My New Favorite Everyday Watch⌚ (Garmin Venu 2 Plus)

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The new Garmin Venu 2 Plus may look similar to the other Venu watches, but it made a monumental difference, and because of this one upgrade, I am now able to replace my Apple watch and Galaxy Watch with the Garmin Venu 2 Plus.

TOP TECH DEALS (Updated Continuously):

Please comment below with any questions you might have. Thank you all for watching! I appreciate you!

PHYSICAL DESIGN:
43mm body (between 40mm and 45mm models) - strangely called the plus…?
Lightweight, but high quality build, with durable resin frame & stainless steel back / bezel
Easily one of my favorite looking smartwatches to date
Anyone who says the apple watch looks better needs to reevaluate their style

Same 1.3” display as the larger Venu 2, but in a smaller body (reduced bezels)
416 x 416 px amoled display
The screen is so black, even in bright light it is hard to see where the bezel begins

Physical tour

9 day battery life (vs 10 in the Venu 2)
Still really good, and depends on AOD, GPS, etc.
20mm strap (in the middle of the other 2)
Stainless steel case design
5ATM water resistance

SPEAKER TEST
MICROPHONE TEST

SENSORS:
The same as the Garmin Venu 2 / 2S
Same:
Same HR sensor with stress, pulse OX, etc
Same GPS
Same sport modes
Same display as Venu 2
Same music support
No LTE

Overall, a beautiful watch

ACCURACY TESTING
Track basically everything, but no ECG or body composition

FEATURES
Local storage for spotify
Bluetooth earbud connectivity
Speaker for playing music
NFC payments (Garmin Pay)
Voice assistant (sort of) - demo
Find my phone
Quick notification replies
Emergency SOS
Gramin safety: can use microphone and speaker to contact emergency
And they get an alert with location and information - live track
Sort of an app store
Phone calling or answering

So why would I replace my apple watch and galaxy watch with this one? Well there are a few things I really like about it:

What I like:
Weight
Battery
Accuracy
Health centric focus with deep analytics in the Garmin app
And now, I can finally make and receive calls on my Garmin watch

Not everything is perfect though. And I can see myself potentially switching back in a few months if I feel restricted by the two main issues this watch has: app support and the interface.

Additionally, I’ll leave a link in the description, but the price might be a little aggressive, all things considered.

INTERFACE TOUR
This is what Garmin needs to work on if they really want to compete with Galaxy watches and apple watches. As of now, this is still mostly for people who care about fitness first and other smartwatch stuff second.

COMPATIBILITY
Apple and Android work perfectly with this

Garmin has been crushing it with health and fitness tracking for years but they are finally trying to get into everyday wearables. One of their biggest setbacks was the lack of a microphone and speaker. This now has that, as well as a long battery, but with one missing element. The interface

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 My new everyday wear
0:35 Physical design
2:20 The biggest improvement
3:45 Speaker & Microphone tests
4:10 Health sensors & charging
4:50 Heart Rate & GPS accuracy
5:35 Features
6:15 The voice assistant!
7:25 Why I replaced my Galaxy Watch & Apple Watch
9:15 The 3 Main ISSUES
9:30 Interface Tour

Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
This channel is monetized via YouTube ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching!

[mikeoleksa]

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.

[MrSilentknight]

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!

[smiteshjiva]

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.

[JapanJacques]

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

[iangrant]

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.

[dempoy]

9-days battery life is great since it degrades after 2 years which still would last longer than a brand new Apple Watch in that year.

[juvonycool]

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

[daveromanyshyn]

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.

[KenzLaw]

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

[tommanseau]

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

[hilmarkoerner]

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!

[extremetech]

What i really like about your chanel is that you talk spesfic and great

[Moonfacez]

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

[chrisperez]

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!

[wheels]

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.

[bentownsend]

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.

[technohamster]

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

[Tmacademia]

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

[ivanfeng]

You have made me very interested in smartwatches, keep up the good work!

[GK-qcry]

The Bluetooth earbud connectivity is definitely a selling point with stored music.