Garmin devices are well known for being great for active souls and made from high-quality components, but when it comes to choosing the best device for your needs, things can get a bit confusing. The Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Garmin Venu are popular choices, but which one is best overall? We took a look at both options to give you the lowdown!
Garmin Venu 2
The Garmin Venu 2 demonstrates that successors may succeed. There are a number of new features to try out. Fitness age, sleep score, Health Snapshot, new activity profiles, a power-saving mode, quick charging, and other features are included. Although it is more costly, the stunning design, AMOLED display, and additional features may be well worth the investment.
Garmin Vivoactive 4
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 will satisfy most consumers looking for a wristwatch that can monitor their health and fitness. GPS, heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring are all included. Garmin Pay and music storage are two further benefits. It lacks all of the new Venu 2 benefits, but not everyone will need them.
Key Comparisons Between the Vivoactive 4 & the Venu 2
The Garmin Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4 are two of the brands fighting for the title of “Best Android smartwatch”. When it comes to basic health and activity monitoring, these watches have a lot in common, but it’s the differences that will influence your selection.
If you want the most up-to-date model with all of the latest features, the Garmin Venu 2 is the way to go. The Garmin Vivoacative 4 is a good choice for those who want to save money and don’t mind losing out on a few features. At the end of the day, both watches are fantastic wearables with decent fitness tracking capabilities.
Before we give you our complete overview, take a moment to check out some of the key information compared for both devices:
| Vivoactive 4 | Venu 2 | |
| Screen Size | 33mm | 33mm |
| Case Size | 40mm & 45mm | 40mm,45mm |
| Display Type | Sunlight-visible, transflective (MIP) | AMOLED (Always on possible) |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Monitor | Yes | Yes |
| Water Resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Contactless Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Life | 7 Days | 5 days |
| Battery Life (GPS & Music) | Max 5 hours | Max 6 hours |
Design
Choosing the design that you like best is a big part of deciding which watch is right for you, especially when you will be wearing it a lot of the time! The one thing that you can be sure of is that both of these watches are sporty in design and focused on comfort and durability. A silicone band is included with each of these models.
Size
Both Venu 2 and the Vivoactive 4 come at 40mm and 45mm so there is no difference between them here. The Venu 2 is is thinner on the wrist, but only marginally by 6mm. The Venu comes in five different color choices and can be taken into the water up to 50m deep without any issues, which is great if you love swimming.
The Vivoactive 4 comes in two sizes, including a 40mm option and a 45mm option, allowing you to pick the size that works best for your wrist and taste. The Vivoactive 4 comes in six different colors and is also waterproof up to 50m so you can enjoy all the activities you want without worrying about watch storage.
Color
Depending on the variant, there are some different colour options with the Venu. The bigger Venu 2 is available in two colours: Granite Blue with a Silver bezel and Black with a Slate bezel. If you choose the smaller Venu 2S, you can choose between Graphite and Slate bezels, Mist Gray and Silver bezels, Light Sand and Light Gold bezels, and White and Rose Gold bezels.
As for the Vivoactive… The colour selections differ from model to model. The 45mm version comes in two colours: Shadow Gray with a Silver bezel and Black with a Slate bezel. A Powder Gray case with a Silver bezel, a White case with a Rose Gold bezel, a Dust Rose case with a Light Gold bezel, and a Black case with a Slate bezel are among the colour possibilities available on the smaller 40mm model.
Display
Both watches have clear and easy-to-read displays, but the one area that the Venu trumps the Vivoactive 4 is that it comes with an AMOLED, full-color touchscreen display that is an excellent addition to the Garmin brand and has not been used on a Garmin device before. On the other hand if you are an outdoor fanatic, the transflective display on the Vivoactive might appeal to you.
Fitness tracking
Smartwatches are the perfect companion for anyone that wants to be more active or track their efforts over time. When you choose a Garmin watch, you can be confident that the health and fitness features on offer will be some of the best on the market.
Interestingly, both the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu offer the same standard tracking features, including swimming, running, cycling, and more. They also provide GPS to ensure accuracy when you head out to exercise and a heart rate monitor that can be used with a chest strap for anyone undertaking intense workouts. They are both so similar in the health and fitness department because they both use the same sensor as part of their makeup, meaning that you will get the same results from both devices.
Other health and fitness features offered on both devices include step counting, sleep tracking, and menstrual tracking. They also have animated workouts for you to choose from, and you can even build custom ones to suit your exercise needs. Ultimately, whichever device you choose, you can be sure that your health is in good hands.
Smart features
If you are considering a Garmin, you will probably be keen to enjoy the fitness features, but it is also important to think about what smart features you will need to help you organize your life. The good news is that both watches are compatible with Android and iOS phones and are simple to pair and download the companion apps to help you make the most of the capabilities on offer.
Both devices come with the ability to make contactless payments when you are out and about and have a music playback function that you can enjoy if you take the time to upload the songs you want to listen to before you head out. You can even link your watch to Spotify or Deezer subscription accounts to enjoy all your favorite playlists offline.
The companion app is the hub where you can download apps and personalize your user experience to suit your lifestyle habits and needs. From watch faces to workout support and notifications to storing your data, these watches both work hard to keep everything in one, easily accessed place for you.
Battery life
There’s nothing more frustrating than buying a watch only for it to disappoint you with its battery capacity, and it is in this area, these two watches vary somewhat. The Vivoactive 4 can potentially last up to eight days when you only use smartwatch mode and five hours of use when you have GPS, music, and more running.
The Garmin Venu offers a maximum of 11 days battery life when you are in smartwatch mode and around 22 hours when GPS and more are turned on. In reality, if you turn battery-draining features such as GPS and music off when you don’t need them, then you can get through the working week and maybe more with either device.
Which Should I Choose – Garmin Venu or Gamin Vivoactive 4?
While these devices have a lot in common, choosing between them can still be hard work. From the AMOLED display of the Venu 2 and the better battery life, you will need to consider what is most important to you when choosing a new watch. The price difference between the two can be substantial. Depending on the model, the Venu 2 could cost up to $150 more.
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is an excellent choice for individuals who just need the necessities. Garmin’s main functions, such as GPS, heart-rate monitoring, Pulse Ox, Body Battery, sleep tracking, and on-screen workouts, are all included. You also receive some wonderful bonuses, such as Garmin Pay and music storage. For the price, this package of features is difficult to top.
The new Garmin Venu 2 seems to be quite promising if your budget allows it. In terms of new features, some successors fall short, yet this smartwatch is poised for success in many ways. The Venu 2 is designed to provide customers with deeper and more relevant insights about their overall wellbeing, according to the manufacturer. The additional features will undoubtedly contribute to the endeavour. Fitness age, sleep score, Health Snapshot, new activity profiles, and improved battery life that enables you to charge less often will all be available.
Perhaps some of these features will be added to the Vivoactive 4 versions in the future. For the time being, the Venu 2 is the better choice, offering additional health and fitness functions, a clearer display, and longer battery life.
Final verdict
The good news is that the watches share more in common than they do apart and are both high quality and good value. However, if we had to pick a winner, we’d stick with the Venu as it is slightly smaller and has a better display.
Are you a keen runner? You should also take a look at these awesome Garmin running watches.
Follow us on social media to stay up to date with our latest articles
      |
Last Updated on December 16, 2022
Emma brings over a decade of freelance copy and content writing experience and is our Editor, Social Media Manager, and regular contributor. Specializing in long-form content such as blogs, articles, lead magnets, and white papers, Emma also provides businesses with email marketing, website copy, and landing pages.