Garmin Venu 2 Plus vs Apple Watch Series 7 In-Depth Comparison // Smartwatch, Fitness, and Accuracy!

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// Video Chapters //
0:00 Intro
1:00 Hardware and Options
2:09 Interface and Displays
2:59 Speaker and Microphone Features
4:08 Smartwatch Features
6:12 Battery Life
7:42 Safety Features
8:50 Health and Activity Tracking
10:41 Fitness and Sports Profiles
12:31 Heart Rate Accuracy
13:30 Treadmill Accuracy
13:59 Apps and Misc. Features
15:41 Wrap-Up

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[bcwest]

I got the Venu 2 Plus a few days ago. I've had a lot of Garmin watches over the years, usually higher end Forerunners and Fenix models, but so far the Venu 2 Plus is by far my favorite. It really is awesome having the smartwatch functionality to go with the great fitness features. And the AMOLED touchscreen is just a joy to use and makes this watch feel SUPER premium.

[pessimistic_optimism]

garmin is doing amazing job by combining fitness and smartwatch features perfectly.

[bojanbojan]

Loved my apple 7 series. But I sold it and ordered garmin venu 2 plus due to better battery. Was getting sick of apple charging it daily

[adrianpedersen]

I switched out my AW7 with the Venu 2 Plus and I'm blown away. Such a stunning screen, everything is really snappy and battery is great. After 31 hours I've used 15%, I have SpO2 on at night and had a 45 min GPS workout. Sleep tracking is miles better and I'm probably saving $100 yearly as I don't have to subscribe to apps for everything.

[gnawty]

My impression here is - Garmin seems more than capable, and the “cheaper” option in terms of subscriptions, and downloading an app will take your watch to new heights?


Solid review. I’ve never considered a Garmin (maybe due to lack of marketing) but I’m leaning Garmin here as Fitness is #1 priority.

[cardicus]

Have an older apple watch (series 4) which is fine, but just opted to upgrade to venu 2 plus. The smart watch features they added are pretty much the only ones I wanted Garmin to introduce (more imessage compatibility would be ok, but whatever) and the fitness features as well as the body battery and sleep tracking on the garmin seem to be better. Apple watch has had the same platform for waaaay too long. I was looking at the forerunner/fenix options, but I dont think i'll use all of the added features ultimately. Just wish the venu 2 plus added a few more running specific features like pacepro and live strava segments:/

[marieannefabiano]

I literally just bought the Venu 2S Plus this morning after going back and forth about it all week. I have an Apple Watch series 6, but this video sold me on the Venu! I completely agree...the addition of the speaker and the ability to use virtual assistant with the iPhone from the Venu, makes this a game changer. Thank you for your review...well done!

[tetchuma]

I just ordered my Venu 2 Plus, because I love the battery life of my 7yo Garmin vivoactive HR. That’s the only reason I haven’t bought an Apple Watch.

[gruffintonmuffin]

I've spent hours watching review videos, I wish I'd come across yours first!. Clear, concise, easy to understand. Thank you so much :)

[alexc]

Not knowing if the Venue supports open water swimming, I have owned a number of Garmin watches (Fenix 3 and Fenix 6 being the latest) and have found they both had issues tracking open water swimming accurately due to the fact that you would need to keep your wrist out of the water long enough for the watch to catch the GPS signal. The result would be a series of straight-line connections between the points where I'd stop for a break and not an accurate trajectory of my swimming route. I have also owned several Apple Watches (Series 4 & 6) and these devices did much better tracking my actual trajectory in open water.

[bailey]

Good comparison! Apple Watch 7 also has Assistive Touch. I’ve answered numerous calls just by clenching my hand which is surprisingly useful. I also reply to texts by speaking most often and it is very accurate.

[splatmatt]

After using both - I found the Venu 2+ to be buggy. Most of the time the Venu 2+ is "snappy" but there are some erratic hangs and freezes (firmware in time will probably address). I did reset the watch several times to work around but eventually had an issue. The Venu 2+ speaker did get crackly to the point of being unintelligible when it was exposed to very cold temps. Additionally, the ConnectIQ app is not working properly and Garmin acknowledges the issue. I honestly do not feel the $100 premium for the Venu 2+ (over the Venu 2) is worth it. The connection to assistant is slow and volume controls do not sync, therefore behaved independently on the V2+. So make sure bluetooth volume is max on the iPhone then the Venu 2 + will be able to regulate the full range of volume (otherwise the speaker may seem too quite).

