GARMIN VENU 2 & 2S Full Review (My New Favorite Smartwatch?)

The Garmin Venu 2 and 2S are nearly identical watches, with the primary difference being their size. These fitness oriented smartwatches bring the best of the smartwatch world together with the best accuracy and insights of the sportswatch and fitness tracker world. For the price though, how well does this actually deliver?

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ADDITIONAL REVIEW NOTES:
PHYSICAL:
2 vs 2S = 45mm vs 40mm
Six different colors
Super bright AMOLED display
1.1” display on the smaller watch (thin bezel!)
Stainless steel bezel
5ATM water resistance
Easily swap out bands
No mic or speaker, but it does have haptic motor

INTERNALS:
Claimed 10 day battery (11 for Venu 2)
I am getting 5 days of battery with about 30 min of GPS use per day
Rapid recharge = 1 day of battery from 10 minutes of charging
Bluetooth for earbuds
Contactless payment

SENSORS:
GPS
GLONASS
GALILEO
GARMIN ELEVATE™ WRIST HEART RATE MONITOR
BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER
COMPASS
GYROSCOPE
ACCELEROMETER
THERMOMETER
AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR
PULSE OX BLOOD OXYGEN SATURATION MONITOR

ACCURACY TESTING

SOFTWARE
Coaching
25 workouts (some with built in training coaches/workouts & animated exercises)
Onboard music storage from local files, Deezer, Spotify
Health snapshot
Fitness age
Body battery (more advanced now)
Pulse OX and Pulse Ox sleep tracking
Advanced sleep tracking
Respiration tracking
HR tracking
Stress, female cycle, intensity minutes, breathing exercises, etc.
Quick replies for Android, only notifications for Apple
SOS
ConnectIQ apps

*INTERFACE TOUR*

PROS:
Lift to wake works exceptionally well
Touch screen is responsive but not the best out there
Cable supports fast charging as well as data transfer. Very easy to add music, podcasts, or audiobooks! - Even on a Mac (with Android File Transfer)
Offline spotify!! - easy to use and a rare find in smartwatches!
Super accurate
Super in depth analytics

CONS:
GPS takes a beat to start when you want to work out
Instantaneous speed is trash
Price
Limited third party apps
No rotating bezel or crown
Garmin Pay does not work that that many cards

CONCLUSION:
Smartwatches are still finding their purpose in the world, but one definite purpose is for fitness. Counting steps, tracking heart rate, GPS, music for runs without a phone, and contactless payment for that gatorade at the end of your run. And for many people, this is the most important purpose for a smartwatch. When it comes to fitness oriented smartwatches, this should attract the same crowd as the Fitbit Sense and Versa, but the Garmin Venu 2 and 2S are far more accurate, more in depth, and more serious when it comes to fitness tracking.

This is not a smartphone replacement like the Apple and Galaxy watches try to be. This cannot field phone calls and has no voice assistant, but if what you want is an everyday smartwatch that absolutely crushes it in the realm of fitness, this is it. Much more user friendly and practical than the pro athlete Fenix watches, and much more accurate than just about any other smartwatch. This is the perfect hybrid between smartwatch and sportswatch.

The downside? The price :( The price of accuracy and wildly in depth analytics is $399

WHAT GEAR DO I USE?
(Polar H10 is known to be one of the most accurate in the industry and therefore acts as a great standard to which I compare smartwatch heart rate sensors)


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

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!

[Ksquared]

I have had my Venu 2 since last Tuesday. This is my favorite watch ever. For reference I have had 2 apple watches the Galaxy watch 3 and the Fitbit sense. This one out classes them all.

[MrSupernova]

The Venus 2 is an awesome watch especially if you can get it on sale. Right now (fall 2023) Garmin has them discounted by $100. I have a Fenix 7X and I love that watch but I'm realizing that its just too bulky for daily use - especially for sleeping. I plan on using the Venu 2 for daily use, sleeping, work, and travel. If I lose it or it gets damage I won't be too upset. My Fenix 7X, on the other hand, will be my dedicated outdoor sports watch which I use several times per week. For anyone new to smartwatches (sport watches in particular) I would highly recommend this model and not the lower-end Garmin models which are missing many features. The Venus 2 does almost everything my Fenix 7X does at a much, much lower price. It also has a beautiful AMOLED screen that even my beloved Fenix 7X doesn't have.

[fredrikkarlsson]

How big are your wrists? Do the 2s fit you or would you prefer the 2 if it was available?
Thank you for the review!

[qwer]

Big plus for some who wants to start to be more fit, is Garmin coach.
It will create a training plan and adjust to your fitness level with an aim to improve your stats.
Good stuff

[anubhavbakshi]

I am really a fan of your reviews. You always manage to strike off the right points that an average joe would want to know.

[TheProductReviewer]

The Venu 2 is by far the best smartwatch I had so far and I did a bunch of review about smartwatches already. Great review !

[MrJhalter]

Excellent video Mike. I just brought the Venu 2 after watching your review and can confirm it is great!

[maggie]

This is the first video I’ve watched from this channel and out of all the other videos I’ve watched on this watch, this is the best. Thanks for the good content, it’s informative and quick to the point

[danieloherrick]

You just gave me a head-slap moment. I take my Garmin off while showering and lay it on the counter top right below an outlet. Never crossed my mind to get a charger/cable and charge it while showering. Thanks

[_baert]

I have no interest in getting this product but always love to watch your reviews anyway!

[janebarton]

Just bought the Venu2....your videos are always the best! Thanks for sharing your information.

[elmox]

You’ve won my subscription, awesome in full depth review! Awesome work! 🙌🏼

[cukeeanna]

I loooove my Venu2s. It's beautiful. Thank you very much for your review

[Malenasib]

I love the way you explain, also the problem is Garming doesnt have Nursing band

[Maggy]

Thanks for the amazing review, got my Venu 2S today! :)

[jorgesilvaangelo]

Mike, great review. What is your wrist size (just to check what size should best for me).

[storm]

Great review! If I may make a suggestion though, could please you stress how few phones the Galaxy watches will actually work with when you review one in the future? After seeing many reviews I decided to buy one to use with my Galaxy Tab S6 but it turns out Samsung Wearable does not support pairing with any of their tablets. It would pair with my Sony Xperia phone but the Samsung Health app wasn't compatible with it which kinda made the watch useless for me. So I returned it and got this Garmin instead. I do miss some of the smartwatch features that Samsung offered (even though I personally wasn't able to use them) but it's such a delight that it works with everything I pair it with and does what it does so well that I got over that quickly. It is pretty pricey but if you can afford it I would say go for it, it really is an awesome watch.

[portiamarieyamo]

great review, and really helpful. just wanna ask, have you tried using Venu 2/2s in and open water swim? is it safe for saltwater swim also? thanks a lot

[billpentel]

Don't mind it without mic or speaker but wish this watch can beep for alarms and notifications, just like those old Casio watches.

[sergiosietaram]

First off really great video. Very informative. What made you choose the 2S over the 2. I'm going back and forth on which to choose