Garmin smartwatches and fitness wearables have been around in India for a while. While I’ve heard of these being very popular among fitness enthusiasts, I’ve rarely discovered one used. So when the Garmin Venu 2 Plus arrived for review, I was surprised to see the feature list and price. Valuation Rs. 46,990 in India, which is higher than the Apple Watch Series 7 that we and many others have come to appreciate. So is the Garmin Venu 2 Plus the right smartwatch for you or would you be better off with an alternative? I put it to the test to find out.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus price in India
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus priced at Rs. 46,990 in India and is only available with a 43mm dial. You can choose between Graphite Black, Cream Gold, and Powder Gray, and each comes with a matching strap.
Design Garmin Venu 2 Plus
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a circular watch face with a 1.3-inch AMOLED display. Surprisingly, it is only available in a single 43mm dial size; you don’t get other options like you do with Apple Watch Series 7 (Review) and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series. This is really perfect from my hand, but many people may find it too small or too big.
The Venu 2 Plus has a metallic rim with textured patterns, which looks and feels premium. There are three buttons on the right, while the left has only the speaker. The case is made of polycarbonate and uses standard 20mm straps. The supplied strap has quick release pins that make it easy to swap without any tools. Garmin has used metal for the bottom of the Venu 2 Plus, and this is where you’ll find the health sensors. This area also has charging contacts in a recess. Garmin’s cable snaps into place for charging easily, eliminating any fumbling.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a 1.3-inch AMOLED display
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus weighs 51g, which means it’s a bit heavier than the Apple Watch Series 7. Compared to the Apple Watch, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a commanding presence on your wrist. The strap is well designed and did not irritate the skin during the review period. It also holds the watch quite snugly on my wrist, helping to increase accuracy when measuring my heart rate and SpO2 levels. The Venu 2 Plus is rated for 5ATM water resistance and can track swimming.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus Software, Features, and Ecosystem
Garmin Venu 2 Plus runs on proprietary software and can be used with Iphone or one Android smartphone. You can use all of its features when paired with an Android phone, but if you use an iPhone, certain features won’t be available, such as the ability to reply to messages. You can use the speaker and microphone on the Venu 2 Plus to answer incoming calls on your wrist, but you’ll need to raise the watch fairly close to your face to hear the caller clearly. The Venu 2 Plus has Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi connectivity and can connect to known networks independently. There is no cellular connection on the Venu 2 Plus like you can get with the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series.
I paired my Garmin Venu 2 Plus with Samsung Galaxy S21 (Review) smartphone for a week and then switch to Apple iPhone 12 Pro (Review) next week. The Garmin The Connect app is virtually identical on both platforms and is very easy to set up. The main screen of the application is a dashboard that displays all the health parameters that the Garmin Venu 2 Plus has recorded. It displays steps taken, floors climbed, heart rate, Body battery (energy level), stress level, and even detailed sleep information. You can tap on any of these to see more information. There’s even a calendar view of all these stats, which can be viewed at a glance.
The bottom of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus has many sensors for measuring heart rate and SpO2
The app lets you participate in fitness challenges and even lets you create your own. You can add friends and compete with them. If you do, their fitness activity will show up in the app’s news feed tab. You can also use the Garmin Connect app to change watch faces, customize quick shortcuts, set activity goals, and toggle different tracking features.
On the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, you can swipe up or down on the home screen to access “Glances” which are basically widgets that display information like SpO2 levels, heart rate, sleep stats, etc. The user interface also has a widget that aggregates all the notifications from your paired smartphone, making it easy to go through them all in one go, however, interacting with them requires a additional steps. You can customize these with the Garmin Connect app.
The center button on the Garmin Venu 2 Plus activates the voice assistant of the paired smartphone. The built-in speaker makes it possible for the assistant to answer your commands through the watch. The top right button shows the Favorites menu when pressed briefly, while long pressing opens the controls menu. The bottom button takes you one step back in the UI, but you can also swipe right on any screen to go back. Long press on it will take you to the settings. I found this navigation scheme to be overwhelming when I first started using the Venu 2 Plus, and finding the right setting took some searching. The learning curve is a bit steep compared to the Apple Watch but things got better after some use.
You can summon your personal assistant on your paired smartphone with the Venu 2 Plus
You can track a wide range of workouts on the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, from basic workouts like walking and running to strength training. You can also create custom routines by combining different strength workouts using the Garmin Connect app or website. It’s easier to create custom workouts on a PC and sync them with the Venu 2 Plus, which is a huge benefit of such an ecosystem.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus Performance and Battery Life
I’ve been using the Garmin Venu 2 Plus for over three weeks, tracking my walks almost every day and comparing the results with the Apple Watch Series 7 results to check its accuracy. Garmin Venu 2 Plus uses built-in GPS to track outdoor workouts. In most cases, locking to a GPS signal takes less than 30 seconds. Distance tracking is very accurate and the Venu 2 Plus accurately recorded 1km for every 1km I walked. Step tracking isn’t far-fetched at all, and the watch shows 999 steps for the 1,000 that I counted manually.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus can continuously monitor your heart rate, and it’s accurate when compared to the Apple Watch Series 7. The Venu 2 Plus is also quick to detect heart rate changes while I’m exercising. You can track your SpO2 levels on the Venu 2 Plus and even track it automatically throughout the day. This is turned off by default. I found SpO2 readings on par with those displayed with a medical grade pulse oximeter.
You will completely disrupt your sleep cycle if you wear Venu 2 Plus to bed
Sleep tracking was very accurate, and the Garmin Venu 2 Plus also managed to track the different stages of my sleep. The app breaks this down into deep sleep, light sleep, REM, and awake stages. You can even enable SpO2 tracking during sleep. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus claims to also track stress, and the results displayed were in line with how I felt during the day. While all these parameters make my analyst very happy, sometimes the sheer amount of information is overwhelming. Garmin should find a way to streamline the way it displays all this data to the user. Perhaps adding personalized insights in the app would make it a bit easier to understand all the metrics, especially for novice smartwatch users.
The battery life of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is impressive. With my usage, that includes tracking evening walks almost every day, notifications from my paired smartphone, heart rate monitoring enabled all the time, and even sleep tracking , I was still able to maintain the watch’s life for about six days per charge. This number is much higher than what Apple Watch Series 7 likely – I need to charge it every other day. I would expect battery life to be lower with all-day SpO2 tracking and always-on display enabled. Charging the watch with the included cable and my own 10W power adapter resulted in a 45 percent charge in 30 minutes, and the watch was fully charged in about an hour.
Identify
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is a very capable smartwatch for fitness enthusiasts. It can track a wide range of health parameters and works on Android and iOS. On top of that, the battery life is great for the features it offers. Valuation Rs. 46,990 in India, it’s expensive and might just appeal to a niche audience. The lack of LTE connectivity may also deter some buyers – Apple Watch Series 7 (Review) offers this but at a higher price.
If you are an athlete or a fitness enthusiast who actively wants to track workouts and related health parameters, then the Garmin Venu 2 Plus could be a worthwhile investment. iPhone users who just want to casually track their physical activity and want a simpler user interface may find the Apple Watch Series 7 a solid alternative. Those with a budget can consider Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch SE (Review) to replace.
