satisfied. very imprecise, very laggy,the watch is made entirely of glass and aluminum but the paint scratches very quickly. But the worst thing is the battery. Maximum 1 day I ordered the Venue 2 plus with a brown leather strap and am really looking forward to it.
Mike.... Great video as always. 2 questions though regarding Garmin watches in general. 1: Do you see Garmin release a LTE version in the (near) future? 2: Why and how does Garmin have 6+ days battery life, where the likes of Samsung and/or Apple get 1-2 days? I'm still rocking a LTE Samsung Active 2, which I love for the LTE, however really wish the battery life was better.
Well Garmin technically does have LTE watches already. The difference is really just what you can do with the LTE capabilities. I think Garmin is moving in the right direction with the Venu 2 Plus here, and I would not be surprised if they added LTE calling/texting options in the future to a Venu 3 or 3 Plus. Of course this all depends on how the Venu 2 Plus sells of course. Those are just my guesses though As for the battery life, they are usually just doing less and using a lighter operating system. Huawei, Xiaomi, Fitbit, and many other watch brands get one week (or one month) battery lives as well
must your watch be paired with your ph via Bluetooth/wifi to make/receive calls? Can one link it to you phone via Mobile data and then leave your phone at home go for a run and still be able to make/receive calls?
i have a question, which watch would you recommend for a non runner. Most of my training is done in a gym, I may bike a couple of times a week, but only in the summer. I was thinking either the venu 2 +, 255 or vivoactive 4?
