Two new Garmin watches are set to be released this week. Both are updates to the popular Garmin Venu line that was launched in 2019.
The new watches are called the Garmin Venu Sq Fitness Watch and the Garmin Venu Sq Music Fitness Watch. They’ll feature a square/rectangular shape that is a redesign from the round face of the first generation Garmin Venu. This move towards the square style puts the new Garmin watches in direct competition with its lookalike counterpart, the Apple Watch.
What do the new Garmin watches feature?
The new Venu Sq display will be a 1.3-inch LCD with a 240 x 240-pixel resolution. This is a major change from the previous Garmin Venu that provided a super exceptional viewing experience. Unfortunately, it also provided a much larger price tag.
To attract users away from Apple, the new Venu Sq will start at about US$ 199.99 which is a drastic price drop from the 2019 1st generation. It’s music-capable counterpart will start at US$ 249.99.
Both Garmin watches will have all of the fitness functions they’re famous for including:
- Heart rate sensor
- GPS
- Support for sports monitoring
- Garmin Connect
- Garmin Pay
Additionally, these new Garmin watches have a battery life that lasts six days when simply used as a smartwatch and 14 hours when used for fitness and GPS tracking. That means you may have to charge it at least once a week if you’re a casual fitness enthusiast and daily if you’re training for longer events.
As noted above, both watches will pair with Garmin Connect for enhanced activity tracking and will include Garmin Pay, their contactless payment solution. This feature is especially appropriate for right now.
Which new Garmin watch is the best?
The watches differ in price based on the features they include so we’ll leave the answer to this question up to you.
If you want to listen to music while working out, we suggest going with the Music Fitness version. This one comes with about 4GB of memory, meaning you can store about 500 songs. You can also sync playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music, and more when in range of Wi-Fi.
For a basic fitness tracking experience, go with the Venu Sq. This one lacks the music capabilities but is slightly less expensive.
Both of the new Garmin watches are waterproof and feature all fitness tracking capabilities. Let us know which one you prefer by leaving a comment below.
Is a Garmin Better than an Apple Watch?
The Garmin Venu Sq’s design puts it in direct comparison with the Apple Watch. Let’s compare their major features.
Price. The Venu Sq starts at US$ 199.99 while the new Apple Watch Series 6 starts at US$ 399. Apple has many older watch versions to choose from, but those that are closest in performance to the Venu Sq are still more expensive.
Design. The sporty design only offers the polymer body included in all Garmin devices. It does offer quick release straps and Gorilla glass for a tougher display. However, Apple offers more watch choices and material options such as a huge library of interchangeable watch straps.
Display. Garmin went with an LCD for the Venu Sq so it’s resolution is less than the OLED of the Apple Watch. The actual Venu Sq display is 1.3 inches while Apple’s is 1.34 inches. The major difference is the Apple Watch display extends all the way to the edge of the screen.
Battery. The new Garmin watches offer a longer battery life, allowing 6 days in smartwatch mode and 14 hours in GPS tracking mode. The Apple Watch can only offer 18 hours total, which means you’ll be charging it more. This is due to the Apple Watch’s enhanced display.
Sports Features. Both of these brand’s watches offer similar sports tracking abilities. Remember, Garmin specializes in sports tracking while Apple simply offers it as one feature among many. Additionally, when you connect your Venu Sq to other Garmin sensors, you have the ability to track more data than with an Apple.
Smartphone support. The new Garmin Venu Sq works with iPhone and Android devices while the Apple Watch only works with an iPhone. Easter egg: Garmin Connect can share data with Apple Health, so the lesser-priced Garmin may be a better choice based on your budget and needs.
Smartwatch functions. If the music feature is important to you, you’ll have to opt for the Garmin Venu Sq Music Fitness Watch which has a higher price point than the base model.
Apple Watch offers this as a standard feature across all Apple Watch versions. When it comes to contactless paying, Apple Watch offers more services through Apple Pay than Garmin Pay offers.
In all, if you’re an avid Apple fan, you’re going to buy an Apple Watch despite reviews. But the new Garmin Venu Sq offers a cheaper price, better battery life, and is the better option for those more focused on their sport and fitness tracking.
For more details, specs, or for new apparel to pair your new watch with, head to tennisexpress.com. Stay up to date with all tennis related sports products, release dates, and reviews by subscribing to our blog now.
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