Serious athletes are ready to spend more money on a quality fitness wristwatch with many buttons, powerful tracking software, and long battery life. It is the watch named Garmin Venu 2 Plus made for them. Garmin mainly targets the ones ready to spend a particular amount on health and fitness. Each one fills a specific need: the robust Garmin Fenix 6 has 10 ATMs and updated GPS for hikers. At the same time, the Forerunner 945 LTE appeals to sprinters with its full-color mapping and cellular connection.
Then there was the Garmin Venu 2 from a year ago, which somewhat defied classification. Thanks to its stunning AMOLED display, stainless steel rim, 11-day battery pack, and music storage. It is a great delight to use. But in the end, it is a plastic band priced similarly to other lifestyle watches. But it lacked features like voice assistant access or cell phone calls.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus, which replaces the Garmin Venu 2 in 2021, offers all the same functions as its predecessor with the notable addition of a microphone. This enables you to utilize your phone’s voice assistant without touching it and receive incoming calls from your wrist. It’s an excellent addition to what was already a fantastic wristwatch and is suitable with Siri, Google Assistant, and Bixby.
What Will You See Here?
Design
The 1.3-inch AMOLED Garmin Venu 2 Plus display is on a circular dial. Surprisingly, there is just one 43mm dial size choice. Unlike the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series, there are no additional possibilities. The original watch was offered in 40mm and 45mm case sizes, whereas the Venu 2 Plus is only offered in a 43mm case size. It strikes a decent balance between being substantial enough to hold the additional parts of the new watch. And being manageable on smaller wrists.
The metallic bezel of the Venu 2 Plus features a textured design and looks and feels luxurious. On the right, there are three buttons, but on the left, there is simply the speaker. Polycarbonate was used to make the casing, and standard 20mm straps were used. Quick release pins on the provided strap make it simple to switch them out without needing any tools. The Venu 2 Plus’s underbody is made of metal, and it is here that the health sensors are located. In recess, there are charging connections as well. The charging cable from Garmin snaps into place quickly, removing any fumbling.
The display technology of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is obsolete. It has a 416 x 416 pixel OLED screen that is clear, bright, and bold, with a punchier appearance. And significantly greater resolution than Garmin’s transflective displays.
Performance
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus tracks outdoor workouts with its integrated GPS. Most of the time, it takes less than 30 seconds to lock onto a GPS signal. The Venu 2 Plus’s distance tracking is precise, recording exactly 1 kilometer for every kilometer you walk. The watch accurately tracks your steps. Similar to the Fenix 7, this model’s SpO2 monitor produces inconsistent results. Therefore, its blood oxygen measurements are inaccurate. Its “floors ascended” statistics are wildly inaccurate.
There are better statistics available. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus performs admirably regarding heart rate tracking, much like the Fenix 7. It makes sense since it uses the Elevate 4 HR array technology. While performing interval training can occasionally be slightly sluggish to capture unexpected heart rate jumps. But overall, it’s a rather trustworthy wrist tracker.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus tracks sleep accurately and can also keep track of different sleep periods. This is divided up by the program into a deep sleep, light sleep, REM sleep, and waking times. Even when you are sleeping, you may enable SpO2 monitoring. The readings from the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, which also purports to monitor stress, are consistent. The analytical part is thrilled with all these metrics, although the data volume sometimes seemed overwhelming. Garmin has to find a method to simplify how it shows the user all this information. Adding personalized insights to the app will probably improve understanding of all the metrics, especially for wristwatch beginners.
Features
The microphone is the main distinction between the Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus. As your phone is in the Bluetooth range, you may utilize the voice assistant on your phone and receive calls. The watch is linked to an Android phone, and Google Assistant can interpret your queries without any issue. Because of the superb sound clarity from the mic. Even when you aren’t exercising, you find yourself utilizing Google Assistant far more frequently than you will typically because it is convenient to have it practically on your wrist.
Comparing the Garmin Venu 2 Plus to high-end devices like the Epix and Fenix 7, there is a subtle difference in how it handles data. Your exercise regimen is not examined to see whether you are improving, maybe overtraining, or slipping—features have come to anticipate from top-tier Garmin watches.
Some statistics continue to connect to give a general idea of week-to-week consistency. To determine whether you may be pushing yourself too hard, Garmin tracks your “Intensity Minutes,” and the Body Battery function compares the quality of your sleep to your exercise and stress levels. It can also connect to bike cadence sensors or Bluetooth/ANT+ heart rate monitors.
Battery Life
Battery life will constantly vary according to how you utilize the watch’s many functionalities, especially SpO2 and GPS. The watch can operate in smartwatch mode for up to nine days, battery saver mode for up to ten days, GPS and music for up to eight hours, or GPS just for 24 hours. The battery drains at a speed of about 10% per day, which is higher than the stated statistics and admirable for a robust AMOLED wristwatch.
To put that in perspective, the Fitbit Charge 5’s tiny screen has a potential battery life of only 7 days. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus have excellent battery life. Even with extensive usage, it can get the watch to last approximately six days per charge. It includes recording evening walks virtually every day, receiving notifications from your associated smartphone, always having heart rate tracking enabled, and even tracking sleep.
You have to charge the Apple Watch Series 7 every other day, which is far more than its capacity. With the all-day SpO2 monitoring and the always-on screen option turned on, it anticipates that the battery life would be reduced. With the included cable and Connecting 10W power adapter, charging the watch takes around 30 minutes to get a 45 percent charge and another hour or so to reach a full charge.
Price and Availability
Priced at $365/£346, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is exclusively offered with a 43mm dial. Each one arrives with a complimentary strap and comes in Graphite Black, Cream Gold, or Powder Gray. On January 4, 2022, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus was sold for $449.99/£399.99/AU$699.
Comparatively, the original Venu 2 debuted in April 2021 for $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$629, so the additional microphone costs a little bit more but not much more.
Is Garmin Venu 2 Plus worth it?
The $365 Venu 2 Plus has a lot to offer if you’re not committed to a particular phone ecosystem and want a monitor that can almost record whatever you do that burns calories. However, most individuals would be better suited with an Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, or Fitbit due to its highly complicated interface and smartwatch features.
Is the Garmin Venu 2 Plus waterproof?
Similar to the Venu 2, the Venu 2 Plus does have a water repellent rating of 5ATM, making it appropriate for swimming and taking a shower but not for diving or fast-paced watersports. It weighs 51g, making it a bit heavier than the Venu 2 variants in the 40mm and 45mm sizes which weigh 38.2g and 49g, respectively.
Can you listen to music on Garmin without a phone?
At CES, Garmin unveiled its newest watch, the Forerunner 645, which saves music locally and links with Wireless earbuds so you can jog without your phone while still listening to music.
Conclusion
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is an extremely capable smartwatch for fitness fanatics. It is compatible with Android and iOS and can track various health metrics. The battery life is very excellent considering the functions it offers. A potential turnoff for some purchasers may be the absence of LTE connection; the Apple Watch Series 7 includes it, albeit at a more significant cost.
The Garmin Venu 2, one of the top wristbands of 2021, has received a significant change for 2022 with the addition of a microphone. This allows you to utilize your phone’s voice assistant and make and receive calls right from your wrist. It’s a fantastic idea that significantly expands the usefulness of this multi-purpose wristwatch, whether or not you’re exercising. This fantastic sports watch is the same as the previous version, even though only one case size is offered this time.
