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The Venu X1 has Garmin's signature trove of health tracking features and quality build materials, but the huge display highlights two issues: the dated UI and uncharacteristically low battery life with the display set to Always On.
The Good
- Huge display is impressive and useful
- Unbeatable health metrics and tracking
- High build quality
The Not So Good
- User Interface and software feels outdated
- Battery life is weak for a Garmin
Need To Knows
- Huge display with a thin profile on the wrist
- Loads of in-depth health insights
- User interface is dated and in need of a refresh
- Battery life is disappointing for a Garmin when Always On Display is activated
I have a complicated relationship with Garmin watches.
I want to wear them more than I feel I have any right to. This is silly, obviously, but it stems from the fact that I only ever run 5K – and ninety-nine percent of the time, that’s on a treadmill. Garmin watches are built for people who run further, and within far more interesting and adventurous locations.
I feel like a bit of a fraud, basically. But they are lovely watches if you’re into your health tech and love a good-looking timepiece on your wrist.
This makes the Venu X1 particularly interesting. It features Garmin’s biggest ever display and its slimmest ever profile. And it’s square, not circular.
The Venu X1 appears to have one particular smartwatch firmly in its sights, doesn’t it?
Shop the Garmin Venu X1 below!
How I reviewed the Venu X1
If you’re expecting an in-depth look at the Venu X1’s health and fitness capabilities, you’ve come to the wrong place. Over the years, my smartwatch usage has reduced to tracking my running workouts, keeping an eye on notifications, and, well, checking the time. However, I believe a lot of people share this reduced use case with their own smartwatches.
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I only ever take my smartwatch off to charge, so it’s my constant wrist computer companion, no matter what I’m doing. The Venu X1 has played that role for the last week.
Garmin Venu X1 specs and pricing
The Venu X1 costs £679.99/$799.99, which doesn’t put it in the ‘no-brainer’ category, unfortunately. That means it immediately has some work to do in terms of specs, and thankfully, it looks good on paper.
As noted earlier, the Venu X1 features Garmin’s largest ever display with a 2” AMOLED unit that benefits from scratch-resistant sapphire glass. The watch itself is made from fibre-reinforced polymer with a titanium caseback. It weighs just 40g, making it one of Garmin’s lightest watches, too.
The included strap is made from nylon, but can be swapped out if you wish. Water resistance is rated at 5ATM, and there’s the usual massive list of sensors, health and wellness monitoring, activity profiles, and workout and training plans.
Battery life tops out at eight days. Oh, it has a built-in flashlight, too.
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I won’t bore you with the rest of the specs, and I’m confident I’ve told you the most important above. It is, without doubt, a Garmin watch, through and through; they do not go halves when it comes to this stuff.
The problem with Garmin vs Apple Watch
Before I get into the things I like and dislike about the Venu X1, I feel I should add a disclaimer.
I’m approaching this from the perspective of someone who has spent more time wearing an Apple Watch than any other smartwatch. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve spent a lot of time with a Garmin on my wrist, but Apple’s watch is the one I always return to.
This presents some problems. Whenever I compare a Garmin watch to an Apple Watch, I’m told by a select few that it’s an unfair and, even, pointless task. They are totally different watches, those people say. Scuffles disturb the peace below the video. Fights break out. Someone starts a fire in comment 219. It all gets a bit out of hand.
Welcome to the internet.
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They are very different platforms – I’m fully aware of that. Garmin watches are out-and-out sports and fitness watches with bolted-on smartwatch stuff and limited access to Apple’s ecosystem. The Apple Watch is an out-and-out smartwatch with fitness tracking built for the masses (although that’s fast becoming an unfair label as watchOS develops).
Garmin prioritises battery life. Apple doesn’t.
The list goes on. But at least you know where I’m coming from as I dig into my thoughts about the Venu X1.
What I like about the Venu X1
The Venu X1 is a very easy watch to live with. It’s so light and has such a slender profile that it sinks into your wrist in a way that makes it practically unnoticeable most of the time. This is, clearly, one of its selling points and will appeal to people who want a big smartwatch display on a device that doesn’t dominate their arm. I’m not sure that it has much competition in that regard.
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The display is another selling point. It is indeed huge and very bright. The fact that it’s an AMOLED display also means that it has deep, inky blacks and lots of contrast, which all contribute to a beautifully legible and vibrant image.
Let’s not forget this is a Garmin watch, too, which is absolutely something I like about it. If you’ve not experienced it before, the level of detail you can obtain about your performance, sleep, and training readiness is bordering on overwhelming. Likewise, the number and type of activities the Venu X1 can track are almost comical. There’s nothing this thing can’t help you achieve – it’s inspiring.
The eight days of battery life is also a key marketing highlight for Garmin with the Venu X1. That puts it firmly in Apple Watch-smashing territory. But there’s a catch – and that brings me to the things I don’t like about the Venu X1.
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What I don’t like about the Venu X1
Let’s start with the battery life, because as much as it is a highlight for Garmin’s latest timepiece, it’s also one of the most frustrating elements.
If you turn on the always-on display (one of the first things I do with any smartwatch), the maximum duration you’ll get out of the battery drops to two days. I had to double-check I wasn’t seeing things when I first spotted the number ‘2’ on the watch face – it felt utterly off.
It’s true, though. For some reason, enabling the always-on display on the Venu X1 removes six days of battery stamina. I can’t fathom why. And it’s a problem for me, because I’ve become used to always-on displays on smartwatches since Apple introduced it to theirs in 2019. Not having one is annoying, and I’m not really prepared to sacrifice that much battery life when I turn it on.
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The design is also not my favourite element of the Venu X1. All of the Garmin watches I’ve tested up until now have been circular, and they’ve all looked sportswatch-great. The Venu X1’s massive display is so massive that it all but cancels out any other design elements of the watch. But, maybe that’s the point – this watch is all display, after all.
I deeply wish Garmin would update the user interface of its operating system, too. For some reason, on the Venu X1 it feels particularly long in the tooth. It’s just badly in need of an overhaul – not to Apple’s Liquid Glass level, of course, but a refresh would work wonders and suit the Venu X1 far better than what we have now.
Lastly, the Venu X1 is a touch too expensive. A price point of £499 feels far more reasonable for what’s on offer and would place it far closer to the ‘no-brainer’ category.
Conclusion: who is the Garmin Venu X1 for?
I’ve figured out the Venu X1. It’s Garmin’s anti-Apple Watch watch. And it was needed.
Put it this way – if you’ve been after a smartwatch that has the Apple Watch aesthetic but which benefits from far more comprehensive fitness tracking from a brand which is considered one of the best in the business, the Venu X1 is for you.
I just wish the OS was fresher, and I deeply wish the battery life wasn’t so overly impacted by the always-on display. But that’s just me – you’ve probably made up your mind about this watch already.
