Many smartwatches in the Garmin line can be difficult to read at times. This isn’t a detriment when using the watch for intense fitness sessions, yet this can be a problem when needing to keep up with statistics. One of the great things about the Garmin line is that innovation and evolution are the hallmarks of the brand.
What is it about the new Garmin Venu Sq that keeps the innovation of the brand alive?
Garmin Venu Sq Smartwatch Review
The Garmin Venu Sq prioritizes smaller design elements than many of the watches in the Forerunner line. The widget system and tracking features are easier to read and more streamlined. The Venu Sq has a tighter and less bulky fit and appearance and will appeal to users who seek those attributes.
| Overall Rating | 99/100 |
| Ease of Use | 99/100 |
| Ease of Assembly | 100/100 |
| Affordability | 100/100 |
| Comfort | 99/100 |
This sports and fitness watch scores high marks in all the important key points for rating a fitness watch. This article will explore everything that needs to be known about this product, including its pros and cons as well as if the watch is worth buying for your fitness needs. Read on to find out more.
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Pros of the Garmin Venu Sq:
- Unique Design. The Venu Sq looks much more different than any other Garmin watch. The frame is square-shaped and features a decent enough 1.3″ display hidden under Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens. The thick bezel is blended well with the display, making it feel like the screen is bigger than it really is. Thanks partially to the fiber-reinforced polymer case, the Garmin Venu Sq weighs only 37.6 grams and sports a silicone strap that’s comfortable to wear.
- New and improved usability. The Gamin Venu Sq benefits from being a Garmin watch and comes fully equipped with both casual and sport features. Apart from the usual fitness tracker stuff, the Garmin Venu Sq also tracks and scores stress levels based on respiration and heart rate as well as providing you with a ‘Body Battery’ score that is a visual representation of how much energy you have left each day.
- Wrist-monitoring heart rate technology. Many watches that are fashioned for runners and joggers promise technology that can monitor your heart rate, yet this can be an inconvenience in most models. With the Garmin Venu Sq, the smart technology keeps in sync with your heart rate through your wrist, which displays on the screen for easy monitoring.
- Banded in silicone. Have you ever gone for a run only to return home with a sore and sensitive rash around your wrist? This is a common problem with runners due to the material that encloses the band of a wristwatch. The Garmin Venu Sq uses silicone in the makeup of the band to completely resist sweat and moisture build-up around and underneath the wrist during your run.
- Equipped with GPS. One of the many things to appreciate about a treadmill is the convenience of your distance stats on a monitor right in front of you. With the Garmin Venu Sq, you can now have all of these great GPS features like pace, distance ran, and customizable intervals that light up with frequency during your run. Gone are the inconveniences of having to keep a mental note of your distance running.
- Stellar battery life. One of the standout features of a Garmin watch is the great detail that is put into creating batteries that can last for long periods in-between charges. The Garmin Venu Sq can hold a successful charge for up to 7 days between charges, which allows you to worry less when it comes to waiting for battery charges when you are ready to get out and run.
- Personalized workouts. For some of Garmin’s most select watch models, adaptive training plans through a Garmin coach of your choice are available. This will help to help guide you through your run. The Venu Sq is one of the watches that includes this convenient coaching, which works well to help you reach your goals on those days when running or any fitness regime seems like a chore.
Cons of the Garmin Venu Sq:
- Only works well with running. One of the unfortunate missing features from the Garmin Venu Sq is the swimming mode technology that is a feature of many other brands of fitness smartwatches. This model is only truly compatible with software that tracks and displays results with running and jogging.
- Doesn’t work well with other apps. One of the convenient abilities that come with some smartwatches is the ability to customize the watch with other apps that track running or jogging in ways that you enjoy. With the Venu Sq, you have to use its features exclusively.
Key Features
The Garmin Venu Sq features a few new updates to its previous model. For one, the watch itself is completely changed in its design scheme from a more square-shaped design to a circular shape. This means it is more in line with traditional wristwatches.
What is also great about this model is the two available sizes that you can choose from, 42mm or 39mm. Not all runners wish to have a large and bulky wristwatch, even though the display screen is the same size.
Additionally, the Garmin Venu Sq is based on silicone throughout the band. This prevents all of those sweaty rashes that can come with a leather band. The watch has pushable buttons, which eliminates the need to go through an app to change settings. This means you can now interchange settings and customizations through a simple push of a button.
Enhanced Features
With just five convenient button settings, you are able to navigate the menu and customize the watch with a few simple pushes to your desired settings. There are no complex patterns to figure out with this model, you will likely have the routine down pat after one running session.
Last but not least, the two standout features of the Venu Sq are the accelerometer and the gyroscope.
The accelerometer effectively measures the force of your movements, and this is true for hard-hitting pavement grinding during fast runs, and if you are simply strolling yourself back home after a vigorous running session.
