Garmin Venu Sq GPS Smartwatch Review
Overall Review of the Garmin Venu Sq GPS Smartwatch
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Display
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Build Quality
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Battery Life
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Apps/Fitness Tracking
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Price
Overall Summary
The Garmin Venu Sq smartwatch is a great value and product for someone looking for an inexpensive fitness tracker without the bells and whistles of other smartwatches on the market.
The short answer is I’m very satisfied with the Garmin Venu Sq smartwatch. If you dad is looking for a health tracking device and has talked about jumping into a smartwatch, the Garmin Venu Sq is just what he will love.
I have had my eye on a smartwatch for a long time. I was interested in the fitness tracking elements of them, like counting my steps, how well I’m sleeping at night, and actually tracking my workouts. And since I’m an Android user (sorry Apple snobs) I knew I wasn’t going to want an Apple Watch. After doing some research, and using an Amazon gift card from my boss, I decided to go with the Garmin Venu Sq smartwatch and haven’t regretting my decision yet.
As you’ll read from this product review of the Garmin Venu Sq, I really wasn’t looking for the Cadillac of smartwatches. I wanted something that would fulfill my fitness tracking desires, come with some other features, and not break the bank This smartwatch does just that.
Display
This is the first smartwatch I’ve even owned, so when it comes to comparing the display on my Garmin Venu Sq versus other smartwatches on the market I really can’t help you there. What I can tell you is the watch display is really clear and bright, even in direct sunlight. I’ve never found myself having to bring the watch face closer to me in order to see the display.
What does take some getting used to is the interface. You have to remember this is a touchscreen, and it can often take may taps to get to where you want to go within the interface. The top button starts and stops workouts, while the bottom button is used as a Back button and to access settings. All of that is fine. But if you’re digging for workout history or trying to access messages from your phone (yep since it’s Bluetooth connected it will display your messages and phone calls) it does take a few finger taps to get where you’re going.
Swiping up or down with your finger from the home screen displays such things as current weather, your daily health stats, sleep data from the night before, notifications, and any other widgets from its built-in library you can choose from. Tapping on any of these widgets will provide a more detailed look at that particular feature or function.
I really didn’t a million different data points or need my smartwatch to become a second smartphone with everything it could do simply strapped to my watch. I really think the Garmin Venu Sq gives the user exactly what they need to choose from and the ability to customize it how they prefer.
Build Quality
I’ve always been used to wearing a watch with a round face. This smartwatch has a squared face with rounded corners (like what the Apple Watch has). The face doesn’t feel cheap and has held up for me over the last few months very well. I’ve banged it up against plenty of things and I’ll think to myself “Oh crap, now I’ve cracked my watch screen this time.” But thankfully it’s held on strong with no noticeable scratches or marks.
The watch band strap and buckle are plastic feeling and come off cheap. I’ve had a couple instances where I’ve noticed the excess strap has slipped out of the buckle, but not to the point where I thought it was going to slip off my wrist.
The watch isn’t bulky or feel heavy at all on my wrist. It’s just like wearing a normal watch, except it can do so much more stuff!
Battery Life
I’m so used to having to charge my smartphone throughout the day just to make it bed at the end of the night. So when I got my first smartwatch I thought I would have to keep taking it off and charge it throughout the day (kind of defeats the purpose of a fitness tracking watch if you can’t wear it have to keep giving it juice). Not the case at all.
The batter life on the Garmin Venu Sq is amazing. I’ve gone nearly six days before having to charge it up, even using the GPS for tracked workouts like hiking and cardio (yes I wear it playing rec ice hockey!).
It was such a pleasant surprise to see it last so long. And when it does come time to charge it back up, it charges really quickly. I’ll have it down to about 25 percent battery life, then plug it in when I take a shower in the morning. By the time I’m out of the shower and dressed, I’ll come back and it’ll be waiting for me fully charged.
Apps/Fitness Tracking
This is what you buy a GPS enabled fitness tracking smartwatch for — working out with it on! The Garmin Venu Sq comes with more than 20 preloaded sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, mindful breathing (?), swimming, golf, cardio, and many more.
The Venu Sq comes with built-in GPS, so you won’t have to worry about your phone dying while exercising outside. Just keep in mind that it takes at least 30 seconds to acquire a GPS signal when you’re outside (regardless of whether you bring your phone with you or not), which seems like an eternity if you just wants to get going. It has tracked my hikes and bike rides through my neighborhood correctly after it eventually locked.
There’s also a variety of health functions built-in, like resting heart rate, sleep monitoring, and stress tracking. My watch buzzed on my wrist last Monday informing me that I was stressed out. It then suggested that I do a relaxation exercise with it. (But it’s Monday! No wonder I’m stressing out!)
The Garmin Venu Sq also has a pulse oximeter that can monitor your blood oxygen saturation all day, throughout sleep, or on-demand throughout the day. The Venu Sq will also keep track of your sleep stages, including light, deep, and REM sleep. Garmin Connect offers a clear picture of this data in a simple graph. Movement, pulse ox measurements, and breathing rate may all be seen in the graph along with the stages.
It also comes with an app called Garmin Connect where it will sync all of the health data from your smartwatch. It comes in handy because the watch will usually only store about a weeks worth of health data at a time. After that, the app comes in handy.
Safety Features
I should also point out the safety settings this smartwatch comes equipped with. You can set up a list of emergency contacts and in the event of an “incident detection” during walking, running or bike riding, etc. The watch will notify them of your name, GPS location and live track link.
You can also manually send an “assistance alert” to the same contacts manually with the same (name, GPS location and live track link) by holding down the top button on the watch for 3 seconds. For instance if you weren’t exercising but had an accident it will notify your contact list. It does not call 911 emergency assistance.
Price
I was pleasantly surprised at the price point for the Garmin Veun Sq smartwatch. If you’re looking for a Garmin smartwatch that won’t break the bank, this model from Garmin is a great option. At under $200, it has all the features you need to track your fitness and activity, plus it looks good too.
If you have the money and want something more flashy and with more health tracking options, there are other smartwatches out there that may be better suited for you. But this one really checks all of the boxes for me.
The Pros
- Affordable price point getting into smartwatches
- Great battery life
- Excellent fitness and health tracking
- Useful sleep tracking insights
The Cons
- Have to wait 30 seconds for GPS to lock
- Touch screen can be finicky
- Other models on the market have more features available
Buy One Today
