At a look
Professional’s Score
Execs
- Phenomenal show
- Extra trendy choices
- Class-leading health monitoring
- Torch added
Cons
- Some occasional glitches
- One heck of a value hike
Our Verdict
Though it prices fairly a bit extra and sacrifices some battery life over its predecessor, the better quantity of types for the 45mm possibility, elevated sturdiness and health monitoring capabilities make the Garmin Venu 4 an excellent smartwatch to Contemplate towards competing units from Apple and Samsung.
Worth When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Finest Pricing At present
Worth When Reviewed
$549.99
Finest Costs At present: Garmin Venu 4
$509.95
$529.99
$549.99
$549.99
$549.99
Looking out for a smartwatch that places fashion and health monitoring entrance and centre? Sounds such as you may want the Garmin Venu 4.
The primary Garmin watch I ever owned was the unique Garmin Venu which got here out all the way in which again in pre-pandemic occasions, and I cherished my time with it. Though I recall encountering a couple of moments of slowdown and the odd glitch when it got here to offline music playback, it was nonetheless an excellent watch to make use of and set an excellent precedent as being one of many very first Garmin smartwatches to characteristic an AMOLED show.
That pattern has solely continued as Garmin as slowly moved away from its old fashioned memory-in-pixel fashion panels and embraced AMOLED virtually throughout the board, however that does imply that the Venu collection’ unique key characteristic not stands out fairly as a lot, so I used to be wanting to see how the Venu 4 may reel individuals in underneath this new panorama.
After spending a couple of weeks with the watch, I’ve to say that I’m pleasantly stunned however there was an enormous hiccup that I didn’t anticipate.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Design & Construct
- 41mm and 45mm choices obtainable
- Extra sturdy stainless-steel chassis
- Some of the trendy smartwatches round
One of many key points that at all times separates the Venu collection from the marginally extra inexpensive Vivoactive vary is that the previous would usually have a bit extra going for it as a modern accent. Very like the way in which that Huawei has reinvented its Watch GT collection lately, Venu watches are designed to be worn out to dinner and never simply on the fitness center.
The Venu 3 did a superb job of maintaining that custom however one factor that irritated me was that essentially the most eye-catching choices had been restricted to the smaller 41mm mannequin, which had a complete of six colourways, whereas the bigger 45mm model solely had three. Fortunately, Garmin has seen match to repair the imbalance this time round by having 4 distinctive choices obtainable for every mannequin, and the 45mm ‘Silver with Silver Gray Silicone Band’ decide that I’ve been sporting over the course of this evaluation is well one of many nicest wanting watches I’ve examined all 12 months.
The watch band has a splendidly understated aesthetic, and when mixed with the reasonably alluring silver border across the show, it jogs my memory of the Withings Scanwatch 2 which, at a distance, might be fully mistaken for an analogue wearable. I’ll admit, it in all probability felt a little bit too fancy for the fitness center, however I’ve very a lot loved sporting it all through the vast majority of any given day.
Even with the eye paid to its fashion nevertheless, Garmin has made certain to not neglect concerning the Venu 4’s sturdiness because the bezel and case at the moment are comprised of stainless-steel (the latter was plastic on the Venu 3). Within the time that I’ve been utilizing the watch, it hasn’t picked up any noticeable scratches, nor have I seen any basic put on and tear after a number of pool swims and different exercises.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Eagle-eyed readers may need seen that the Venu 4 now has one much less bodily button than the Venu 3, putting off the central right-facing shortcut button. Provided that the enter was solely round for a technology, and you may set shortcuts to a long-press of both of the 2 remaining buttons, I can’t say that I miss all of it that a lot.
One facet I’m torn on nevertheless is the thickness of the Venu 4. At 12mm thick, the watch isn’t precisely chunky, however in comparison with the 7.9mm Garmin Venu X1 and even the 9.7mm Apple Watch Collection 11, it does really feel like an uptick on the place the market has shifted to. Nonetheless, it’s an affordable trade-off for the battery beneficial properties that you simply get from the added actual property, however I’d be mendacity if I stated that I didn’t miss simply how smooth the Venu X1 is by comparability.
Display & Audio
- Brighter AMOLED show may be very straightforward to learn
- Colors pop on watch faces and menus
- Constructed-in speaker will get the job accomplished for podcasts
Identical to how the construct high quality has been given a delicate improve to make it extra sturdy, it’s an identical state of affairs with the show this time round. As an alternative of accelerating the dimensions, which did occur within the leap from the Venu 2 to the Venu 3, Garmin has opted for an uplift within the realm of display brightness, and it’s stunning.
Though Garmin has been coy about what the precise specs are (and there’s some conflicting knowledge on the market), I’ll say that I’ve had no bother with studying the Venu 4’s show in any respect hours of the day. Whether or not that be a fast look on the barely dimmer, always-on show while working at my desk, or really interacting with the watch open air and towards direct daylight, I’ve by no means wanted to squint to learn what’s there.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Working in tandem with the AMOLED panel is Garmin’s intuitive use of color. Not too dissimilar to how Apple approaches its watchOS UI, Garmin retains a lot of the display in the dead of night, whether or not that be in navigating its menus or your chosen watch face, however because of this, the sections that do have color are actually in a position to pop in an attractive manner.
