Crosstraining with the Venu 2S
Garmin is back with their second generation Venu 2. And this time they're bringing their best AMOLED-screened smartwatch to even more wrists with the smaller Venu 2S. Both watches are identical in function, it's just that the Venu 2S is slightly smaller and has lighter colorways than the Venu 2.
What Is It?
The Venu 2 and Venu 2S are next-generation smartwatches from Garmin. Designed to be constant companions, the Venu 2 series devices have 11 days of battery life (8 days if you use the GPS regularly) and track workouts, sleep, respiration, hydration, steps, stress levels, and more to help you monitor your overall fitness.
Venu 2 and Venu 2S
The Venu 2 series has gorgeous AMOLED screens that are activated whenever you turn your wrist towards you (you can also set them to always on). They can track over 25 different sports activities (running, cycling, strength workouts, yoga, swimming, and tons more). New to the Venu 2/2S is HIIT tracking with support for AMRAP, EMOM, and Tabata sets.
It has an advanced suite of sensors including a heart rate sensor, GPS (plus GLONASS and Galileo), wrist-based pulse oximeter (for measuring blood oxygen), barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer (especially useful for determining gait while running), an external thermometer (but no humidity sensor for outdoor workout conditions), and an ambient light sensor. The Venu 2 series has NFC for the Garmin Pay contactless payment feature, just like the original. You can use them with both iOS and Android, but can respond to text messages only on Android.
Garmin’s Sleep Score is new to the Venu 2 and I couldn't be happier. Each morning you get a score based your sleep stages, heart rate, perceived stress, respiration rate, and blood oxygen levels. Also new to the Venu 2 is the “Fitness Age” metric which it automatically determines based on your level of activity.
How Well Does It Work?
Garmin devices have traditionally been for athletes looking to get an edge on their training and the Venu 2/2S is no different. The Venu 2 series is constantly monitoring your health and encouraging you to make good choices.
Tracking sleep, workouts, hydration, it's all there on your wrist. But more than that, Garmin is constantly crunching the numbers and adjusting things based on goals you've set and metrics that it's recorded.
Did you sleep poorly last night? The Venu 2 will let you know that your Body Battery is a bit low, so maybe you should take it easier today. Put in a punishing workout? Your watch will adjust your hydration goal accordingly to make sure you replenish your fluids. It's the little things that make the Venu 2 feel more like a wrist-based fitness coach than just another smartwatch.
Garmin's sleep tracking is far superior to just about every other device on the market. It makes Apple's sleep monitoring look embarrassingly basic. Your Sleep Score not only takes into account how long you slept and your sleep schedule, but your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, respiration rate, and more. Then it factors this into your Body Battery, Stress, and overall fitness levels. Garmin is one of the first companies that started treating recovery and sleep as the vital part of athletic performance that it is and it shows with their polished implementation.
Venu 2
Tracking workouts is a simple, effortless affair, providing everything you need to stay on target and hit your goals. With 25 different activity profiles, there's not much that you can do the Venu 2 can't track. And if you're not following a specific workout, the Venu 2 has you covered with on-wrist workouts that are already loaded onto the device. The 5-minute all-out HIIT workout will convince you that a 5-minute workout can be effective.
Basically, the Venu 2 is a fitness-buff's dream. It tracks more metrics than I even knew could be tracked and then gives you a holistic package, providing a nuanced overview of your training and overall health. The numbers provided by Garmin give me a much deeper and more accurate view of my fitness and health than the three rings on my Apple Watch ever could.
There's one thing that I wish, and it's that the Garmin Connect app had an iOS widget. I don't mind ditching my Activity app rings from my home screen, especially since I know that they're woefully inaccurate (because I end up double-tracking treadmill runs in the Peloton app and on my wrist). But I'd love a place to see my Garmin metrics on my home screen. They're so much more useful and interesting, I'd love the chance to interact with them more.
Is The Venu 2 a Good Smartwatch?
I'll be honest, as much as I love the superior battery life and holistic health tracking of the Venu 2, it hasn't yet earned a permanent place on my wrist. That's because, as much as I hate to admit it, I've grown dependent on having a tiny iPhone strapped there. The Apple Watch might be lacking when it comes to fitness tracking but it offers so much more deep integration with my iPhone that I simply can't break free.
That's not to say the Venu 2 doesn't offer a host of smart functions. It dutifully offers up notifications (though it doesn't differentiate between normal notifications and those you've set to be delivered "quietly" in iOS). It works with Amazon Music, Spotify, and Deezer, allowing you to download 500 songs to your wrist. It can work as a contactless payment device. If you don't need your watch to also be a tiny computer, then the Venu 2 can give you everything you're looking for.
Where Can I Get It?
Made for seasoned and burgeoning athletes alike, the Venu 2 and Venu 2S will take your training to the next level, giving you the insight you need to conquer your goals (or set new ones). The Venu 2 and Venu 2S are both available for $399 on Garmin's website.
