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When you’re thinking about purchasing a smartwatch, there’s a plethora of options available these days. While most watches can track health and pick up phone notifications, they differ significantly in other aspects. Some are designed for casual use, and others with fitness in mind. The Galaxy series from Samsung largely falls into the former camp, while the latest watches from Garmin are the latter. Apart from health and fitness, common considerations are durability, battery life and overall style. Our Garmin Venu 2 vs Galaxy Watch 4 comparison will bring you up to speed with their features and key differences.
Garmin Venu 2 Vs Galaxy Watch 4: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Garmin Venu 2 | Galaxy Watch 4 40 mm | Galaxy Watch 4 44 mm | Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42 mm | Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46 mm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.20 mm | 40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8 mm | 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8 mm | 41.5 x 41.5 x 11.2 mm | 45.5 x 45.5 x 11.0 mm |
| Weight | 49 g | 25.9 g | 30.3 g | 46.5 g | 52 g |
| Colors | Slate with Black case, Granite Blue with Granite Blue case | Black, Green, Pink, Gold, Silver | Black, Green, Silver | Black, Silver | Black, Silver |
| Display | 1.3” AMOLED | 1.2” Super AMOLED | 1.4” Super AMOLED | 1.2” Super AMOLED | 1.4” Super AMOLED |
| RAM | 2 GB | 1.5 GB | 1.5 GB | 1.5 GB | 1.5 GB |
| Operating System | Garmin OS | WearOS 3.5 | WearOS 3.5 | WearOS 3.5 | WearOS 3.5 |
| Processor | N/A | Exynos W920 | Exynos W920 | Exynos W920 | Exynos W920 |
| GPU | N/A | Mali-G68 | Mali-G68 | Mali-G68 | Mali-G68 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, NFC, GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, NFC, GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, NFC, GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, NFC, GPS |
| Battery Life | 8 hours – 11 days depending on mode | Up to 40 hours, usually around 24 | Up to 40 hours, usually around 24 | Up to 40 hours, usually around 24 | Up to 40 hours, usually around 24 |
| Storage | 8 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Price | From $279.98 | From $169.99 | From $238.00 | From $197.70 | From $289.00 |
| Release Date | April 22, 2021 | August 27, 2021 | August 27, 2021 | August 27, 2021 | August 27, 2021 |
- Choice of two colors with a bright AMOLED display
- Tracks and monitors health, energy, fitness, and more
- Over 25 built-in apps for workouts
- Free-preloaded workouts + adaptive training plans
- Over 600 song downloads to your watch
Garmin Venu 2 Vs Galaxy Watch 4: What’s the Difference?
Design
Overall, the standard Galaxy Watch 4 looks much like a sports watch and is slim and snug. The Venu 2, however, has a typical watch look; not too slick or sporty. If you have petite hands, you’ll likely want to go for the smaller Galaxy models, but the large models are more suitable for average hand sizes or greater. The Venu 2 is only available in 45 mm, but this middle-ground size should be appropriate for most wearers. The Classic’s timeless design and rotating bezel set it apart. This standout feature, which is also present in the previous Galaxy Watch 3, is lacking in the other models. The strap size is 20 mm across all these models.
The Venu 2 falls short in the materials department as the casing is made of a plastic polymer. This is in contrast to the aluminum of the Galaxy Watch 4 and the stainless steel of the Classic. Because of this, the latter options will add more protection to the device. Steel is the heaviest of the three. In fact the Classic is heavier than the standard Watch 4, but the Venu 2 is considerably heavy even without a metallic casing.
Colors
When it comes to colors, the Venu 2 offers Slate with a Black case, or Granite Blue with a matching case, which is striking and makes more of a statement. Black and Silver are common themes with the Galaxy Watches, but you get additional choices of Green, Pink and Gold with the 40 mm Galaxy Watch 4 and Green with the 44 mm Galaxy Watch 4. Unfortunately, the Classics only come with Black and Silver, but these traditional options pair nicely with the design.
Display
Switching to display, Venu 2 sits right in the middle of smaller and larger models of the Galaxy Watch 4 and 4 Classic. You’re getting an AMOLED display with the Venu 2, so you can expect a crisp and vivid display, but the Galaxy Watches do come with a Super AMOLED display. So, they’re going to be brighter and sharper in comparison. The resolution of the Galaxy Watches is also higher, with 450 x 450 pixels, compared to the Venu 2’s 416 x 416 pixels. Always-on Display mode is common in these watches though. The glass screens are made of Corning Gorilla Glass, but the DX composites present in the Galaxy Watches offer improved scratch resistance and resistance to drops.
Overall, the Galaxy Watches have a more durable and vivid screen and can offer a larger display if you go for one of the larger models. The Venu 2 is nice, but the Galaxy Watch wins here.
Fitness
The Venu 2 is essentially designed for fitness and workouts. In fact, you can choose from a selection of workouts whilst setting it up, which is a convenient timesaver. If upgrading from a previous Garmin model, all your workouts and data will also be synced through Garmin Connect. Garmin is renowned for its GPS technology, so the Venu 2 doesn’t disappoint with its accuracy. You’ll even receive a route map after you finish your workout, plus stats you’d expect, including time, steps, distance, heart rate and calories. If you’re into strength training, you can see an animation showing which muscle groups are being worked, which is a nice touch. You can obtain an overview of your health data in PDF format.