In case you neglect to carry your earbuds with you, or it’s good to take a fast name in your watch while your cellphone is buried on the backside of your fitness center bag, the Venu 4’s built-in speaker can do the job in a pinch. It definitely does a superb job at elevating vocals, which works reasonably nicely throughout podcast playback, however I don’t suppose I’ll be utilizing it to hearken to music anytime quickly.
Taking part in Charlotte by Kittie (a staple in my operating playlists), a lot of the guitars simply will get misplaced within the soundscape, so that you’re much better off bringing a pair of ANC earbuds if you happen to’re on the fitness center, or some bone conduction headphones for if you’re operating out and about.
Software program & Options
- Simply the correct quantity of good options
- Morning and night studies are sensible
- The watch froze a couple of occasions throughout testing
Having bounced round now between the newest smartwatches from Apple, Samsung and Huawei in current months, I’ve come to understand the strategy to good options that Garmin has settled on, notably after the UI replace that was first launched on the Garmin Fenix 8.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Whereas it’s true that you simply’re not going to get entry to third-party apps like Outlook or Calm, what you do get are the options that make sense. You’ve gotten offline music playback by way of Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music, in addition to the flexibility to choose up some buying or a post-run drink due to Garmin Pay.
This sits on high of extra fundamental options like seeing your calendar in your wrist, and incoming cellphone notifications, and whereas it’s undoubtedly scaled again, it really works for what Garmin watches are all about – retaining your focus in your health.
You do have the choice to make use of voice instructions, both inside Garmin’s software program or by activating Siri/Google Gemini, relying on the cellphone you’ve got, however it’s a bit clunky, and apart from utilizing it to set timers, I didn’t actually gel with the characteristic. What I completely adore are the Night and Morning Stories that seem on the watch.
These useful summaries let you already know straight away whether or not or not you’re absolutely rested, see upcoming objects in your schedule and even get a look on the climate. These check-ins have been so useful, notably as I’ve been struggling to steadiness work and sleep lately, and it’s helped me to get again on monitor. Though it will be a tad by-product, I might adore it if Apple and Samsung might create their very own interpretation of this characteristic.
Exterior of software program, the massive addition this 12 months is the bodily torch, which is constructed into the physique of the Venu 4 itself. The X1 was the primary Venu watch to be given this characteristic, however because it’s sometimes been reserved for dearer units, I’m genuinely stunned to see it right here. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent characteristic that makes every thing from taking the bins out at evening to seeing the monitor throughout a morning run a bit simpler.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
It hasn’t all been easy crusing, nevertheless. In at least 4 power coaching exercises, after I’ve had coronary heart charge monitoring activated alongside offline music playback, the Venu 4 has frozen on me at concerning the 20/30-minute mark, on common.
Sadly, it appears as if I’m not the one individual to come across comparable points, however I’ll say that the watch by no means froze up throughout different kinds of exercises, and my exercise knowledge was fortunately saved each time I booted it again up once more. No matter it’s that’s taking place, I solely hope that Garmin can repair it quickly sufficient.
Health & Well being Monitoring
- A wider array of sports activities to trace
- Twin-band GPS capabilities
- Stable coronary heart charge monitoring
In case you’ve already had a glance on Garmin’s web site, then you could have seen that the Venu 4 has a not insubstantial value improve on the Venu 3. Within the UK, it’s £70 dearer than the earlier technology, and a whopping $100 extra within the US.
The addition of the LED torch, to not point out the brighter show and extra sturdy construct, does accommodate for a part of that uptick, however the remainder of it may be attributed to the enlargement of the Venu 4’s capabilities as a health tracker.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
This time round, now you can monitor over 80 various kinds of exercises (it was simply over 30 on the Venu 3). I are inclined to hold my routine to power coaching on the fitness center and operating at my native park, but when your most popular manner of exercising consists of ice hockey, pickleball or perhaps a little bit of motocross, then you’ve got the flexibility to trace it on this watch.
Whereas this may not be a most popular improve for some, I do suppose that it does a good job of elevating the Venu vary above the Vivoactive watches and among the extra inexpensive Garmin Forerunner wearables, because the Venu 4 is now a superb go-between amongst your complete Garmin vary, and the one one that basically takes style critically.
You now get dual-band GPS too, which gives extra secure route monitoring, which is at all times useful for diving into the metrics of your operating/biking efficiency and realizing the place you’ll be able to enhance. Taking the watch on my ordinary route, it did an incredible job of registering the trail that I used to be on with out ever shedding sign, and it solely took a mean of seven seconds to determine a connection.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Very like with the competing Whoop strap, now you can hold monitor of your every day habits by way of Way of life Logging. That is nice for retaining tabs on essential points of your weight loss plan like the quantity of espresso or tea you may drink on any given day, or the quantity of alcohol you’ve consumed over the course of per week, however the characteristic must take among the simplicity out of Whoop’s playbook earlier than it might probably attain its full potential.
