I distinctly remember the moment a switch flipped in my head about Garmin's smartwatches after testing the Venu 2. Before that, I only really thought of Garmin as a performance-wearable brand for the hardcore crowd, with its Forerunner and Fenix franchises. For me, the Venu 2 proved that Garmin can create a functional and handsome watch that ticks all the boxes.
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On paper, the Garmin Venu 2 looks like a lifestyle smartwatch with a fitness edge, but in practice, it delivers a genuinely premium experience that rivals full-fat fitness wearables.
The AMOLED display was the first big standout: it's bright, crisp and far more vibrant than the MIP screens Garmin had been known for at the time.
It also introduced significantly improved battery life for an AMOLED smartwatch, managing up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, which instantly set it apart from rivals that struggled to last more than a couple of days.
What made the Venu 2 feel “complete,” though, was the sensor package and tracking. The Elevate optical heart-rate sensor was a meaningful step up for accuracy, supported by Pulse Ox, stress tracking, Body Battery, advanced sleep scoring and on-device workout animations. The latter became a sleeper hit, letting people follow strength, HIIT and yoga sessions right from the wrist without needing a phone.
Garmin also packed in full GPS, offline music storage for Spotify/Deezer playlists, Garmin Pay, and health snapshots that gave quick, digestible summaries of your vital stats.
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