{"id":9547,"date":"2019-09-04T17:21:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T15:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fitness-tracker-test.info\/?p=9547"},"modified":"2020-11-17T09:58:57","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T08:58:57","slug":"garmin-venu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitness-tracker-test.info\/en\/garmin-venu\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin Venu – Fitness smartwatch with AMOLED display"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garmin Venu is the name of the company’s first sports watch with an AMOLED display. While the Venu sports a new crisp and colorful display, the watch itself is based on the vivoactive 4<\/a>, featuring all its functions. Here you will find all the information about Garmin’s smart sports watch, or shall I say sportive smartwatch…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Garmin<\/a>

Garmin Venu (Source: Garmin)<\/p><\/div>\n

With the vivoactive 3, Garmin released a product that was never easy to classify into being a sports watch or a smartwatch. Due to the broad range of functions offered and numerous sports supported, the vivoactive series attracts a lot of potential buyers nonetheless. <\/p>\n

Garmin Venu to the rescue<\/h2>\n

Despite its superior set of features, many people are longing for devices with bright, colorful and crisp displays, sporting high contrasts. This is something, a transflective MIP display only offers in direct sun light. In “normal” lighting it is nowhere near devices with an OLED display, e.g. an Apple Watch or a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.<\/p>\n

That’s where the Garmin Venu comes into play. The Garmin Venu is more or less a sibling of the Garmin vivoactive 4<\/a> – both of them being released during the IFA trade fair in Berlin and both of them being the successor of the vivoactive 3. But compared to the transflective MIP display, the Venu features an AMOLED display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Garmin Venu<\/th>Specs<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Display type<\/td>1.2\" AMOLED touchscreen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Resolution<\/td>390 x 390<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Watch glass<\/td>Gorilla Glas 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dimensions<\/td>43 mm diameter
\n12 mm height<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waterproof<\/td>5 ATM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Straps<\/td>20 mm QuickRelease<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Battery Life<\/td>Smartwatch - 5 days
\nGPS - 6 hours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Colorful OLED display<\/h2>\n

The Venu is Garmin’s first product (except for some fitness trackers with tiny OLED displays) that features a 1.2-inch AMOLED display with a 390 x 390 pixels resolution. This is much more than the 260 x 260 pixels of a transflective MIP display of the same size and results in a pixel density of 325 PPI. Information are depicted as crisp and clear as on an Apple Watch 5 that has a 326 PPI resolution. The screen is protected by a 2.4 mm wide bezel and scratch-resistent Gorilla Glas 3 by Corning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/th>Venu<\/th>vivoactive 4<\/th>vivoactive 3<\/th>Apple Watch 5<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Display size<\/td>1.2\"<\/td>1.3\"<\/td>1.2\"<\/td>1.78\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Resolution<\/td>390 x 390<\/td>260 x 260<\/td>240 x 240<\/td>448 x 368<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pixel density (PPI)<\/td>325<\/td>200<\/td>200<\/td>326<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

In addition to the resolution, the display’s key strengths are its high contrast and bright colors. Compared to MIP displays, the Venu’s AMOLED displays performs less well in direct sunlight, because the display’s brightness isn’t sufficient for depicting high contrasts. This accounts for all bright environments, whereas in normal or low light environments the Venu’s display does perform best.<\/p>\n

\"Garmin<\/a>

Garmin Venu – Compared to vivoactive 4 (Credit: Garmin)<\/p><\/div>\n

Always-on mode<\/h3>\n

All the AMOLED’s benefits come at a price – the display has a higher battery drain than the MIP displays. The Venu’s power consumption is as high as Garmin disabled the always-on mode by default. That doesn’t mean that the Venu lacks an always-on mode. You can enable it in the settings, but the battery life decreases from 5 to 2-3 days. <\/p>\n

When the always-on mode is disabled the display is turned on by lifting your wrist, by tapping or pressing a button. It’s turned off again if there is no user interaction.<\/p>\n

Live watchfaces<\/h3>\n

There are some watchfaces exclusive to the Venu that take advantage of the improved display first. All the other screens and menus are structured equally to those of the vivoactive 4<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Garmin<\/a>

Garmin Venu – Watchfaces (Credit: Garmin Connect IQ)<\/p><\/div>\n

While not being disadvantageous at all, it is the Venu’s biggest disadvantage that Garmin does not make use of the display’s full potential. For example, the Venu doesn’t show the recorded track in an activity’s summary, though by its high resolution it is predestined to do so. You’ll find this information on the new Forerunner and Fenix models though and it’s kind of cool.<\/p>\n

It seems that the vivoactive 4 and Venu use the very same software foundation, thus not allowing the Venu’s full potential to unfold – at least not by now.<\/p>\n

Activity and Health Features<\/h2>\n

Even though the Venu has a touchscreen, there are two buttons on the right-hand side. The upper button is used for selecting options, starting, stopping and pausing activities, while the lower button can be thought of a back button.<\/p>\n

Remember that the Venu and the vivoactive 4<\/a> offer the same functions. There is not a single feature that is exclusive to one or the other. So let’s sort out, what the Venu has to offer:<\/p>\n