Over the years, I’ve reviewed a lot of GPS running watches on RunSafeSteps. While I’ve been slowly ‘closing gaps’, there are still a few notable brands that I am missing in my GPS running watch reviews. Those that come to mind are Wahoo and Garmin Venu, both of which make popular watches, but I’ve so far not had a chance to review them.
Luckily, that will soon be changed as I have a Garmin Venu S2 on the way. While the complete review is a long way out, as I haven’t even received the watch yet, I’ve been doing some background research in preparation for the review. While nothing more than initial thoughts, I thought I would share some of my findings/thoughts so far.
The Garmin Venu series contains four devices — Venu S2, Venu 3, Venu 3S, and Venu Sq 2. The table below from Garmin’s website shows the differences between the watches.
While Garmin does have many more GPS watches (as well as other training devices), these four watches are consumer-grade GPS running watches at affordable prices that track GPS pace and distance alongside other health metrics. Aside from these devices, Garmin also sells a range of other GPS running watches, such as the Fenix series and the Forerunner series.
Interestingly, the table above doesn’t show the Venu S2 Plus and the Venu 3 Music (which appears to have replaced the Venu S2 Plus, as I can’t see that on the website anymore). The Venu Sq 2 is the most affordable of these watches, with the Venu S2, Venu 3S and Venu 3 being predictably more capable. The Venu 3 Music is about the same price as the Venu 3. All of Garmin’s Venu GPS running watch range is covered between these five watches.
The Venu Sq 2 is by far the simplest of these watches as it measures only GPS pace and distance (training load is an index, and in this case, it will be based entirely on GPS pace measurements). The device has an AMOLED screen but no onboard maps.
The Venu S2 adds an ECG heart rate monitoring feature and SpO2 sensor, but it still lacks the onboard maps. While I can’t find the exact GPS chipset model used in this watch, I would hesitate to recommend it just because it has an additional health sensor, as health sensors have limited accuracy on consumer watches. Please read the post below for more information.
GPS Running Watches for Heart Rate
Above this, the Venu 3S is the first watch to use WiFi to send data to an accompanying app. Since this data is shared over WiFi, it is clearly intended to be an indoor training watch, not a portable GPS device (despite having a GPS chipset). This is because the app will not receive GPS data unless you are connected to a WiFi network. On the other hand, Bluetooth GPS watches can relay training data even when you are out and about.
The Venu 3 appears to replace the Venu 3S as the base price is the same for both, but the Venu 3S is currently discounted to 20% off. I don’t know if Garmin will keep the Venu 3S around at this discounted price or replace it with the Venu 3, but the Venu 3 is a big upgrade, in my opinion, as it also houses a barometric altimeter. It also has a few other nice improvements, such as an AMOLED display. Still, I personally appreciate the addition of a barometric altimeter the most, as I think all GPS running watches should measure elevation. It’s also stated on the website that this altimeter is from Garmin’s proprietary sensor suite, so it’s likely very accurate.
What I find very interesting is how only the Venu 3 (a larger watch intended to be worn daily or during runs) and the new Venu S2 Music measure temperature and relative humidity. I’ve become so used to these sensors being included on all watches (often because they’re integrated into other sensors) that it’s weird to see watches without them. With that said, the Venu 3 and Venu S2 do have such sensors, so I appreciate that.
All of Garmin’s Venu GPS running watches use a Garmin-made GPS and HR sensor, which intrigues me greatly. While I can’t comment much on how these perform without testing them (that will come soon!), I am very curious about any company that makes its own GPS components as so far I’ve only seen Polar do this with their Precision Prime optical HR sensor.
While I will be reviewing the Venu S2, I feel like the Venu Sq 2 and Venu S2 may be the more interesting watches simply because they are so much more affordable and perhaps good alternatives to watches such as the Casio GBA-900 and Garmin Forerunner 55.
Have you used one of these watches, or are you curious about them? If so, I would love to hear more! If you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them once I get my hands on the watches.