The $199 Garmin Venu Sq just took a big swipe at Apple and Fitbit
Garmin has unveiled its new Venu Sq smartwatch – a budget friendly, powerful GPS watch, that’s set to give Apple and Fitbit something to think about.
The Venu Sq (and Venu Sq Music) start at just $199 (the Music version is a punchy $249) but pack a massive spec sheet that belies the cost.
It’s a natural competitor to the Fitbit Sense ($329.99) and the Apple Watch Series 6 ($399.99) and Apple Watch SE ($279.99).
Obviously you get Garmin GPS tracking of 20 sports, with optical heart rate tracking in the mix.
But many of Garmin’s most advanced health metrics make the cut, and it takes the fight to the Apple Watch Series 6 by adding an SpO2 sensor for spot checks of blood oxygen saturation and advanced sleep monitoring.
The SpO2 will also keep tabs on respiration rate, as well as helping you watch out for possible sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
The heart rate monitor will also offer high/low alerts too, which is a key part of the Apple Watch and Fitbit health monitoring story.
And the fun doesn’t stop there. Much like the Fitbit Sense it will also track stress, and offer guided mindfulness and tap into the company’s Body Battery feature, which provides insights on energy levels.
The Venu Sq has a 1.3-inch color touchscreen, although not quite the quality we’ve seen on the popular Garmin Venu smartwatch.
It’s joined by two physical buttons on the side, for added control.
But it’s no slouch with battery life either. You get six days of battery life and 14 hours of GPS tracking.
The Venu Sq music also enables you to offline sync Spotify and Deezer tracks to listen straight from the wrist – as well as add your own MP3s.
The Garmin Venu Sq brings a powerful mix of features at an easily obtainable price point. Garmin has been making moves in the smartwatch market, and this could see it grab a bigger share. We’ll have a full review soon.
