Garmin Venu Sq vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 – Which is Better?

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Featured in this post is the Garmin Venu Sq vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 – two fine fitness-focused smartwatches with lightweight and compact designs. Recall, that Garmin had recently released Venu Sq – a lower-end version of Venu that was released last year, it lacks an altimeter, AMOLED display, and animated workout modes, yet a comprehensive fitness tracker. Meanwhile, Active 2 which was released in 2019 is still one of the best smartwatches on the market. It runs on the same Tizen OS 5.5 as Galaxy Watch 3 and features ECG, blood pressure, and incidental fall detection. It has all the features Venu Sq lacks except for animated workout modes. In this post, we’re comparing the differences between these two to help you find out which is the perfect smartwatch for you.

Garmin Venu Sq vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
The Venu Sq is a lower-end version of Venu

Garmin Venu Sq vs Fitbit Versa 3: Specifications Compared

 
 
Product Info
Garmin Venu Sq features and specs

Garmin Venu Sq Specifications, Features and Price

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm) Full Specs and features

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm) Bluetooth Full Specifications and Features

Price $247.99 $156.97
ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE
Device name Garmin Venu Sq Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm)
Device type Fitness/Sport smartwatch Fitness/Classic smartwatch
Gender Unisex Unisex
Release date September, 2020 September, 2019
Predecessor Samsung Galaxy Watch Active
Successor Garmin Venu Sq 2 Galaxy Watch 4
Versions Garmin Venu Sq, Garmin Venu Sq Music Bluetooth only, LTE
BODY BODY BODY
Dimension 40.6 x 37.0 x 11.5 mm 44 x 44 x 10.9 mm
Weight 37.6g 30 grams (aluminum), 42 grams (stainless steel)
Shape Square Circular
Case material Fiber-reinforced polymer Aluminum, Stainless steel
Strap material Silicone Fluoroelastomer (Aluminum), Leather (stainless steel)
Bezel material Aluminum Aluminum, Bezeless
Strap size 20 mm 20 mm
Interchangeable strap 20mm, Yes Yes
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla glass DX+
Water resistance Yes, 5ATM Yes, 5ATM
Durability test MIL-STD-810G
Swim-proof Yes, recommended Yes, recommended
Color Black, Navy, Rose-gold, White Aqua-black, Black, Cloud-silver, Gold, Pink-gold, Silver
DISPLAY DISPLAY DISPLAY
Display size 1.3 inches 1.4 inches
Display type LCD Super AMOLED, Full color
Display resolution 240 x 240 px 360 x 360 pixel
Pixel density 261 PPI
Always on Yes Yes
Custom watch face Yes Yes
Input type 2 Physical buttons, Touchscreen 2 Physical buttons, Digital rotating bezel, Touchscreen
CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth ANT+, Bluetooth Bluetooth v5.0
Bluetooth calling No Yes
GPS Galileo, GLONASS, GPS Yes, GPS/GLONASS/BEIDOU
NFC Yes Yes
Wi-Fi Yes Yes
MEMORY MEMORY MEMORY
RAM 0.75GB
ROM 4GB 4GB
Memory card slot No No
CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
Technology None None
SIM type None None
Band
NOTIFICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS
SMS alert Yes Yes
Calls alert Yes Yes
Email alert Yes Yes
Event reminder Yes Yes
Third-party apps alert Yes Yes
Reply to Notifications - -
MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA
Audio mp3/mp4 mp3/mp4
Bluetooth music Yes Yes
Loudspeaker No Yes
Microphone No Yes
Camera No No
Radio No No
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS
Sensor(s)
ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING
Blood oxygen Yes No
Blood Pressure No Yes
Calories Yes Yes
Distance Yes Yes
ECG tracking No Yes
Heart rate monitoring Yes Yes
Sleep tracking Yes Yes
Steps Yes Yes
Floors climbed No Yes
Stress Yes Yes
Fall detection Yes Yes
Menstrual cycle Yes Yes
VO2 Max Yes Yes
Swim-tracking Yes Yes
Underwater heart rate tracking Yes No
On-screen workout No No
Sport modes 20 39
BATTERY BATTERY BATTERY
Battery type non-removable Lithium-polymer Non-removable Li-ion battery
Battery capacity 340mAh
Battery life GPS mode: 14 hours, Smartwatch mode: 6 days Regular: 2 days, Standby :5 days+
Charging type Charging dock WPC based wireless charging
Charging time 1-2 hours 1-2 hours
Solar charging No No
PLATFORM PLATFORM PLATFORM
Chipset Exynos 9110
CPU Dual core 1.15GHz
GPU
Operating system Proprietary OS Tizen 5.5
MISC MISC MISC
Companion app Garmin Connect Samsung Gear app
Compatibility Android OS 8.0+, iOS 15.0+ Android 5.0+ & RAM 1.5GB+, iPhone 5+ and iOS 9.0+
Payment system Garmin Pay Samsung Pay
Voice command No Yes, Bixby
Find my phone Yes Yes
Box content Charger, Garmin Venu Sq, Manual, Straps Charger, Manual, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 (44mm), Straps

