Garmin has released a new smartwatch, the Garmin Venu 2, that shows you a wide range of fitness data right on your wrist, including a snapshot of your current stress level and heart rate, your VO2 Max, and even an estimate of your age. ". When we reviewed the original Garmin Venu in 2019, we were particularly impressed with its vivid AMOLED display, a feature missing from the compact Garmin Venu Sq released in 2020. The Venu 2 brings back the AMOLED display, with an always-on mode that makes it easy to check workout stats on the go.Previously, fitness age was only visible as a metric in the Garmin Connect app, but the Venu 2 puts it right on the watch and has a new way to calculate it. Instead of simply using your estimated VO2 Max, the new method uses chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and percentage of body fat (if you have a smart scale like the Garmin Index S2) or BMI.
Garmin Venu 2 (Image credit: Garmin) You'll also get tips on how to 'turn back the clock' and effectively reduce your physical age by changing your lifestyle. Meanwhile, the new Snapshot Health tool lets you record important health stats at any time just by staying still for two minutes while the Venu 2 monitors your breathing rate, heart rate, and stress levels.
Smarter training
Like the Garmin Lily, which arrived earlier this year, the Venu 2 has several women's health features pre-installed, including period and pregnancy tracking. These have been available in the Garmin Connect app for some time, but the company has only just started to include them pre-installed on its devices. When it comes to workouts, the Venu 2 offers built-in GPS so you can track runs, walks, and bike rides without using your phone's GPS (one of the Lily's biggest drawbacks). There are 25 preset training modes for indoor and outdoor activities, including new profiles for various types of high-intensity interval training (with animated graphics), as well as indoor climbing, bouldering, and bouldering.
Garmin Venu 2 and 2S (Image credit: Garmin) In terms of smartwatch features, the Garmin Venu 2 can store up to 650 songs, including playlists downloaded from Deezer, Spotify, and Amazon Music. It's a significant improvement on the original Venu, which could hold up to 500 tracks. There's also Garmin Pay for contactless purchases (as long as your bank is one of those supported), and as you'd expect from any smartwatch or fitness tracker, you can get app, call and SMS notifications. Android users can also send text responses right from their wrist.
Size Matters
Unlike the original Venu, which only came with a 42,3mm case, the Venu 2 comes in two sizes, 45mm and 40mm, to suit different users. Following the same naming convention as other Garmin smartwatches, the smaller option is known as the Venu 2S. Both versions have a stainless steel bezel and come with a quick release silicone strap. Garmin promises impressive battery life, with the Venu 2 lasting up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to eight hours in GPS mode with music. The Venu 2S, with its smaller battery, should run for 10 days in smartwatch mode and up to seven hours when using GPS with music. The Venu 2 is available now direct from Garmin for €399,99 (US, UK and Australian pricing coming soon). It's pretty much the same as the original Venu at launch, which is impressive considering the upgraded specs. We're currently testing the Venu 2S and will post a full review very soon, so stay with TechRadar to see how it performs. Today's best Garmin deals