Garmin Venu 4: my pick if you’re looking for an Apple Watch alternative

The Venu 4 is Garmin’s answer to the Apple Watch, and this new version can track your workouts just as accurately and for longer.

It can be exhausting keeping up with the number of fitness watches Garmin launches as it battles to keep its loyal users happy and lure in new ones who might have different demands of a training companion. The new Venu 4 is a case in point. Garmin’s new offering is still every bit a sports watch, adept at tracking runs, rides, a round of golf and everything else in between.

This latest Venu can now use your voice to take control when you don’t have a spare hand to tap the touchscreen. It’s capable of detecting signs of a serious heart condition and shows how daily and nightly routines impact your fitness levels.

That’s all while living pretty stylishly on your wrist and making sure you’re not grabbing the charger every few days like some other smartwatches.

I’ve spent a month testing the Garmin Venu 4 to see if Garmin can at last go toe-to-toe with its big rival Apple.

Garmin Venu 4 design

The majority of Garmin’s watches do still scream sporty. The Venu 4 though goes a little against the grain. Like the previous Venu, it comes in either 45mm or 41mm case sizes. They cost the same and get you the same features. It’s simply a matter of whether you want to strap on a small or larger watch. Bear in mind that even the bigger size still feels pretty svelte.

Garmin has added steel to toughen it up and offers strap colours aplenty. You can go bold and colourful or keep the look more low-key. It now has a built-in LED flashlight, which doesn’t sound that exciting until you find out how useful it is. Nights tiptoeing around the house without putting the main light on, navigating the poorly lit route to the gym or dark sections of running trails have all helped me appreciate its inclusion.

Depending on size, you’ll be glancing down at either a 1.2-inch or 1.4-inch colour screen. This provides bright, vibrant surroundings for checking stats in real-time, seeing if your Training Readiness scores have dropped off a cliff after a hard workout, or confirming you’ve banked enough good quality sleep.

Garmin Venu 4 performance

Garmin’s tracking bread and butter lies with running, swimming and cycling. In the case of the Venu 4, that includes golf too. Better tracking support for other workouts is changing. Especially if you favour strength training over an interval indoor bike session.

Its Coach training platform has expanded to incorporate strength training. Now you can follow plans on and off the watch that last anywhere from 4-6 weeks, serving up 3-5 workouts a week to help you achieve your goals. Strength and mobility is now more a part of the training conversation if you decide you want to better your performances in the pool or out running the trails.

If you’re struggling for inspiration on what to do on a workout day, Garmin’s daily suggestions now go beyond running and cycling. You’ll also see recommended general fitness workouts, equipped with on-screen animations so you know what you’re doing.

For outdoor workouts, there are improvements too, including the move to Garmin’s latest multi-band positioning technology. This means the Venu can tap into multiple frequencies from the major satellite systems to boost tracking accuracy. I found that particularly useful when training near tall buildings or densely wooded areas. You now have more tools at your disposal when you wander off the beaten track. This is a watch that can help you navigate your way to the finish point and find you the quickest route back home.

Other Garmin Venu 4 features

I view the Venu 4 as a smartwatch that wants to do a bit of everything. Looking for something to do a solid job of tracking outdoor workouts and measuring effort levels during indoor ones? It’s more than capable of doing that. It’s a showcase of the features and performance that still makes Garmin a leader in the space for tracking exercise from the wrist.

Where it begins to distinguish itself from other Garmin watches is the way it pays closer attention to the time you’re not powering through sets and reps. Take sleep, where a new sleep alignment insight helps you better align sleep with your body’s natural circadian rhythm. It takes three week’s worth of sleep, exercise and temperature data to arm you with information to make smarter decisions about your recovery time.

New lifestyle logging brings context to your data. Simply inputting behaviours like caffeine intake, when you’ve consumed a late meal or used sleep aids to get to bed can help you understand why you’re feeling fresh or struggling for energy.

That’s all while giving you the good stuff most new Garmins are capable of. Like the bucket loads of available sports modes, serving up training metrics that are simple to understand along with close to two weeks worth of battery life. Or just under a week if you must keep that screen on at all times.

Garmin Venu 4 verdict

If you’re looking for a sports watch that behaves more like a smartwatch, the Garmin Venu 4 has got you covered. The morning and now new evening reports nicely summarise daily and nightly events, while making workout recommendations to keep you on track of your goals.

You can make voice calls or use your voice to perform functions like adjusting screen brightness or checking the weather. The software experience that wraps everything together is slick too. More so than Garmin’s Connect smartphone app, which does fortunately let you fire out data to other fitness apps including Strava.

Garmin Venu 4 technical specs

Display	AMOLED
Display resolution	454 x 454 / 390 x 390 pixels
Display size	1.4 / 1.2 inches (diameter)
Connectivity	Bluetooth, WiFi
Weight	38 / 33g (excluding strap)