We are going to be comparing the Garmin Venu vs Vivoactive 4 and covering the similarities and differences between both of these smart watches. If you are looking for the main difference between the Garmin Venu 2 and the Vivoactive 4, then it is all about the display. The Vivoactive 4 has transflective MIP display. On the other hand, the Venu 2 has AMOLED display which offers better quality. However, there are also many similarities and differences between them. Therefore, before making a quick decision for Garmin Venu or Vivoactive, we strongly encourage you to read down to the end. Because, the high quality display screen may not be the only reason for choice for many.
For instance, the price tag; let’s compare the latest rates for Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4. So, the Garmin Venu 2 is currently $399.99, whereas the Garmin Vivoactive 4 is currently $349.99. We could see that there is a 50 difference between the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu 2. This can be a huge factor, if you’re deciding between these two smartwatches. So, is Garmin Venu 2 worth buying instead of Vivoactive 4? We compared them side by side to decide which one is worth buying.
Here is the table we have put together to help you compare Garmin Venu 2 vs Vivoactive 4 side-by-side:
| Comparison of# | Garmin Vivoactive 4 | Garmin Venu 2 | Garmin Venu 2 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latest Price Tag | Rates on Amazon | Rates on Amazon | Rates on Amazon |
| Lens Material | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 |
| Bezel Material | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
| Case Material | fiber-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover | fiber-reinforced polymer | fiber-reinforced polymer with stainless-steel rear cover |
| QuickFit™ watch band compatible | yes (22 mm, Industry standard) | yes (22 mm, Industry standard) | yes (20 mm, Industry standard) |
| Physical size | 45.1 x 45.1 x 12.8 mm | 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm | 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm |
| Display resolution | 260 x 260 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels |
| Battery life | Smartwatch mode: Up to 8 days GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 18 hours | Smartwatch mode: Up to 11 days Battery saver smartwatch mode: Up to 12 days GPS mode with music: Up to 8 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 22 hours | Smartwatch mode: Up to 9 days Battery saver smartwatch mode: Up to 10 days GPS mode with music: Up to 8 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 24 hours |
| Water Resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi |
| Smartphone Music Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| On Device Music Storage | Yes, up to 650 songs | Yes, up to 650 songs | Yes, up to 650 songs |
| Memory | Data Recording for 200-hours | Data Recording for 200-hours | Data Recording for 200-hours |
| Highlighted Sensors & Features | Barometric Altimeter Gyroscope Heart Rate Monitor GPS & GLONASS & GALILEO Accelerometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Compass Thermometer | Ambient Light Sensor Barometric Altimeter Gyroscope Heart Rate Monitor GPS & GLONASS & GALILEO Accelerometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Compass Thermometer | Ambient Light Sensor Barometric Altimeter Gyroscope Heart Rate Monitor GPS & GLONASS & GALILEO Accelerometer Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Compass Thermometer |
| Help Score Snapshot | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Score and Insight | No | Yes | Yes |
| Compatibility | Android & iOS | Android & iOS | Android & iOS |
| LiveTrack & Incident Detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comparing Garmin Venu 2 vs Vivoactive 4: Key Differences
To begin with the key differences between Garmin Venu and Vivoactive 4, the Venu 2 just have some extra functions that the Vivoactive 4 does not have.
Here we have listed the most important functions that can make a difference:
On the Garmin Venu 2:
- Amoled display
- A resolution of 416 by 416 pixels
- It has an optional always on display
- It has a battery life up to 11 days
- Advanced sleep analysis and sleep score
- Music storage up to 650 songs
- Fitness age
- Health snapshot
- Hit workout tracking
- It has muscle mass workouts & animations
- Ambient Light Sensor
On the Vivoactive 4:
- It has a transflective display which is that Garmin display that we all know and love excellent in you know sunlight situations
- A resolution of 260 by 260 pixels
- The battery life here is up to 8 days
- It has your basic sleep tracking where you’re able to see more in-depth stuff by looking in the app.
- It has music storage up to 500 songs
- No on screen workouts & animations
- No Ambient Light Sensor
Display
On the Garmin Venu 2, we have an AMOLED display. On the other hand, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 has Garmin’s traditional transflective display. The AMOLED display excels the traditional transflective and its now everyone’s favorite for considering display quality. However, the Vivoactive 4 does have an always on display. You can choose the brightness settings from like 10% to 100%. We usually set it at 30%. When we tap the screen, it lights up. The Garmin Venu 2, basically it does not have an always on display.
