Garmin Venu SQ

8 Reviews for Garmin Venu SQ

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Mitch – October 23, 2019

   I’ve been using fitness trackers for several years now, starting with the Fitbit Flex, then the Microsoft Band, Microsoft Band 2, Fitbit Ionic, and now the Garmin Venu. I always gravitate more towards fitness-focused devices as opposed to app-focused “smartwatches” like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch, because I’ve never really seen the appeal of reading news or navigating a map using a tiny screen on my wrist. While I like the option of installing apps and add-ons, it’s more important to me that the device tracks my sleep, heart rate, steps and workouts, and that it does all of those things well. With that in mind, I’m quite happy with my Venu after a couple weeks of owning it, but there are a few caveats.Pros:- The battery life is at least as good as advertised. With the always on display mode disabled and pulse ox tracking enabled only while sleeping, I’m getting 5+ days on a charge. The raise-to-wake functionality is responsive enough to not be bothersome, but you can also have the display always on during activities only, which provides a good compromise between maximum battery life and maximum ease of use.- GPS accuracy is generally great. It seems to be a noticeable improvement compared to the Fitbit Ionic, which was pretty good but had a tendency to cut corners.- The workout display shows 4 different data fields on each screen, and you can customize the layout, order and number of screens. I haven’t made too many changes yet, but I like having the option, and I definitely like having multiple screens with several fields per screen compared to the Ionic’s rather limited selection.- Heart rate accuracy seems great. I haven’t done any actual comparison against other devices, but DC Rainmaker’s tests showed good results and intuitively it feels accurate to me.- I love the fitness-oriented features like auto step goal (which adjusts the goal based on your previous performance) and Garmin Coach (though I haven’t yet used the latter extensively).- It’s one of the few Garmin devices that has a touch screen, which I still prefer from a usability perspective. Touchscreens on fitness devices can be finnicky and cause problems during activities, especially when it’s raining or you’re swimming, but the Venu software seems well designed to avoid those problems. In particular, there’s no way to pause or stop an activity using the touch screen, which is a semi-common problem on Fitbit and Apple Watch.- The watch has built-in support for lots of different activities, all of which have first-class support on the Garmin Connect website and also sync properly with Strava. This is a big one for me, because two of my biggest annoyances with the Fitbit Ionic were that it lacked support for skiing and snowboarding, and that the Fitbit website will not export activities without GPS data (i.e. heart rate-only activities), meaning such activities could not be synced to Strava.- Phone notifications and connected data, e.g. in the weather widget, seem to work reliably. I shouldn’t even have to mention this, except that on my Fitbit Ionic the weather app never worked, so it’s nice to have a weather widget that actually works now.- Third party apps, widgets and data fields on the Connect IQ store can add additional functionality. I especially like the idea of being able to add custom data fields to built-in activities, although I haven’t used it yet.Cons:- The price! $400 is pretty steep, especially when you can get an Apple Watch series 3 for less than $200. The Fitbit Ionic is also down to $230 now, and although I have a lot of gripes about it, it’s still a pretty good watch if you don’t mind some of the activity-specific shortcomings I mentioned above. [Edit: except now that Google has purchased Fitbit, I would not buy into their ecosystem.]- No eBike activity, so you can’t distinguish between normal bike rides and eBike rides in Connect. You can’t even set this later on the Connect website, even though it supports many different types of cycling.- No open water swimming support, even though Garmin supports this on other devices with the same GPS chipset, accelerometer, etc. In other words, I don’t think there’s any reason this watch couldn’t support open water swimming, but Garmin is withholding the feature as a price differentiator. It’s annoying that Garmin does this, and it feels anachronistic given that Apple always releases new WatchOS updates to older devices.- Similarly, other Garmin devices have a lot of nice software features like training effect, altitude and heat acclimation, etc. which could have been included on this device but weren’t. I’ll cut Garmin a little more slack for this since they’re licensing these features from FirstBeat, so they probably pay more per feature, but at least giving us the option to pay for that extra functionality without dropping another $200+ on a Fenix device would have been nice.- Also no widget glance view which is supported on the Fenix 6 series. Scrolling (swiping) through several widgets can be tedious when you’re looking for a specific one.- Sleep tracking accuracy is fairly poor. Determining sleep quality is probably more of an art than a science anyway, but Fitbit seems to be noticeably better at it. Likewise, Pulse Ox doesn’t match the readings I get from a finger-clip device, and “Body Battery” seems more or less useless.- There is no way to filter notifications to only certain apps. Fitbit is clever about this in that it defaults to only calls and texts and maybe a handful of others, and you have to manually enable other apps, which prevents you from getting dozens of notifications on your wrist. With Garmin, it’s either all on or all off. Also, notifications for most apps just show a generic icon based on the app’s category, rather than the actual app icon, which Fitbit shows.- The “Gorilla Glass” screen doesn’t seem very resilient. Mine already has a small scratch on it even though I’ve been taking extra care not to damage my new toy. ☹ Buy a screen protector.- The Connect IQ Store app has been broken for me ever since I got the watch. The main Connect app works, but not the Store. Luckily you can work around this by installing apps from the Connect IQ website. Also, notwithstanding what I said about not really caring about smartwatch apps, the Connect IQ app ecosystem is nothing to write home about, and a lot of the apps have very poor UI design.That might seem like quite a few “cons” for a 4-star review, but they’re mostly nitpicks. Overall the Venu feels like an upgrade from my Fitbit Ionic, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fitness-focused smartwatch at a reasonable price point. That said, “reasonable” is relative, and while the Venu is affordable compared to the Fenix or MARQ series, $400 is still quite a bit of money for a smart watch.If you’re looking for a more detailed analysis from a more serious athlete, check out DC Rainmaker’s impressions (I won’t link to it lest I get caught in the spam filter, but if you search for “Garmin Venu with AMOLED Display: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know”, you’ll find it) or wait for his full review.

2. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   John A – November 5, 2019

   Beautiful watch; however the wrist heart rate is way off which makes several of the other stats irrelevant. This is very disappointing for a very expensive watch.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Zzyzx Oh – November 6, 2019

   I had been using a Fitbit Surge for several years. When the integrated band failed they provided a refurbished replacement unit. I found the Sleep and Movement tracking very motivating, but the proprietary band and unstable synchronization process frustrating. When the second band began to fall, I considered the Fitbit Charge 3, but then the Google acquisition was announced.I looked at several pure trackers but decided to give this smart watch a try. My initial impression is it does a lot more but has a bit of a learning curve. But my main complaints about my prior Surge are not an issue, since uses standard bands and syncs automatically without being asked. As an avid walker, I was thrilled to see a much more extensive list of trackable activities.The unit itself looks very clean and stylish, and it is lower profile on my wrist so it interferes less with my sleeves. The sleep tracking is more detailed and shows time in each perceived sleep level: deep, REM, and light. It also shows your breathing rates and movement. Adding more monitors reduces battery life from excellent to something less, but doing a regular charge while you shower keeps you topped up.I try to walk a 10K on days I am not at the gym, and Venu has many activities to track including walking. You can use the Garmin website to join a casual group of similar interest, track your activity and post your results. The leaderboard can be a motivator for many.I am very pleased with this Venu and will take some time learning how to use it and will update topics like battery life, Bluetooth and Spotify playlists.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   monica – November 8, 2019

