It’s possible to hook up a running pod this way too, or link a Garmin Edge bike computer or Varia lights. We put it to the test in several tough spin sessions, and the results matched those from a chest strap heart rate monitor almost exactly – though you can also link a chest strap to the Venu 2 Plus using ANT+ if you prefer. The company’s latest optical heart rate monitor is particularly impressive, offering all-day tracking and responding very quickly to changes during interval training. Fitness trackingĪs you’d expect from a Garmin watch, the Venu 2 Plus is a superb sports watch, and although it doesn’t offer the advanced training tools of a top-end Fenix or Forerunner, it’s well suited to beginner and intermediate athletes. Our UK-based bank isn’t one of those supported, so we weren’t able to test it for this review, but it’s compatible with a huge range of banks in the US, plus public transport services. ![]() There’s also support for contactless payments (something that’s missing from one of this watch’s main rivals, the Huawei Watch GT 3). It’s not quite as impressive as the 46mm Huawei Watch GT 3 – a similarly specced watch that can run for up to a fortnight on a single charge – but the Venu 2 Plus is nevertheless one of the most power-efficient watches of its type. To put it into context, the smaller-screened Fitbit Charge 5 has a maximum battery life of just seven days. ![]() ![]() We used the Venu 2 Plus with all-day pulse ox deactivated and tracked one daily workout, and we found that the battery drained at a rate of around 10% per day, which exceeds the stated figures and is very respectable for a powerful AMOLED smartwatch. According to Garmin, the watch lasts up to nine days in smartwatch mode, up to 10 days in battery saver mode, up to eight hours with both GPS and music, or 24 hours with GPS and no music. Always-on screen drains battery much more quicklyĪs always, battery life will vary depending on how you use the watch’s various features – particularly SpO2 and GPS.It has an always-on mode, though this puts a big dent in battery life. The Venu 2 Plus has a bright, high resolution AMOLED touchscreen display, which feels smooth and responsive in use. It plugs into the back of the watch case easily and stays securely in place, though it's not as convenient as wireless induction charging. The watch is charged using the same proprietary USB-A cable as the rest of Garmin's current watch lineup. It’s a welcome addition having to just hold a button for a second rather than browse through menus means you’re much more likely to use it, and while testing the watch, we found ourselves using Google Assistant far more often than we would normally. The right edge has a new button, which serves as a shortcut to your phone’s voice assistant. The new components in question relate to the watch’s new microphone, which is positioned on the case’s left-hand edge. It’s a good compromise large enough to house the new watch’s extra components, but not so big it overpowers smaller wrists. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is almost identical in design to the Venu 2, but while the original watch came in 40mm and 45mm versions, the Venu 2 Plus is only available with a 43mm case. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus was released globally on January 4 2022, and is priced at $449.99 / £399.99 / AU$699.įor comparison, the original Venu 2 launched at $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$629 in April 2021, so the added microphone costs a little extra, but not a huge amount. ![]() If you want the most advanced tools, such as live turn-by-turn navigation or training load assessment on your wrist then you’ll be better served by a watch like the Forerunner 955 Solar, Forerunner 945 or Fenix 6, but for everyone else the Venu 2 Plus is easy to recommend. There’s scope for Garmin to add more guided sessions in future, and the company has a track record of supporting its devices with software updates long after their initial launch, so we’re expecting this feature to become even better in the coming months and years.
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