Garmin Venu Sq 2 launches with 11 day battery life
The Garmin Venu 2 Sq has launched at IFA 2022, with improved battery life and connected features.
The Venu Sq 2 offers a lower price than the full Venu 2 smartwatch, but makes sacrifices in terms of design and features.
The Venu Sq 2 uses a square, AMOLED touch display and less premium case materials to keep costs down.
As you’d expect from a Garmin device, it has GPS-tracking built-in, and more than 25 sports modes, including running, swimming cycling, and new modes such as HIIT and pilates.
Of course, the level of tracking and analysis is basic compared to the likes of the Forerunner 255, and doesn’t include specialist metrics such as VO2 Max, training analysis or cadence.
It does offer access to Garmin’s now standard array of health tracking features.
In terms of hardware, it has an SpO2 on-board, in addition to heart rate. And it will keep tabs on energy levels (via the Body Battery feature), stress levels – and there’s basic fertility tracking on board too. What’s more, Garmin is one of the few companies to offer a pregnancy mode, which pauses training stats.
Battery life is right up there for AMOLED smartwatches, with 11 days in smartwatch mode, according to Garmin.
However, it’s probably not accurate to call the Venu Sq 2 a budget smartwatch, even if it does sit at the more affordable end of the Garmin watch spectrum. It retails for $249 for the non-music version, which is a fair chunk of change more than you’ll pay for Huawei or Amazfit equivalents.
That makes it $50 more expensive than the new Amazfit GTR/GTS 4 that also launched at IFA.
Arguably the Venu Sq 2 offers a better experience in terms of Garmin Connect. Users can access the full range of Garmin HIIT workouts and load them onto the watch to follow, and free personalized coaching to hit goals for 5K, 10K and half marathon distances.
But in our testing of the Venu Sq felt a very basic smartwatch experience, and there doesn’t seem to be too much added here.
As a smartwatch the Venu Sq 2 offers full support for notifications – and works with iOS and Android smartphones. And there’s Garmin Pay on-board, if your bank supports it.