Garmin Venu Sq vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 Features Comparison

DESIGN

When you look at the designs, each of these two has a decent appearance, and also sturdily built. While Venu Sq has a fiber-reinforced polymer case with aluminum bezel and silicone straps, Active 2 has an aluminum case that extends to its bezel while the straps come in silicone. The Active 2 is available in two sizes; 44mm and 40mm, the 44mm model is bigger than Venu Sq measuring 40.6mm. However, Active 2 at 10.9mm thick is slightly slimmer than Venu Sq at 11.5mm. Nevertheless, each of these two is very sleek and compact. I can wear the Active 2 all day long without feeling the need to remove it.

While AMOLED which is very colorful powers the 1.4 inches display of Active 2, LCD powers the 1.3 inches display of Venu Sq. AMOLED is more lively and richer in dark colors, but not the best experience under direct sunlight compared to LCD which is brighter under direct sunlight.

In terms of accessibility, Active 2 offers more ways to navigate the device. It has a touch-sensitive screen alongside 2 physical buttons plus a digital rotating bezel that makes it very much easy to navigate. Unlike Venu Sq whose screen is also touch-sensitive and paired with 2 physical buttons. Nonetheless, both smartwatches are easy to navigate.

Both smartwatches are swim-proof up to 50 meters and you get access to watch faces from the respective app stores.

In terms of design and display, Active 2 has a more sophisticated design and display than Venu Sq.

MEDIA

Active 2 is equipped with both a microphone and loudspeaker which Venu Sq lacks. This allows you to make and receive calls directly from the Active 2, and you can also use your voice to do simple tasks with Samsung’s Bixby.

Venu Sq supports Amazon Music, Deezer, and Spotify as means of loading music to the device, there is no official Amazon Music nor Spotify or Deezer apps on the Galaxy store. Meanwhile, you can add your personal music to both devices.

HEALTH AND FITNESS TRACKING

Active 2 and Venu Sq are marketed as fitness-focused smartwatches, each of these two has an inbuilt GPS that enables you to track your outdoor activities, and as well, can track your sleep in stages, heart rate, calories, and steps.

Both Active 2 and Venu Sq feature blood oxygen tracking that allows you to see your blood oxygen levels and there is the incidental fall detection on both watches that can help you get help real quick when the watch detects a hard fall. These two also feature a menstrual cycle app for women and can also help you manage stress through the respective stress apps.

However, Active 2 features blood pressure monitoring, ECG tracking, and will count floors climbed which Venu Sq lacks. Moreover, it also has 39 preset sport modes as against 20 on Venu Sq.

NOTIFICATIONS

Helping you manage notifications is one of the basic functions of both Active 2 and Venu Sq. You can reply to notifications with preset replies on any of these two. However, Active 2 offers more ways for you to manage notifications. You can type in your reply from the watch using the built-in Samsung keyboard, and you can also reply with emojis and your voice thanks to its microphone.

BATTERY LIFE

On average, I get approximately 2 days long battery life with Active 2 which is below Venu Sq that can last up to 6 days. In other words, Venu Sq has a longer battery life that lets you go longer from a single charge.

Garmin Venu Sq vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2: Verdict

Although each of these two will pass as a decent fitness smartwatch based on being lightweight and compact with loads of fitness tracking features, Active 2 is a more complete smartwatch than Venu Sq.

Active 2 has a more attractive design, better display, microphone, loudspeaker, and more fitness tracking features than Venu Sq.

On the other hand, Venu Sq is a cheaper alternative, yet a decent fitness smartwatch with a long battery life that lets you go long from a single charge.