Garmin Venu SQ Music
Specs:
- Battery Life: 5-6 days
- Size(s): (Venu) 43mm; (Venu SQ) 41mm x 37mm
- Color(s): (Venu) Black, Light Sand, Granite Blue, and Gold; (Venu SQ) Orchid, Shadow Gray, White, Black, Light Sand, Moss, and Navy
- Screen: AMOLED 1.2″ (Venu); LCD 1.3″ (Venu SQ)
- LTE: No
- Built-in GPS: Yes (golf coarse maps, ski resorts, hiking trails, and more
- Wrist Straps Type: 20mm (industry-standard)
- Tracking Metrics: Steps, sleep, heart rate, Fitness Age, Body Battery™, hydration level, blood oxygen level, barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, calories, menstrual cycle, hearing protection, and compass
- Special Feature(s): Expansive fitness, health, and wellness tracking
- Music Storage: Yes (500 Songs; only on Music editions)
- Memory Capacity: 4GB (200 hours of activity data)
- Waterproof Rating: 5 ATM
Pros
- Best-in-class health, sport, and activity tracking brand
- Save Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer playlist directly on the watch (ONLY ON MUSIC EDITIONS)
- Great battery life
- 20mm pin setup for endless watchband options (industry-standard)
- Circle or square style options
- Venu SQ model is the best bang-for-your-buck versus any other Garmin wearable
- Beautiful AMOLED (Venu) and LCD (Venu SQ) displays
- Slim and compact style is great for smaller wrists
- Lightweight and comfortable chassis
Cons
- Small screen on Venu SQ
- AMOLED (Venu) and LCD (Venu SQ) displays are best for indoor sports, workouts, and other activities
- No replying or “Quick Reply” texting on iPhone
- No ECG heart rate (PPG heart rate sensor is still very good)
- No LTE version
- Always-On mode doesn’t show complete watchface like their more common transflective displays
Conclusion
Even though Garmin is the gold standard of fitness-tracking wearables, it’s not always their flagship models that impress. The new Garmin Venu SQ (Music Edition) is your best choice if you’re looking for a nice mix of smartwatch features, but you don’t want to make any sacrifices in sport, health, and wellness tracking.
Slimmed Down Design
While many of Garmin’s past wearables are on the bulky side compared to traditional smartwatches, even the circular Venu model measures in at under 44mm. For people with smaller wrists, the Venu SQ (and SQ Music) is the best choice by far.
Besides fitting most wrists, the 20mm industry-standard pin setup gives you the freedom to find a matching watchband for any style and activity.
Main Downside: Display
The biggest difference we noticed is that the AMOLED and LCD displays on the Venu Series show very limited information in the Always-On mode. On top of that, some watch faces don’t show ANYTHING for the Always-On mode display.
The biggest downside to the AMOLED and LCD screens on the Venu and Venu SQ is how they look in the sun. When it comes down to it, nothing beats the transflective displays that most GPS watches are known for.
On the other hand, if most of your workouts are in a gym or other indoor/covered setting, you won’t notice a difference.
Garmin Connect
The best part of every Garmin wearable is the access to Garmin’s health and wellness monitoring platform that stretches across phones, tablets, PC’s, and more. It’s not as simple and straightforward as the Fitbit app, Apple Health, and other popular tracking platforms, but it has the most advanced features to help you grow from any fitness level.
Especially if you’re new to wearables, and Garmin in particular, the Garmin Venu Series is the best entry-level fitness-first smartwatch. Yet, it’s still powerful enough for advanced athletes.
Garmin Venu Series
Watchband Alternatives
Best Fitness Watchbands
Your best options to replace those stock watchbands are hook-and-loop nylon sport loops. Similar to the strap on the Apple Watch Sport Loop, it’s comfort and fit is second-to-none. The soft nylon elastic strap moves with you and keeps the Heart Rate sensor in constant contact, so you get the most accurate biometric tracking possible. With any other strap, you’re wasting the tracking potential of any wearable. If you buy a sports car, you want the tires that offer the best performance, right?
Hook-and-Loop Sport Straps ARE the best performing “tires” for your GPS and smartwatches. Available in 20mm, 22mm, and Apple Watch compatible versions, your color options are almost endless. Here are the brands with the best options (Click one to see color and bundle options):
Best 20mm/22mm Bands
Best Apple Watch Bands
For some more of the best options to replace the stock watchband on the Garmin Venu Series, we have a list of our top 3 favorite watchband brands. Whether you like sporty silicone straps for fitness or elegant leather bands for formal occasions, all three brands have a HUGE variety of watchbands to choose from. On top of that, they all feature quick-release pins, so you can swap out bands quickly and with no tools.
Best True Wireless Earbuds For Pairing
Take advantage of the Venu SQ Music’s onboard music storage with a pair of true wireless earbuds. Things like durability, sound quality, and fit are important for any type of use. That’s why we organized our favorite true wireless earbuds by the style of usage, so you can zero in on the features that are important to YOUR lifestyle…
Best Garmin Venu Alternatives
Not everybody needs a powerful GPS watch like the Garmin Venu Series. Especially for casual gym-goers, there are many fitness-first wearables with more basic tracking and features that would be just as beneficial and could save you money. On the other hand, you might be looking for more smartwatch features like apps and LTE.
Whatever the need, we found the best alternatives for you. Check out our ultimate guide to the best wearables, so you can find the perfect smartwatch or fitness tracker for your lifestyle.