Garmin Just Announced Its Answer to the Apple Watch Ultra

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Garmin Just Announced Its Answer to the Apple Watch Ultra

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Garmin dropped a new watch today, a square-bodied Venu X1 that retails for $799.99 and will be available to order starting June 18. Garmin told me by email that it is “not a successor to Venu 3/3S,” which to me hints that there may still be a Venu 4 coming soon.

The Venu line, if you’re not familiar, contains Garmin’s most smartwatch-y watches. The Venu 3 and its smaller version (the 3S) can do voice calls and use a phone assistant like Siri, and it can take ECG readings. Unlike the cheaper Vivoactive 6, it has a built-in altimeter to measure how many flights of steps you climb in a day. It also boasts the most advanced version of Garmin’s heart rate sensor, making it potentially more accurate than lower-end models. The Venu 3 and 3S originally went for $449.99 each, although they’re currently both on sale for $349.99. 

What’s new in the Venu X1? 

The square shape is new—although an older Venu, the 2 Sq, also had that square shape. But the Venu 2 Sq was a lower-end watch, and the X1 is clearly on the higher end, with its price and shape positioning it as a competitor to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. (The Ultra 2 starts at $799.99.)

The Venu X1 has some sweet new features for that price, including: 

• An LED flashlight, just like the new Forerunner 970 (and the Fenix 8, and some Instinct models). People love their LED flashlights, saying that once you have one, you can’t go back. 

• A 41 x 46 millimeter screen, which Garmin emphasizes is its biggest screen.

• Sapphire instead of Gorilla glass, for extra scratch resistance.

• Maps, full vector style, including trail maps and cycling maps, and thousands of pre-loaded golf courses.

• Battery life is estimated at eight days—less than the Venu 3 (or most other Garmin watches) but significantly more than any Apple Watch. 

• Training readiness and training status, previously only on running-focused watches like Forerunner and Fenix models.

• Garmin coach training plans for running, cycling, and strength.

Unlike the Apple Watch, there’s no version of the Venu X1 that has cellular connectivity, so you need your phone with you if you want to make calls or talk to Siri. And it's much lighter than the Apple Watch Ultra 2—just 34 grams for the X1 versus around 60 for the Ultra 2.

No ECG, though

There’s one major thing the Venu X1 is missing that the Venu 3 and 3S have: an ECG app, to take electrocardiogram readings (that’s the thing that tells you whether your heartbeats are in “Afib” versus “normal sinus rhythm”). You can see a full breakdown of the differences between the Venu 3 and the Venu X1 here. 

Source: Garmin Just Announced Its Answer to the Apple Watch Ultra