There is an option for certain watch faces to have always on, but when you use the always on display, it brings your battery life to 2-days. So, we think that nobody’s going to want to do set the always on display on Venu 2 due to huge battery consumption. But, it does have a raise to wake and also when you tap the face, it turns on. We would like to see Venu 2 to be able give you that excellent battery life with the always on display like the Vivoactive 4 does.
Design
At first glance, it is quite difficult to distinguish from each other. Both Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4 are very similar in design. Basically, Garmin just copied the Vivoactive 4 and just made slight differences here.
We could see that they have the same size display which is 45 mm in diameter. Also, they have the same size watch band – 22 mm. Both bands are quick release watch band.
However, there’s definitely a difference in the heart rate sensors. As you can see from the picture below, the Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4 have different designs in back of the watches. But, when we have tested them, we basically get like the exact same results within like 2%. So, we think that both watches have great heart rate sensors.
Battery-life
About the battery life of Garmin Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4, with our uses, the actual battery life we got was 5 to 6 days for the Vivoactive 4 and 7 to 8 days for the Venu 2. So, obviously the Venu 2 has a better battery life in comparison to Vivoactive 4. Here’s the chart we’ve put together to list battery life expectations as Garmin claims:
| Battery-Life at | Garmin Venu 2 | Garmin Vivoactive 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Smart watch mode | Up to 12-days | Up to 8-days |
| GPS mode with music | Up to 8-hours | Up to 6-hours |
| GPS mode without music | Up to 22-hours | Up to 18-hours |
| Battery Saver Smart Watch Mode | Up to 12-days | Not Applicable |
Similarities Between Venu 2 and Garmin Vivoactive 4:
Now, we’re going to go into the similarities between the Venu 2 and the Vivoactive 4. They both have:
- Glass made of Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Same size watch bands
- Music storage capabilities
- A stainless steel bezel
- Two buttons on the side and the same kind of functionality there
- The same basic clock features and same health monitoring
- GPS built in
- Swim tracking
- Stress monitoring
- Animated workouts
- Bluetooth
- Water resistance up to 5 ATM
They’re an excellent kind of mid-level Garmin Watch where they can basically track everything the average person needs it to.
Garmin Venu 2S vs Vivoactive 4S: Key Point
We already compared the Venu 2 and Vivoactive 4. Now, you may wonder how Garmin Venu 2S vs Vivoactive 4S compares. Basically, it is almost as same as Venu 2 vs Vivoactive 4. Except, there are some additional benefits which come with the bigger size. The “S” is for the smaller size of the same watch. For instance, the Venu 2 has 45 mm case size whereas the 2S version (Venu 2S) comes in a 40 mm case.
Therefore, the Venu 2S and Vivoactive 4S are having smaller screen size, and resolution. As well as the display, the battery life of the “S” series are lower than the standart models, since there is less space to locate larger battery.
One more point, the band sizes of the “S” models are 18 mm nd they are interchangeable. On the other hand, the standard models have 22 mm bands (also interchangeable).
To sum up, all the key differences between Venu 2S and Vivoactive 4S are the same as the Venu 2 vs Vivoactive 4 comparison. Just, don’t forget the display size & resolution, battery-life and watch band sizes. In case, you would like to understand the differences between the “S” and standart models of Garmin, we recommend reading our “Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs 4S” post.
Bottom-line Garmin Venu vs Vivoactive:
On paper, the Garmin Venu 2 outperforms the Vivoactive 4. However, the real question is; do you use these features? Or are few more hours of battery-life and higher quality display important to you? If you can say yes and pay extra $50 for all these, then we will definetly recommend the Garmin Venu 2.
Frankly, we will pick the Vivoactive 4 instead of Venu 2, since we were using only the core functions most of the time and these are in common for both smart watches.
If you’re looking for a smartwatch, we recommend reading the following articles to better understand their design intents and functionality:
- Garmin Vivoactive 4 Review
- Compare Garmin Instinct vs Fenix
- Apple Watch Series 7 vs Garmin Fenix 7: Main Differences
- Comparison of Apple Watch Series 7 vs SE
- Apple Watch Series 6 vs 7: Updates & Upgrades
Garmin Venu 2 Review: Support and how to use video
Reference: Introduction to Garmin Venu 2 and its user manual
Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S support and how to use video:
Reference: Introduction to Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S and its user manual