If you have an Android OS phone, then the Venu 2 (or 2+) is the a solid choice. But if you have an iPhone, the AW7 is the way to go. The biggest edge I found for the Venu 2+ was the ability to develop HIIT profiles: AMRAP (with capped time) and EMOM right out of the box. Personally, I found the "Plus" features to be more gimmicky when used on the iPhone and recommend saving $100 and go with the Venu 2 instead. Otherwise, get the AW7 because on either devices the battery life is short when you start using their feature sets. Yes the V2+ can be adjusted for an extra day or two, but then why pay a premium for features you won't use? Given the the AW7 and V2+ are at similar price points the AW7 delivers a much better experience. If you need a longer battery life go with the Garmin Instinct Solar (my favorite) or Vivoactive 4 (even though they have the older sensor) while the screens aren't as pretty they are much easier to see all the time without a significant hit to the battery.

[marissa]

you came up in my recommended and I just wanted to say, this is an excellent, informative, well rounded, detailed video! you speak quickly and with precision and the video is so cleanly done. I'm impressed!

[alexanderzarkov]

When I had to buy my first smartwatch few years ago I decide to go with Garmin Venu due the battery life.
After the usage of daily sport activity I definitely can recommend Venu here are my cons:
- greate sport activity tracking features
- awesome battery life
- very well designed sensors and they are kinda accurately
and my cons:
- poor software and slow syncing
- not accurate data with iOS health data integration and your stick to Garmin Connect app for statistics which is awful
- kinda poor hardware that makes the watch very slow when you have watch face with 2-3 parameters of data
- lack of wireless and fast charger, this cable standard of garmin makes you to have another cable in your bag for the watch
- with all sensors on and always-on display battery life is more like 2 to 3 days depends on workouts

I order Apple Watch 7 this time just because the lack of good software support by Garmin and the miss of wireless charging.
On my opinion if you're sport activity person and you want stylish watch for daily usage - Venu 2+ with both hands, but if you want good collaboration between watch and apple definitely Apple Watch.

[Zurari]

Des, you’re awesome! There is no one out there who can explain fitness watches better than you. Although I have own only one watch (Garmin Venu), but I see all your video of other watches as well. I have an intriguing question for you, “ How safe are these electronic devices to be on our body the whole day? Like how safe on body organs, Be it heart, brain or nervous system, I just keep asking myself won’t they interfere in our current system? Kindly help us all out here with this question. Love from India ! ❤️ Peace ✌️

[Thatsme]

Maybe I’m missing something but I just can’t think of a reason why I would want an extension to my phone when it is right there in my pocket?

[DrRamalamadingdong]

I switched from Apple Watch to Garmin Venu (First Ed.). I am so happy with my Garmin. Atm i would not switch back to Apple Watch. I get more functionality, better sport programms etc for e lesser price. The live track function is awesome, the battery life is out of reach for apple watch, and there a so many programms for sport to cutomize. The first 2 weeks were hard after the switch, but once you i was in, i felt in love with garmin.

[ceetee]

Another great review Des! I've been waiting to pull the trigger on upgrading my wearable to the Venu 2, when the Venu 2 plus and Apple Watch Series 7 dropped. Have been back and forth between the two, but the battery life of the Garmin edges it for me. I am so used to infrequent charging that daily charging with the Apple is an extra faff I can do without.

[MrWhaatay]

I realize this is a year old video but at 9:53 that is no longer true. The FDA approved the ECG app about four weeks ago for the Venu 2 Plus and the hardware is already built into the watch to do ECGs.

[DB-mejt]

I bought the AW 7 cellular a month ago. Mainly to let my iPhone at home wile working out and not having to carry my big iPhone XR around all the time. I find the fitness tracking a bit gimmicky, not very useful and I find the menus on the iPhone a bit complex.

I feel like it doesn’t track activity on the basis of your recovery and former activity, I even haven’t found a way to check my recovery on the AW. I used to have the Whoopstrap and the WS does that great, after a good recovery it takes more effort to “close the rings”.. From what I see on YT the Garmin body battery does take your recovery in account to measure your activity, where the AW doesn’t. Would I buy again if broken/stolen…? I don’t think so…, more likely to buy a smaller iPhone and a Garmin watch.