Garmin Venu 2 and Venu Sq 2: The Garmin Venu model line has two popular smartwatches with great features: the Garmin Venu 2 and the Garmin Venu Sq 2. In this guide, I talk about what each watch has to offer and how it’s different from the others. The Garmin Venu 2 is currently available for around 320 dollars, while the Garmin Venus SQ 2 is only $250.
Before we go into detail, let’s first look at the most important technical data.
Table of Contents
Specifications
| Garmin Venu 2 | Garmin Venu Sq 2 | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Dimension | 45.0 x 45.0 x 12.0mm 40.4 x 40.4 x 12.0mm | 40.6 x 37.0 x 11.1mm |
| Weight | 49g | 38g |
| Shape | Circle | Rectangle |
| Screen | 1.3 inch | 1.41 inch |
| Pixels | 416 x 416px | 320x360px |
| PPI | 498 ppi | 342 ppi |
| Touch Screen | AMOLED touch screen | AMOLED touch screen |
| Waterproof | 5ATM | 5ATM |
| Battery life | Watch mode 11 days GPS mode 22 hours | Watch mode 11 days GPS mode 26 hours |
| Sensors | HF Sensor (Elevate 4) Acceleration Gyroscope Barometer Compass Thermometer Ambient light | HF Sensor (Elevate 4) Acceleration Gyroscope Barometer Compass Thermometer Ambient light |
| Connectivity | GPS GLONASS Galileo Bluetooth | GPS GLONASS Galileo Bluetooth |
| Colors | Granite blue/silver Slate grey White/rose gold Beige/light gold Slate-grey Light grey/silver | Dark grey/slate White/cream gold Mint/metallic Black/slate grey Ivory/pearl gold Grey/cream gold |
As you can see, the watches’ technology is up to date and doesn’t leave anything to be desired. Overall, the features of the two smartwatches are very similar, so you don’t have to go without important ones.
When you look more closely, you can see a few but important differences. So, let’s look at the Garmin Venu 2 and Venu SQ 2 in detail.
Design
The way both watches look is the first place where you can see differences. The Venu 2 has the classic round shape of a watch, but the Venu SQ 2 has a square case, which is just as popular.
Which form you like better is, of course, a matter of taste. But it’s important to note that both watches are very comfortable to wear, no matter if they are round or square. After a short time, you won’t even notice that you have it on your wrist.
The right size is very important if you want to wear something with the most comfort. For this reason, the Garmin Venu 2 comes in two sizes, 40 mm and 45 mm, so that both men and women can wear it.
The Garmin Venu SQ 2 is small and, in my opinion, a great option for women. It’s impressive that there are now so many different colors of watches to choose from.
Display
When it comes to the screen, Garmin has given both models a modern and beautiful AMOLED touch screen with a high resolution and colors that are very clear. If desired, an “Always On” mode can be activated, otherwise, the display switches on automatically with corresponding movements and gestures.
Of course, you can also personalize the display according to your needs. Garmin Connect IQ gives you a huge selection of different watch faces.
As already mentioned, this is a touch-sensitive display, which is why the watches are primarily operated using swipe and tap gestures. In addition, the round models have a button on the side that takes you to the start screen or selects various functions in the menu. The Venu SQ 2 even has two buttons that can be used for operation.
- Garmin Venu 2 round design and available in two sizes.
- Garmin Venu SQ 2 square design and is only offered in one size.
Battery
A smartwatch is better when it has an AMOLED screen and a lot of different sensors, but this often means that it uses a lot of power. Then, a short battery life can make people less interested in the watch.
The Garmin Venu watches are different. They have a battery that is both big enough and powerful enough to last long enough.
When I tested the Garmin Venu 2, I used it a lot for a few weeks, but the average battery life of 7 days was not a problem at all.
The Garmin Venu SQ 2 is the same size, so I’m sure that SQ 2 model can easily get the same runtimes.
