Garmin Venu 2 vs. Garmin Venu Sq: Which is Better?

By Linus T.
Updated May 2023

The Garmin Venu 2 (or also available as Garmin Venu 2S) and Garmin Venu Sq are both wonderful options from Garmin. As a standard fitness watch, both smartwatches boast remarkably similar specs.

Aesthetically speaking, although the Garmin Venu Sq has a rectangular case while the Garmin Venu 2 has a circular case, both watches look equally as polished. Thus, this would still boil down to individual preference.

If you’re wondering which watch you should buy, we feel that it depends on the depth of features you hope to gain from your smartwatch.

That said, we have put together a quick overview of the similarities and differences between the two for you to make your final call in our Garmin Venu 2 vs. Garmin Venu Sq review.

Garmin Venu 2

Mind & Body — Connected by Garmin

GPS smartwatch with advanced health monitoring & fitness features.

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Garmin Venu Sq

The smartwatch with everything you need

GPS smartwatch with bright colour display and health monitoring.

Buy on Amazon

What Similarities Do They Share?

Firstly, let us take a quick look at the features both watches share. As the two watches are from the Garmin Venu line, they do have multiple similarities.

#1 Design and Smartwatch Functions

Garmin Venu Sq

Both watches are touchscreen, and have fiber-reinforced cases. This means that you can say no to excessive fiddling with way too many buttons! Furthermore, the build of the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq guarantee that these smartwatches can take a few hard knocks without shattering to pieces.

In terms of features, the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq cover all the bases expected of most fitness watches. Both watches have onboard GPS, and support contactless payment through Garmin Pay.

Furthermore, for those who prefer to have some heart-pounding music pumping through your ears, both the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq are able to connect to your smartphone to control music. The Venu 2 is also able to store up to 650 songs – though this same music storage feature is only available on the music edition of the Venu Sq.

#2 Health & Fitness Features

Garmin Venu 2S

One of the key features that both smartwatches would be that of preloaded workouts. Both the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq offer a wide range of workouts to select from, be it indoor or outdoor. Whether you’re interested in running through the woods, or relaxing in the cobra pose, you’ll find much welcome support in your watch.

Finally, both watches are able to calculate your Fitness Age, a useful tool for athletes seeking to improve their health. This is done by synthesising your body fat percentage, resting heart rate, and level of vigorous activity, allowing you to keep track of your overall bodily fitness.

Garmin Venu 2

Mind & Body — Connected by Garmin

GPS smartwatch with advanced health monitoring & fitness features.

Buy on Amazon

How Are They Different?

Nevertheless, while both smartwatches do share many similarities, they do still have some differences which we will delve into.

#3 Design and Battery Life

Garmin Venu 2S

Firstly, one key difference would be that the Garmin Venu 2 has an AMOLED display, while the Garmin Venu Sq has an LCD display. For those more unfamiliar with the technical terms, this means that the Garmin Venu 2 displays information at a much higher resolution, and offers brighter colours and deeper blacks.

Additionally, the Venu 2 has been further optimised such that more information is readily available at a glance on the screen - compared to the 1.3 inch display offered by the Venu Sq, the Venu 2 has a 1.4 inch display. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, the Garmin Venu 2 comes with a circular casing, whereas the Garmin Venu Sq comes with a rectangular casing.

In terms of battery life, the Garmin Venu 2 undeniably comes out superior. In smartwatch mode, the Venu 2 can last up to 11 days, compared to the Venu Sq’s 6 days; and 22 hours in GPS mode compared to the Venu Sq’s 14 hours.

Feeling a little lost? Here are the differences in design and battery life summed up in a table:

Garmin Venu Sq

The smartwatch with everything you need

GPS smartwatch with bright colour display and health monitoring.

Buy on Amazon

#4 Range of Features

Garmin Venu 2

Most of all, the Garmin Venu 2 offers more depth in its features than the Garmin Venu Sq. Unlike the Venu Sq, the Venu 2 comes with an altimeter, allowing users to track the number of stairs climbed, a feature appreciated by athletes who enjoy climbing stairs.

Furthermore, unlike the Garmin Venu Sq, the Garmin Venu 2 also displays animated, on-screen workouts. Thus, for those who may require a more visual representation to follow along to the preloaded workouts, this might be a point of contention for you.

Finally, the Garmin Venu 2 also offers a wider range of options for workouts as compared to the Garmin Venu Sq.

However, if the above mentioned are not as big of a concern to you, perhaps worth mentioning would be the price point. If you are on a tight budget, the Garmin Venu 2 might err on the unfavourable side, as it is roughly twice the price of the Garmin Venu Sq. Hence, this might be a point worth considering.

Compare Garmin Smartwatches

Key Takeaways

Garmin Venu Sq

In our opinion, we believe that the Garmin Venu Sq is the better of the two options as the additional features offered by the Garmin Venu 2 might only be a dealbreaker for those who are looking for more detailed insight into their fitness statistics.

However, for those who are just looking for a good, basic smartwatch without having to break the bank, the Garmin Venu Sq fulfils all the requirements and more.

With the myriad of features such as contactless payment, music syncing, preloaded workouts, and many more, the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq are both top-of-the-line options that are sure to fulfil your needs. Regardless of which smartwatch you choose, you will not find yourself disappointed.

If you like to read more on Garmin smartwatches, check out our other relevant guides here:

Garmin Vivosmart 5 vs Garmin Vivosmart 4

Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 245

Garmin Forerunner 255 vs Garmin Forerunner 745

Best Garmin Smartwatches in Singapore

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Venu 

Garmin Venu 2 vs Garmin Vivoactive 4

Garmin Venu vs Garmin Venu Sq

Explore the full collection for Garmin on Amazon.com or visit the Official Garmin Singapore Store.