Garmin Venu 2 Plus review: a solid everyday companion
4.10.2022
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus attempts too much. It’s a decent watch for everyday use and for sporty people, but they needn’t have bothered with the KITT feature.
The Venu 2 is a typical mid-range smartwatch made by sports watch manufacturer Garmin. Such products often eke out a sad existence, receiving little recognition despite selling well. The fact is that for the vast majority of people these devices are packed with more than enough features to make them a solid daily companion. I am a long-time wearer of the Venu 2 and, before that, its predecessor the Venu. I’ve also used a few models from the inexpensive Forerunner lineup. I was wondering how the Venu 2 Plus would hold up compared to other Garmin watches. I’ve been wearing it daily for almost a year now. Here’s my experience with it.
Phone-call feature: unnecessary
The Venu 2 Plus costs about 35 bucks more than the Venu 2. For this premium, you can make calls and use Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant directly from your wrist (click here to compare the two watch models). As far as I’m concerned, it’s not worth the higher price tag. When I get a call, the Venu 2 Plus vibrates on my wrist. Now, I could answer the call directly on the watch with a simple tap of my finger. But then the call goes over the built-in speaker, and I catch myself talking into my watch, a Michael Knight-wannabe – flashback to that scene where he orders KITT to stay guard as he battles his way through a warehouse full of crooks.
Add to that the fact that the Venu 2 Plus doesn’t actually offer SIM support, meaning I have to have my iPhone near enough to make calls over Bluetooth anyway. The choice I’m left with is: look a bit derpy talking to my wrist, or simply pull my iPhone out of my pocket – and enjoy better voice quality.
I can also store up to 50 – wowza! – contacts from my iPhone on the Venu 2 Plus. After first reading the instructions, that is. And installing the Garmin Connect app. And watching a three-minute Youtube video explaining all the steps in great detail.
I wouldn’t have bothered to do this is if not for this review I’m writing. Why would I transfer a phone book with a maximum of 50 entries to my smartwatch when I always have my iPhone – and with it, all contacts – in tow?
Our connection is a bit on-off
Sometimes the Venu 2 Plus drives me crazy because it keeps losing the Bluetooth connection to my iPhone. The thing is, I don’t always notice it right away. What happens is, mysteriously, push messages from apps will pop up on my Venu 2 Plus even when the Garmin Connect app claims there’s no connection.
When I then want to pair them up again, it’s typically easy and quick. Sometimes, though, my iPhone and Venu 2 Plus just don’t seem to want to communicate. Almost as if to teach me a lesson, the Garmin app will recommend that I activate Bluetooth on the Venu 2 Plus – even though it’s already active. When this happens, the only thing that helps is either restarting the watch or the Garmin app. Sometimes both are necessary.
Running smoothly
When the Venu 2 Plus is paired, it’s smooth sailing. Push messages appear on the round display. Seconds after my jog, I have the data in my running app on my iPhone. The floors I climb and steps I take are dutifully counted. My breathing rate, deep sleep and REM phases are measured overnight, and I get a sleep score in the morning.
These are the features I use frequently. There are more on offer – which I did also briefly try – but haven’t looked back since. For example, I can connect it with Spotify or deposit my credit card for contactless, NFC payments, which quite a few banks in Switzerland support. I could also record every glass of water I drink to keep track of my hydration level. Or have my blood oxygen level recorded regularly. The former is frankly too much hassle, the latter too imprecise. Health data from smartwatches should be taken with a grain of salt anyway, as detailed by my colleague Michael Restin here:
Nevertheless, I like to take a look at the data after a workout. At least if it was a good one. Ah, the fickle ego... The GPS provides a fairly accurate overview of my route, and the app colour codes how fast I was on individual stretches. In addition, I get information on my VO2 max, heart rate, stride rate and stride length as an indicator of running efficiency. That’s typically enough for me. Sometimes, however, I did find myself wishing for the more in-depth running efficiency values. Garmin calls these «Running Dynamics», and they include metrics like ground contact time or «Running Power». They’re available on Forerunner models, like the Forerunner 255. But the Venu 2 Plus does come with the integrated running coaches. This feature creates a training plan to match your defined goal and adjusts it based on your personal progress. I signed up for training with Coach Jeff to reach a target time for a ten-kilometre run.
The Venu 2 Plus is also smart enough to be a companion for the odd trip to the pool; based on my turns, it calculates the distance I’ve swum and calculates my average pace for 100 metres.
An all-rounder for daily life and sports
The Venu 2 Plus from Garmin is a compromise. It’s no trendy Apple Watch. It is not just a clunky fitness watch, either. It’s a well-rounded device – literally. I personally like the 1.3-inch AMOLED display and 45-millimetre casing, and I find the plastic wristband comfortable to wear both in my free time and during exercise. The watch around the Gorilla Glass 3 of the Venu 2 Plus has taken a few punches in our time together. Recently, one of these must have been quite tough – there was suddenly a scratch on the display. Maybe I should have treated myself to the screen protector after all.
I can use the watch by tapping around on the display. In addition, I have three buttons on the side which come in clutch when my fingers get sweaty or the display is wet. This is solid design. If I had the inspiration and patience, I could select a special watch face from the large selection available in the «Connect IQ» app. Garmin has an open store there where designers can put up their watch faces. Basically, «Connect IQ» is Garmin’s app store. It also provides apps like Google Maps and Spotify. And a calculator. And a watch skin that counts your jumps when skipping rope. I mean, that’s nice and all. But is it really necessary? The maximum number of apps I can install is 24.
What’s more important to me is the Venu 2 Plus’s endurance. Battery life is still a – if not the – reason I’ve yet to go for an Apple Watch, despite being in deep Apple’s ecosystem. I usually charge the Venu 2 Plus every four or five days; I just get nervous when the battery sinks below 20 per cent. Charging to 100 per cent takes about an hour. After many months of continuous use, I’ve yet to notice any degeneration of the battery. For example, an hour of exercise with GPS tracking enabled still consumes well under ten per cent.
Verdict: good runtime, loads of features
The Venu 2 Plus is no expert assistant for aspiring triathletes, nor is it a gizmo for tech nerds. It’s not a watch for people wanting to make a statement with their wrist, either. The Venu 2 Plus is a smartwatch jack-of-all-trades that’s not averse to some sport here and there. It probably secretly wishes it was cooler – which is probably also the reason it was outfitted with the «Knight Rider»-style call and voice assistant feature. Or rather, retrofitted with said feature via Bluetooth. As described above, this doesn’t always result in a stable connection, at least not in my case.
But I don’t expect the Venu 2 Plus to be perfect at everything. I’m happy with it because it ticks all the most important boxes to me, and it ticks them well. These include push notifications, counting my steps, chronicling my sleep and recording sports activities. And it does all that with a very long battery life, so I don’t have to constantly worry about recharging it.
The Venu 2 Plus is available in three colours. I got my test device in grey. If I could choose again, I’d go for black. I find the grey a bit bland and it makes the casing look unnecessarily cheap. The Venu 2 Plus isn’t that much of a grey ace, after all.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus alternatives
There are several alternatives within the price class of Venu 2 Plus that may be interesting, depending on what’s important to you. For example, the Apple Watch SE, which I recommend for Apple fans. Or, if you’re looking for an Android watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 – and, if you prefer a more classic look, the Huawei Watch GT3 Pro.
Got any more questions about the Garmin Venu 2 Plus? Shoot away in the comments! After my long testing period, I should (hopefully) be able to answer them. And if you’ve got any tips or thoughts on smart watches, share them with our Community – it helps!
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.