Both the Garmin Venu 2 Plus and the Fitbit Sense 2 are excellent watches with ECG capability, Bluetooth calling from the wrist, a bigger display, and much more. But which one should you choose?
If you are confused, then you are in the right place. Below, we’ll be comparing these smartwatches to help you find the one that fits your budget and needs.
Key Takeaways
The Fitbit Sense 2 resembles a square design, with a bright display appealing to casual users, while the Garmin Venu 2 Plus resembles a wrist-watch style, with a thin bezel appealing to athletes and health-conscious shoppers. Ultimately, the choice will depend on your personal style and preference.
Comparison
| Device name | Garmin Venu 2 Plus | Fitbit Sense 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Smartwatch | Smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Release date | January, 2022 | September, 2022 |
| Versions | Standard edition | Standard edition |
| Body | ||
| Dimension | 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm | 40.5 x 40.5 x 11.2 mm |
| Weight | 51 grams | 37 grams |
| Shape | Round | Square |
| Case material | Stainless Steel | Aluminium Alloy |
| Strap material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Bezel material | Fiber-reinforced Polymer | — |
| Strap size | 22 mm | 22 mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.3 inch | 1.58 inch |
| Display type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 pixels | 336 x 336 pixels |
| Pixel density | 452 PPI | 299 PPI |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth calling | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Memory | ||
| RAM | — | — |
| Internal Storage | 2.3 GB | 2.3 GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| Cellular Connectivity | ||
| Technology | None | None |
| SIM type | None | None |
| Band | — | — |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | No | No |
| Pulse oximeter (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery life | 09 days | 06 days |
| Charging type | Plug Charger | Plug Charger |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
Price
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus costs double the price of the Sense 2 and retails for $449. It comes in a single Powder Gray case with Silicone Band. In contrast, the Fitbit Sense 2 retails for $249 and comes in Shadow Grey/Graphite Aluminum, Lunar White / Platinum Aluminium, and Blue Mist / Soft Gold Aluminium.
Design and Display
The Sense 2 boasts a square design with curved edges and a haptic button on the side for back, recent apps, turning on the watch screen, and more. The Venu 2, on the other hand, boasts a round design with a shiny thin bezel and five buttons, with two on the left and three on the right. Both have 20-mm quick-release silicone bands.
The Sense 2 measures at 40.5 x 40.5 x 11.2 mm and weighs 37 grams (without band), while the Venu 2 Plus measures at 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm and weighs 51 grams, making them comfortable to wear for a prolonged period of time.
The Sense 2 features a 1.58-inch, 299 PPI, 336 x 336-pixel AMOLED display, housed in an aluminium alloy case with laser-bonded Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. The Venu 2 Plus, on the other hand, features a 1.3-inch, 452 PPI, 416 x 416-pixel AMOLED display, housed in a stainless steel case and fiber-reinforced polymer casing with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front.
Health and Fitness Tracking
When it comes to health and fitness tracking, both devices offer various advanced features, but the Venu 2 Plus excels at this with a wide array of health and activity features.
Both have heart rate tracking, SpO2 (blood oxygen) tracking, stress monitoring, respiration rate tracking, menstrual health tracking, and more. They also offer an ECG app that can detect irregular heart rhythms, which could be a sign of atrial fibrillation (AFib).
In the Venu 2 Plus, you get a few session features like a body battery, which measures your energy level, a health snapshot, which tracks key health metrics in two-minute sessions, and hydration, which sets a default daily hydration goal. But the Sense 2 features a skin temperature sensor that can track your temperature, which could be due to illness, activity, or other factors.
If we talk about sleep tracking, both devices offer advanced sleep tracking and track when you fall asleep and sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) through your body movement and heart rate. Plus, they can also detect disturbances and nightbreaks and log them into their dedicated apps. These devices also provide a sleep score based on your multiple night’s sleep to help you get a better understanding of your sleep.
In terms of activity tracking, the Sense 2 can only track a few sports modes, but the Venu 2 Plus can track multiple sports modes, including hiking, rowing, padel, pickleball, and so much more. They also offer a readiness score, which helps you determine when your body is ready to workout and when you need to take a step back to recover.
Both feature GPS tracking, but the Sense 2 features a built-in GPS, meaning you will not need a phone nearby for GPS tracking, while the Venu 2 Plus needs a phone connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth.
They also offer basic features like steps, calories burned, and distance travelled, and the Venu 2 Plus also has floor climbed and intensity minutes.
Smartwatch Features
In terms of smartwatch features, they don’t have many but offer some pretty handy ones. Both offer text, app, and call notifications, a voice assistant, a built-in speaker, and a microphone for Bluetooth calling. However, with the Fitbit Sense 2, you will need your phone nearby for this feature to work, but you can answer calls directly from your wrist, while the Venu 2 Plus doesn’t have this requirement and you can directly answer phone calls from your wrist.
Both let you do contactless payments via Fitbit Pay or Garmin Pay, but the Venu 2 Plus also lets you download and stream music via third-party music apps, like Deezer and Spotify. Although Garmin offers preloaded maps in the Venu 2 Plus, which you can download from the Connect IQ store, Fitbit Sense 2 features Google Maps and Google Wallet, which you can use to store your credit and debit cards for contactless payments.
Battery Life
The Fitbit Sense 2 battery can last up to 6 days on a single charge. But it also consumes more battery when using features like GPS and always-on display mode. However, it has fast charging support, which can give you a day ‘s worth of juice in just 12 minutes of charging and 90 minutes to fully charge it.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus, on the other hand, can last for up to 9 days in smartwatch mode. It also has a battery-saving smartwatch mode, which gives you an additional battery life of 1 day, totaling 10 days. In GPS mode, it can last for up to 24 hours, and with music enabled, it drops down to 8 hours. It comes with a plug-in charger and takes over 90 minutes to fully charge the device.
Verdict
Which device you choose comes down to your personal preference and budget. Both offer bright and colourful AMOLED displays with a metallic build and silicone band, making them comfortable to wear for a prolonged period of time.
If you want to save some bucks while getting a bigger display, decent battery life, GPS tracking, and advanced health tracking, then the Fitbit Sense 2 might be the way to go.
But if you don’t have budget restrictions and want a watch with advanced fitness features, longer battery life, and Bluetooth calling support, then the Garmin Venu 2 Plus might be the right choice for you.
Read More of Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 below: