Unlike its predecessor, the Garmin Venu 2 appears in two case sizes to appeal more specifically to women and men. You can choose between compact models with a 40-millimeter diagonal and more generous 45-millimeter versions. The GPS sports watch is waterproof, features an AMOLED touch display, and achieves battery runtimes of ten to eleven days. 

Thanks to a quick-charge mode, it refuels energy for the next 24 hours within ten minutes. The Venu 2 supports athletes with animated workouts on the display, it records various activities and offers strength athletes an advanced analysis. It also monitors health parameters such as respiration rate, oxygen saturation, heart rate variability and stress. The music memory of this fitness watch offers capacity for up to 750 tracks.

Technical details

Size screen	1,2 / 1,3 Inch
Wrist material	silicon / synthetic material
Size watch case	40 / 45 mm
Connectivity	GalileoANT +Bluetooth GLONASS, NFC, WLAN
GPS	Yes
Battery life	up to 11 days
Supported systems	Androis, iOS
Water resistance	5 ATM
Display	AMOLED
Sensors	Accelerometer, GPS, Gyroscope, Pulse monitor, Pulse monitor without chest strap, Sleep monitor, Pedometers, Thermometer, Ambient light sensor
Microphone included	No
Speaker included	No

A fitness watch in two sizes and many attractive designs

The Venu already enjoyed a special status in the Garmin model range. As one of the few, it features a touchscreen. This feature also characterizes its successor, which, however, is now available in two sizes. The more compact Venu 2s has a diagonal of 40 millimeters. The corresponding screen is 1.2 inches and has a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. The more generous Venu 2s extends to 45 millimeters, and its 1.3 inch display resolves with 416 x 416 pixels.

At launch, the Venu 2s offers four color combinations: In addition to a slate-gray specimen, there are versions in light gray-silver, beige-light gold, and white-rose gold to choose from. The Venu 2 comes in black-slate-gray as well as silver-granite blue. In addition to the touchscreen, two buttons are placed as additional controls on the right edge. The fitness watch is waterproof up to 50 meters and can therefore also withstand swimming training.

Depending on the size, the weight of the Garmin Venu 2 is either 38 or 49 grams. To change the look, the wristbands can be changed at will. They are made of silicone, as befits their status. The display is protected by robust Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The bezel of this sports watch is made of stainless steel, while the case is made of fiber-reinforced polymer. If you’re looking for the Plus-version, we recommend checking out our Garmin Venu 2 Plus review.

Focus on fitness and health

The Garmin Venu 2 focuses on two main fields: activity and health. Along the way, it also shows the qualities of a smartwatch. Typically, the fitness watch is compatible with Android and iOS. If calls or messages are received on the cell phone, it immediately informs its wearers. Owners of an Android device even have the option of replying to text messages directly via the Venu 2’s display.

Like its predecessor, this sports watch supports contactless payment via Garmin Pay. However, its music storage has grown considerably: Instead of 500 songs so far, it can store up to 750 tracks. Playlists from Amazon Music, Spotify and Deezer can also be stored and then played back via Bluetooth headphones. Safety is not neglected either: If the Venu 2 is connected to the smartphone, it can automatically inform the desired contacts in emergencies. This happens when it detects an accident or the wearer himself sends an alarm.

The ideal partner for fitness enthusiasts

Over 25 sports are recorded by this GPS fitness watch. Golf, running, cycling or even swimming are just a few of them. If you want more inspiration, you can resort to animated workouts that appear on the display. They offer instructions for HIIT workouts, yoga, Pilates, as well as endurance and strength units. Speaking of strength training, the Venu 2 has received an innovation here. During the activity, adjustments can be made on the watch and personal records are saved. The wearable also shows which muscle groups the athlete is currently working.

The Garmin Connect app not only allows users to evaluate their performance, but also to create their own workouts with more than 1,400 exercises. They then upload these to the Venu 2, where they are available for retrieval. Those who want instructions claim the Garmin Coach. It provides plans for achieving running goals ranging from a five-kilometer tour to a half marathon. The sports watch tracks all outdoor units with the help of the integrated GPS module.

Garmin fitness watches have been recording activity minutes for quite some time. The Venu 2 has been expanded in this regard and now also tells you at what time of day and where these were collected. The Body Battery helps to better classify the remaining energy reserves. This should make it easier to find the ideal time for the next physical activity.

Lots of features included

The Garmin Venu 2 (check out the Garmin online shop) monitors sleep quality at night. It uses criteria such as the distribution of sleep stages, heart rate, respiration and blood oxygen saturation for its assessment. If you feel stressed, this watch provides breathing exercises to help you relax directly on the display. Women can log their periods or even a pregnancy. They have the option of saving symptoms and receiving information on nutrition and training in conjunction with the app.

A new feature on the Garmin Venu 2 is the “Health Snapshot”. Within a two-minute activity, the watch records important health parameters. These include pulse rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen saturation and stress levels.

The Garmin Venu 2s achieves a battery life of up to ten days. Because the Venu 2 is the slightly larger model, it has been given an energy store with more capacity, so it can last up to eleven days at a time.

Conclusion

We have to honestly admit that it’s hard to say anything really negative about the Garmin Venu 2. The watch is beautiful to look at, has an excellent AMOLED display, is equipped with a long-lasting battery and offers a wide range of interesting and useful features for activities, health and fitness.

We would particularly like to highlight the high measurement accuracy of the Garmin Venu 2, which we have not yet seen in this precision – at least when jogging. It’s way better than the popular Garmin Venu Sq (check out our review) alternative.

In recent years, the Vivoactive models have been Garmin’s most popular watches, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the Garmin Venu 2 becomes the manufacturer’s future top star. Simply because the watch offers everything the user expects from a modern smartwatch.