The Galaxy Watch offers many workouts but doesn’t compare in this respect to the Venu 2. The sheer number of activities the Venu 2 can track swamps the Galaxy Watch and the use of Garmin Coach for personalized training programs. In this case, the Garmin watch takes the lead.
Sensors
Although the Venu 2 has many more fitness options, the metrics that the Galaxy Watch can measure trump the Garmin. The Galaxy Watch can take an ECG and calculate body composition using bioelectrical impedance (BIA), which the Venu 2 is incapable of. You’ll have to purchase the Venu 2 Plus to use these features with a Garmin watch. Overall, the accuracy of the Venu 2 is greater than the Galaxy Watch, but it does lack some measurements. This one is hard to call; some users will prefer the increased accuracy of the Venu 2, but the extra metrics of the Galaxy Watch certainly make it an appealing choice as well.
Battery Life
One of the biggest drawbacks of smartwatches is often their relatively short life. For example, while the Galaxy Watches has 40 hours of runtime, most users report a battery life of around a day. There’s no difference compared to the Galaxy Watch 3, which is understandably disappointing for many. On the other hand, Garmin claims the Venu 2 can last up to a humongous 11 days with casual usage. Features that tend to reduce battery life quicker are continuous monitoring such as heart rate and Always-on Display, GPS and cellular data.
The only aspect where the Galaxy Watches have the upper hand is charging convenience. They support wireless magnetic charging, which helps offset the need to charge them daily. The Venu 2 can use rapid charging but must be directly connected to a power source. Big fans of the futuristic wireless charging technology will see this as a drawback, but overall, it’s hard to beat the Venu 2’s longevity.
Apps
Although the Venu 2 supports popular apps like contactless payments, Spotify and Amazon Music, most of the apps available center around fitness, as you’d probably expect. On the whole, though, the Venu 2’s offerings pale in comparison to the Galaxy Watch 4 series, partly due to its proprietary OS. Consequently, the Watch 4s’ support for third-party apps numbers in the thousands, which is only matched by the Apple Watch. The Watch 4 can compose text messages, whereas the Venu 2 can only select from automated text responses customized via the Garmin Connect app. The Venu 2 does display useful information when playing back music, such as track name, artist name and timer. It’s not much of an advantage, but it’s there for music lovers.
Tech Specs
The Venu 2 might be made of a less sturdy material than the Galaxy Watches, but luckily it’s certified for dust and water resistance just the same. This means you can take either watch to a depth of 5 meters for half an hour, longer than most people would shower. You might struggle to take an exceptionally long bath, though. Strangely, the Venu 2 has half the available Galaxy Watch storage but offers an extra half a GB of RAM. There isn’t much of a discrepancy in performance across the models, so you can expect all to operate smoothly. It’s worth mentioning that there’s no LTE model with the Venu 2, and a smartphone is required for all features except GPS.
Price
Finally, it’s time to talk prices. At launch, the Galaxy Watches ranged from $249.99 to $379.99, depending on size, connectivity and model. The Venu 2, on the other hand, is available in one size, initially priced at $399.99. The Venu 2 was the pricier of the two watches, but has this situation changed? The Galaxy Watch 4’s price tends to fluctuate. You can get the smallest Bluetooth-enabled Galaxy Watch 4 for $169.99 and the largest Bluetooth-enabled Classic watch for $289.
By comparison, the Venu 2 is available for $279.98. although the model has seen a big price drop since its release, it still costs more than the cheaper versions of the Galaxy Watch. Due to this and the lack of customization, the Galaxy Watches offer more flexibility in terms of purchasing costs.
Garmin Venu 2 Vs Galaxy Watch 4: 8 Must-Know Facts
- The Galaxy Watches have double the storage
- Either watch can make contactless payments, just via different apps
- Sensors are more accurate with the Venu 2, but the Galaxy Watch can take ECGs and measure body composition
- Both models are water and dust resistant
- Galaxy Watch is more of an all-rounded watch, whereas the Venu 2 is designed for sports and fitness
- Venu 2 has a longer battery than the Galaxy Watch
- Venu 2 is compatible with Android and iPhone
- There’s no LTE variant of the Venu 2
- Analyses body water, skeletal muscle, BMI, and MBR
- Advanced sleep tracking at night
- Accurate ECG monitoring
- Advanced workout training covering six activities
Garmin Venu 2 Vs Galaxy Watch 4: Which One is Best?
Although Venu 2 wins in terms of fitness and workout functionality, the Galaxy Watch has more health-tracking features and third-party apps. Venu 2 is compatible with iPhones and has an impressive battery life. For a versatile and stylish watch you can control with your voice, it’s hard to go wrong with the Galaxy Watch 4. But when it comes to playing sports or training for an event, the Venu 2 offers more assistance and is guaranteed to last the whole day and more. Other than that, the higher cost of the Venu 2 probably isn’t justified if you’re in the market for any smartwatch. Essentially, the Venu 2 is more of a fitness tracker than a smartwatch, but it does a very good job of this.
- Choice of two colors with a bright AMOLED display
- Tracks and monitors health, energy, fitness, and more
- Over 25 built-in apps for workouts
- Free-preloaded workouts + adaptive training plans
- Over 600 song downloads to your watch
- Analyses body water, skeletal muscle, BMI, and MBR
- Advanced sleep tracking at night
- Accurate ECG monitoring
- Advanced workout training covering six activities