Activity and Health Tracking
| Garmin Venu 2 | Garmin Venu Sq 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Altimeter | No | Yes |
| Pedometer | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Monitor | Yes | Yes |
| SpO2 (Blood Oxygen) | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Pressure Monitor | Yes | Yes |
| Calorie Count | Yes | Yes |
| Step Count | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Monitor | Yes | Yes |
I like to call Garmin Venu watches “all-rounder smartwatches” because they work well almost everywhere. And this is also true for tracking your activities and the important topic of health.
The watches can do almost everything that could be done. Activity tracking always includes a pedometer, calorie counter, floor counter, and a more advanced way to track sleep.
With sleep tracking, you can keep track of when you go to sleep and when you wake up, as well as the different stages of sleep. Along with keeping track of a number of vital signs (which I’ll talk about in a moment), the so-called “sleep score” is calculated. This metric tells you how well you slept and how rested you feel.
During the night, if you wear your smartwatch, you can see how long you slept and how long each sleep phase was. Garmin then tells you how to sleep better. The fitness age that Garmin gives you is more accurate as well. It tells you if you are healthier or less healthy than people your age. You also get advice on how to make this score better.
Garmin MoveIQ: Your activities are automatically recorded, and the inactivity alarm lets you know when it’s been too long since you’ve moved. There is the Body Battery, which is so popular among Garmin users. It is mostly about measuring your heart rate and getting information about how well you have recovered from your last workout.
The Health Snapshot feature is also interesting because it lets you check all important parameters with a short measurement, like current blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, respiration rate, and stress factor.
Sports Usage
The watches come with a long list of sports profiles that can be used to keep track of the most common activities.
HIIT (high-intensity interval training), which is a type of interval training, and strength training are two of these. In weight training, the watch automatically recognizes the different exercises and counts the number of repetitions for each one.
And for HIIT, there is a special timer function that makes it easy to record different types of training.
There are also animated instructions for yoga and Pilates, as well as for these two sports. These instructions are shown right on the watch’s screen.
This was only available on the Garmin Venu 2. You can’t get this feature on the Venu SQ 2. Also worth mentioning is that both the smartwatches and the Garmin Connect app offer a lot of help with training.
You can find running training plans for different distances in the app. These plans are good for both beginners and experienced runners. You can also work with a personal coach to finish a full training program, or you can make your own training plans.
Fitness is the same way. You can choose from a large number of complete workout plans in the app, or you can make your own. This guide has more information about this.
No matter what sport you do, Garmin’s training logs are always very detailed. You can look at your training data on the watch itself, but it’s much easier to do so in the app.
The Garmin Venu 2 and Venu Sq 2 are equipped with the Garmin Elevate 4 heart rate sensor, which is also found in the Fenix 7 and Forerunner 255.
Sports and fitness features: The only difference is that the Venu SQ 2 lacks animated exercise instructions.
Smart Features
The Garmin Venu models can also offer some clever functions. This includes the usual notifications of incoming messages or calls.
In addition, the models also offer a complete music player, with which Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music can also be used. With the Garmin Venu SQ 2 you have to select the model version “Music.”
The manufacturer’s own payment service, Garmin Pay , is also available for the watches.
And of course, the smartwatches are also compatible with Garmin Connect IQ, where a large selection of watch faces, third-party apps, and various widgets await you.
Conclusion!
The simple Garmin Venu 2 is a good choice if you want a smartwatch that does a lot of different things well.
I think the Garmin Venu SQ 2 is the best combination of price and performance. After all, you get almost all of the features of the two Venu watches for a much lower price.
No matter which model you choose in the end, you will get a great smartwatch that will be a lot of fun to use.
If you want a fully feature-loaded device, then the Garmin Venu 2+ is unquestionably the best smartwatch in this model series. The watch offers almost everything you’d expect from a modern wearable, including the ability to make phone calls and the upcoming ECG function.