   This is my first garmin.I have previously owned fitbits and a samsung gear fit2.I dont usually post reviews but I researched alot to decide on buying this watch so figured I read reviews so much and it helped me so why not do it to help someone eles possibly.I have only had the watch on for the last few days but so far I’m loving it!I’ve used it during multiple workouts including running outside with the GPS and it was accurate!I love how it fits, it’s very light to me. Feels good on my wrist.It also looks beautiful!!Which was a big thing for me in purchasing my next fitness watch.My last one (the fitnit ionic) was definitely not very pretty, so I wanted one I would feel good about wearing 24/7.It also has the garmin coach feature.Which Is great because I am going to be doing my first 1/2 marathon and I know it is going to be great at helping me conquer it!The battery life has been great! That was another big deciding factor for me.I was looking for a watch that I knew I could put it on gps and go running/walking/hiking for a day and not worry about the battery draining too quickly to make it to the end of my workout.I wont have to worry about that with this.(But I also have not listened to music, so maybe with gps and music the battery would drain much faster, I have not tested that yet)I’m hoping it still stays a 5 star for me.I will come back in another couple weeks and update my review.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Amanda Schumacher – November 11, 2019

   I bought this because I thought I needed an upgrade from my garmin forerunner 230. This version is fashionable and looks smaller on my wrist, which is one thing I was hoping for. Another thing I was VERY interested in was the music feature. I’ve used the music feature for races and it worked flawlessly. I didn’t have my phone with me on those runs and the downloaded music on my watch was perfect! The battery life so far is great, with a full charge before a 5k – using GPS and the music feature – my watch got down to 90% battery life. I’m very satisfied with that! I love this watch and I am so glad I bought it. It’s the perfect combination of smart watch and GPS running watch!

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Raheem – December 12, 2019

   First let me start by saying I have always had a love for Garmin products!My first fitness tracker was a FitBit and I despised it, 2 years ago my boyfriend bought me a Garmin Vivomove HR and I fell even more inlove with the brand!I upgraded to the Venu, and I am currently training for a half marathon followed by a full marathon and this watch is the perfect balance between sport and everyday life. It is aesthetically pleasing and it works like a dream. The battery lasts me roughly 7 days (I have Bluetooth enabled at all times and use it quite often throughout the day). The GPS and tracking is pristine and the app is still amazing in my opinion!It is a pricey investment but when you look at what you get VS another smartwatch Garmin delivers as they are a sport company first not a social networking need first like fossil or apple products .

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   MB – February 2, 2020

   Nice watch, good GPS, battery not stay that long as promised, good for running outside and gym workout

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jim S – February 5, 2020

   I looked at all the major manufacturers before making this decision, including Apple, Withings, Fitbit, Samsung, and also looked at the extremely broad range of offerings from Garmin. Even though I’ve had a Fitbit for the past 7 years, I settled on this watch based on the following:* Extremely broad range of functions that are customizable (in terms of what is displayed on the watch), including even the ability to customize the watch face – both analog and digital.* Relatively low price* Excellent website which links to the watch and allows a fuller mobile and PC view, including tracking over time* The only Garmin watch with the newest amoled display (similar to the look of Apple watch display), with the ability to have the display always on, and blackout periods when you don’t want it to activate unless you press a button (i.e., in bed when you are sleeping).* GPS which does not depend on a phone – it links to satellites independently* In contrast to Apple and most other brands, the ability to view blood oxygen saturation, thereby showing stats such as VO2 max and spot O2 readings* Measures heart rate very accurately without any other devices required.* Can be configured to monitor body energy level, suggest breaks, display respiration rate, steps, stairs, etc.* I have an average-sized wrist, and at about 43 mm it is just the right size without feeling as though the watch was overpowering my arm.* The watch is extremely light – most of the time I hardly notice that I’m wearing it. I’ve also ordered a 3rd party titanium band with quick-release pins (it takes a 20mm size), for those times when I want a dress look. The watch looks really classy, especially with the titanium band. The band that comes with the watch is extremely comfortable, light, and does not irritate my skin.* The watch is designed to be used for swimming* Depending on what you activate (i.e., I have VO2 readings on all the time), the watch battery can last 3-5 days without a charge.* I use the watch to monitor my sleep patterns, and because I also have it set to monitor blood oxygen saturation, I can tell from the chart next day if I need to be worried about anything (i.e., dropping below 90%).* There are hundreds of specific fitness routines and training routines you can download and load into the watch from Garmin.* The watch can link to Spotify and Amazon music using Bluetooth.I’m really happy with this purchase.