At current, it’s hidden behind a number of menus within the Garmin Join app, and also you aren’t given as many preset behaviours in comparison with Whoop, however you’ll be able to manually sort them in if wanted.
One factor that I nonetheless love is Garmin’s Physique Battery, and I’ve solely come to understand it much more whereas utilizing the Venu 4. Over the course of this evaluation, I’ve had fairly a heavy workload and lots of private planning happening with a child on the way in which, and on one notably busy day, I made a decision to take a little bit of time for myself and play on my Swap 2 for half an hour.
That transient second of pause really elevated my physique battery and jogged my memory of how vital relaxation might be to your physique’s capability to perform. No different model has given me fairly that stage of perception.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
On the guts charge entrance, the Venu 4 did an impressive job of gathering knowledge when put next with a chest-worn Garmin HRM 600. When each units had been used throughout a treadmill run and an elliptical exercise, there was solely ever a discrepancy of 1BPM within the common and peak outcomes collected, which is as little as it may be.
Battery Life & Charging
- As much as 12-days of battery life
- Roughly six days of use with the always-on show
- A full cost takes simply over an hour and a half
If there was one space that I might have preferred to see improved on the Garmin Venu X1, it was the battery life, however fortunately – principally as a result of its thicker chassis – this isn’t an issue with the Venu 4.
When ensuring that the always-on show isn’t toggled, Garmin claims you can rise up to 12-days of use (10-days on the 41mm mannequin) with the Venu 4 which, it ought to be identified, is simply barely lower than the 14-day stint supplied by the 45mm Venu 3. As somebody who likes to have the always-on show operating, nevertheless, I went within the different route to see how the watch would fare underneath a little bit of stress.
With the mode toggled, putting in a couple of updates, downloading Spotify playlists and monitoring a handful of exercises, I used to be in a position to get the Venu 4 to final for six days on a single cost.
With that context, I can undoubtedly envision hitting that 12-day declare underneath sure use circumstances, and in both sense, it’s nonetheless vastly superior to the 1-2 battery life at the moment supplied by Apple and Samsung’s newest mainline watches.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Charging isn’t too lengthy an affair, as I used to be in a position to claw again 19% after simply quarter-hour (sufficient for a day) and an enormous 60% after 40 minutes. A full 100% cost required simply over one hour and 32 minutes, however as you don’t must cost the watch that always, it’s hardly a serious subject.
Identical to with the corporate’s earlier watches, the Venu 4 makes use of Garmin’s established proprietary charger.
Worth & Availability
There are two measurement choices for the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm and 45mm) however there isn’t any distinction within the beginning value for both at £469.99/$549.99. In case you go for a model of the Garmin Venu 4 that comes with a leather-based watch strap then that value jumps to £519.99/$599.99.
The watch is now obtainable in all main territories by way of Garmin’s web site and thru Amazon. There are a complete of eight colourways, 4 for every measurement. The 41mm mannequin has Silver with Periwinkle Silicone Band, Lunar Gold with Bone Silicone Band, Slate with Black Silicone Band and Lunar Gold with Bone Silicone Band and Mild Sand Leather-based Band.
The 45mm mannequin contains a comparable set of choices together with Slate with Black Silicone Band, Silver with Silver Gray Silicone Band, Silver with Citron Silicone Band and Slate with Black Silicone Band and Brown Leather-based Band.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
No matter which one you go for, the Venu 4 is now dearer (particularly within the US) than the Garmin Venu 3 which had a beginning value of £449.99/$449.99. At this charge, the entire main current-gen smartwatches together with the Apple Watch Collection 11, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and the Pixel Watch 4 are cheaper.
On this context, the Garmin Venu 4 is finest seen as a go-between for anybody who needs an extended battery and extra health monitoring options however with out spending the premium-level money required for the Apple Watch Extremely 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely.
Do you have to purchase the Garmin Venu 4?
With a revitalised adherence to eye-catching fashion, and a better array of health monitoring options, the Garmin Venu 4 has given the corporate’s mid-range wearable a definite identification as soon as extra, the issue is that it comes with a hefty value improve because of this.
In case you’re working with a sizeable price range, then the upper price ticket gained’t be a difficulty, and at that time I can simply suggest shopping for the Venu 4 over competing watches just like the Apple Watch Collection 11 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 if you happen to worth having higher health monitoring and an extended battery life to go together with it. For many who can’t afford it, Garmin continues to be promoting the Venu 3 which stays an excellent possibility in its personal proper.
The glitches that I encountered throughout my time with the Venu 4 do have me frightened, however they don’t seem like the common expertise for many customers. I solely hope that Garmin can devise a repair for the few who’re seeing them.
Try our round-up of the perfect smartwatches to see what the Garmin Venu 4 is up towards.
Specs
- 41mm and 45mm fashions
- 46/56g
- 1.2/1.4-inch show
- AMOLED
- Stainless-steel chassis
- As much as 10/12-day battery life
- Twin-band GPS
- 5ATM water resistance
- 8GB inner storage
- Works with iPhone and Android