The new Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a lot of similarities with the Fitbit Sense. The new watch is the first Garmin smartwatch to be equipped with a loudspeaker and microphone that enables it to make and receive calls directly from the watch via Bluetooth connection to your phone. These features are also present on the Sense. No doubt, these are some of the best smartwatches on the market right now. While the Sense is still Fitbit’s most advanced smartwatch, the Venu 2 Plus is a new flagship on the Garmin lineup. So which is a better smartwatch between these two, let’s take a deep dive into what each of these two has got to offer to help you make a more informed decision.

Garmin Venu 2 Plus vs Fitbit Sense: Specifications Compared

Garmin Venu 2 Plus vs Fitbit Sense Features Compared

Design – Venu 2 Plus has a more attractive design

Both the Venu 2 Plus and Sense are well designed. Each of these two has got a remarkable design. Both are very lightweight, compact, and also stylish. While the Sense has a body made of aluminum, a fiber-polymer case with a stainless steel rear cover has been used for Venu 2 Plus. The Venu 2 Plus with a stainless steel bezel and circular shape looks more adorable and classy than Sense. Meanwhile, Sense has a square shape that leaves it with a geeky/sporty appearance than a classic one.

Both smartwatches are also rated 5ATM which means each of these two can survive immersion in water up to 50 meters. In other words, you can wear any of these two to the pool, shower or under the rain.

Going by the sizes, the Sense is a slightly more compact smartwatch than Venu 2 Plus. It also weighs a little less. I never had any issue wearing my Versa 3 all day long.

In terms of navigation, both smartwatches have touch-sensitive displays. However, while Venu 2 Plus which has 3 physical buttons, the Sense has a haptic button. Even though I’m not a fan of the haptic button, I’d preferred only 2 buttons on the Venu 2 Plus, it’s less cloggy.

Nonetheless, each of these two has got a decent design that is comfortable to wear. The Venu 2 Plus has a better design, it’s more classy.

Display – Venu 2 Plus has a more colorful display

Both smartwatches have displays powered by AMOLED. While Venu 2 Plus has a 1.3 inches display, the Sense has a 1.58 inches display. Although, the Venu 2 Plus with a 416×416 resolution compared to 300×300 of Sense, has a more colorful display.

Both smartwatches feature always-on display mode that can be enabled and as well have customizable watch faces. You can choose from the many available watch faces in the Fitbit app or Garmin Connect app.

Health Tracking

Although smartwatches do not replace your doctor or qualified professional, health tracking has remained a big factor in the industry. And these two offer all the basics and even advanced health tracking features. Both smartwatches will track all the basics from heart rate, sleep, stress, calories, menstrual cycle to blood oxygen. Thanks to the long list of built-in sensors on these two.

It’s worthy to note that up till now, the Spo2 feature on the Sense is not on-demand. You can only see your blood oxygen level via a SpO2 watch face after you must have worn it to bed. Meanwhile, the Venu 2 Plus like other Garmin smartwatches features a spot check for blood oxygen levels.

Moreover, there is incidental fall detection in the Venu 2 Plus. This feature allows the watch to call and text a preset emergency contact when the watch detects a hard fall. Incidental fall detection can also be activated manually by long-pressing the top button on the Venu 2 Plus. Fitbit Sense lacks incidental fall detection.

Both smartwatches have inbuilt GPS, so you can track all your outdoor locations, pace, routes, and more. You will also get onscreen animated workout modes that you can follow on both smartwatches. Although, Venu 2 Plus features an onscreen muscle map that shows which muscle is worked, unlike Sense which lacks this feature.

ECG tracking is present on the Sense but absent on Venu 2 Plus. You can use this feature to check for irregular heart rhythms which can be a sign of atrial fibrillation. It’s surprising that Garmin hasn’t deemed it worthy to include this feature in their smartwatches especially now that Samsung, Apple, and Huawei have all added ECG to their rich lineups.

Going by the list of health tracking features, you will get more with Venu 2 Plus. Although, Fitbit Sense is still very fitness-focused especially with ECG present.

Music Storage

Each of these two has about 4GB of storage capacity that lets you store music on the device. For reasons best known to Fitbit, you can’t add your personal music to the Sense. You can only download your playlists from Spotify and Deezer. Meanwhile, with Venu 2 Plus, you can download your Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer playlists. You can also add your personal music to the watch. In other words, Venu 2 Plus offers more ways to enjoy music on the watch. You can play music aloud via the loudspeaker on these two watches if you prefer it that way. Although to get the best experience, you need to connect a Bluetooth headphone.

Bluetooth Calls and Voice Assistants

As a result of the built-in microphone and loudspeaker on these two smartwatches, you can make and receive calls directly from any of these when your phone is nearby. Although, for now, the only way I found to make a call from the Sense is by using Google Assistant. Meanwhile, the Venu 2 Plus just like Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 7, features a keypad and also syncs your phone contact list to the watch so that you can easily start a call on the watch. Making and receiving calls on these watches is best when you connect a headphone.

While Sense features two voice assistants, Venu 2 Plus features three voice assistants. You get Google Assistant and Alexa on the Sense, while it’s Google Assistant, Siri and Bixby on Venu 2 Plus. Only one voice assistant can be active at a time on the Sense. With the Venu 2 Plus, the voice assistant that gets activated depends on the phone you’re using. Siri is activated if you use an iPhone, Bixby for Samsung phone and Google Assistant for other android phones.

Managing Notification and Making Payments

Both the Sense and Venu 2 Plus will alert you when you receive a notification on your phone. Both smartwatches also allow you to reply to messages with preset quick replies, voice, and emojis.

You get Fitbit Pay on the Sense which allows you to make a non-contactless payment from the watch. Its Garmin Pay on the Venu 2 Plus.

Battery Life – Venu 2 Plus has a longer battery life

With any of these two, you’ll get multiple days of battery life. Although, the Venu 2 Plus with up to 9 days battery life offers a longer battery life than the Sense which lasts up to 5 days. There is a battery saver mode in the Venu 2 Plus that can get you up to 10 days of battery life. Fitbit didn’t deem it wise enough to add a battery saver mode to the Sense and Versa 3.

Garmin Venu 2 Plus vs Fitbit Sense – Which is Better?

Going by all the watches we have reviewed, these two are some of the very best you can get in 2022. Each is well designed, has a long battery life and is loaded with lots of features. However, the Venu 2 Plus is clearly a winner here. It’s a better smartwatch than Fitbit Sense. It has a more stylish and classy design, longer battery life, more ways to enjoy music, more voice assistants, and a longer list of health tracking features. Although, it will cost you $150 more.

If you are low on budget, the Fitbit Sense is a great choice Or you can check out the Galaxy Watch 4 which is a more comprehensive smartwatch but has short battery life.

Fitbit Sense and Venu 2 Plus Best Prices