The gyroscope technology allows you to measure movements and velocity among a wide array of customizable inputs. The Venu Sq can measure the movement in your arms, legs, thighs, or even your feet. Which is helpful if you wish to know the workout potential of one body part in particular.
The Garmin Venu Sq is brimming with many additional features. Also, the improvements upon the design scheme of the watch are also great. Although you will not be able to change the band, the comfort of the silicone base will make it seem like the watch is not even weighing down on your wrist.
Should You Buy The Garmin Venu Sq?
This model makes running a truly convenient process. You can have all of the conveniences that you get indoors with a treadmill outside in the great wide open. The GPS sensors in the Venu Sq are improved upon, with Glonass and Galileo now improving upon the bare GPS features on some of the previous models.
During your run, you can simply look down at your watch to see your pace, distance, and elapsed time. Simply press the lower buttons if you wish to see what your current heart rate is and to change different intervals to make note of any special laps or milestones you want to keep track of during your running session.
If you are seeking a more lightweight watch, then this model is certainly going to earn high points with you. It feels light as a feather on the wrist, and you do not have to worry about the watch degrading due to sweat or moisture or vigorous movements.
Performance Metric Enhancements
Signals and milestones are called out and alerted. This means that you do not have to constantly lift the watch to your face and press buttons to see the progress you are making. The convenience is one of the hallmarks of the Garmin Venu series. This means the Sq model aims to make the process of checking stats easy and comprehensive. Therefore, you can focus on your fitness performance without many distractions.
With all of these convenient features in play, the Garmin Venu Sq is certainly a watch worth getting if this is your first model. It also makes an attractive upgrade if you are looking to upgrade your Garmin watch.
Why the Garmin Venu Sq Is Worth It
Some smartwatches make the process of adjusting settings way too difficult, especially when you are running at a high pace and need to focus on what is ahead of you. With this watch, you can simply press one of five convenient buttons to see everything that you need to see during your fitness session.
Additionally, there are also some measures you can take to save on the battery life of the watch. Such as leaving the backlight on automatic, which means all of the data you wish to see will highlight at timed intervals to save on battery drainage. With that in mind, the battery itself is supercharged and efficient. Therefore, you will usually get a full seven days of use in-between charging the watch.
The technology is improved upon. It goes beyond simple velocity to even pinpoint performance targets in various areas of the body as opposed to just an overall assessment. The watch is comfortable and lightweight. Therefore, you can rest assured that this model is definitely worth the purchase.
The Downsides
The negative attributes of the Venu Sq are few and far between, yet there may be some negatives that deserve a mention. For starters, the heart rate monitor must be switched to during your fitness routine. This would have been much more convenient to be on the automatic display with other performance intervals.
Another smaller downside is the absence of built-in music. The Venu Sq does allow app-connectivity for imported music. But there is nothing worse than having to haul around a sensitive device when you are pounding the pavement during an intense run.
Also, this model is really only going to hold up well for running and jogging. A swimming mode would have been a great feature to add to this model.
Some users may not like the silicone-based band of the watch. This is also not interchangeable if you wish to port the watch to a different kind of band. It is great that the band is working against causing wrist irritation that can occur with long runs. But this is a feature that not all users are going to appreciate, you are stuck with this band and have no other options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can the Garmin Venu Sq do?
The Garmin Venu Sq can accurately keep track of performance data during a run or a jog with the convenience of easy to operate menus to track your performance through a range of categories.
Is my Garmin Venu Sq waterproof?
The Garmin Venu Sq is sweatproof with waterproof functionality of up to 50 meters. This means that you can swim with the Venu Sq, although there is no swimming mode functionality that allows you to track your swimming performance.
Does Garmin Venu Sq have golf?
Garmin is a brand that specializes in one model of golf tracking, and the Venu Sq is one of the models that does have app tracking for golf. Simply access the gold functionality and program your game based on the timing and number of rounds you will be playing.
Can you play music on Garmin Venu Sq?
Unfortunately, the Garmin Venu Sq does not have music storage or compatible musical technology. You can use the Venu Sq to control the music that is on your phone or another device but this model does not have comprehensive music compatibility.
Does Garmin Venu Sq have Bluetooth?
The Garmin Venu Sq is compatible with Bluetooth connectivity. You will have to pair your watch with the Garmin Connect Mobile App. This is because the watch is unable to pair directly through a phone or device outside of the company’s app.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a smartwatch that makes the process of checking your performance statistics easy to navigate, then the Garmin Venu Sq is certainly a model worth considering. There are very few downsides to this watch, and the accelerometer and gyroscope technology are quite impressive. Additionally, the new recovery time advisor and race predictor make great new additions in terms of performance tracking.
Keep in mind that this watch can be used for running or jogging, but not a viable option to use across the entire spectrum of sports and fitness activities. We recommend a more advanced watch such as the Fenix 6 for hard hitting activities.
