The gold standard in fitness smartwatches, Garmin has managed to create a loyal customer base over the years. It’s probably the only smartwatch that can match (and in some departments surpass) the Apple Watch. No, Fitbit is great but Garmin is something triathletes swear by.
What we got to experience is the Garmin Venu SQ Music edition, which functions like an amped-up song for fitness enthusiasts, which, sad to say, I’m not. More of a person who likes to wear workout clothes to a cake shop but WFH life has gifted me a few minutes to get my feet moving and tackle all that marshmallow muscles.
Impressive heart rate sensor and GPS
Out of the box, the Venu SQ is all that I expected — light on the wrist, outstanding strap and a touchscreen that’s highly receptive. Being a user of a competitive brand, it took quite a few minutes to get the functions straight. Once I got that spot on, the smartwatch automatically made me leave the chair. What a Garmin smartwatch does is excites you to find a fitness routine, if you don’t have one. There are so many functions packed into the device that you are sort of challenged to try them out. I did get challenged. I did (somewhat) move around. And I do have a couple of pettifogging details that we will get into later.
Setting up the watch didn’t take too long. The Garmin Connect app is the home to all your fitness data while the watch shows some basic stuff. Though fitness-focussed, there are a few things to keep in mind. The ‘Music’ version allows you stream and download playlists from Spotify and Amazon Music. For Spotify, you need to have a premium account to sync. Once you download, the same can be played back through Bluetooth earbuds, which is fair enough. Second, you can keep track of notifications, so WhatsApp messages and so on do get displayed and if your watch is connected to an Android phone, you can reply with template-inspired texts.
For most of us, a simple workout — like jogging, running or brisk walking is enough. What amazed me is the amount of details that the watch can gather about any fitness routine; there are plenty of breakups for you to analyse. If you really want to dial it up to 11, try swimming or cardio… things that make the watch really shine. From the kind of strokes to breathing, everything can be captured. Deviations? Yes, there will be but ever so slightly. A gym routine involves a lot of heavy lifting and arm movements, yet the heart rate sensor is spot on. Such pinpointed data is not handled by a Xiaomi or a Realme smartwatch.
The GPS tracking on the watch — though it takes a few seconds to latch on to the signal — is as good as that on Google Maps. If you go for a run and then tally the route details, the difference will be like a feet or less. Plus, heart rate monitor stays steady. If you are a perfectionist, you can manually tweak some data — like distance covered during a workout. You can also add hydration-related data but that has to be done manually.
The watch is slim, lightweight and can be worn 24x7 The Telegraph
Body Battery metre shines
An ECG or electrocardiogram monitor is missing but like on the Apple Watch Series 6, there is the option to get notifications in case there are spikes above a certain threshold or a fall. There is also a way to measure Pulse OX but it’s something I wouldn’t rely on any smartwatch. It’s best to get a pulse oximeter into action. What I didn’t like is how it has to be set-up for the first time. After digging deep into the menus, I found it in the settings. Advice: Add it as a widget. The reading was fine and I tried using the Apple Watch and Garmin simultaneously; Garmin showed on average 96 per cent while Apple had it at 98.
More interesting is the Body Battery meter, which measures the amount of energy reserves you have for the day. A higher number means you are charged up for the day while a lower number means you are drained and may need a break. Rest and good sleep charges your body battery and wearing your device continuously helps secure an accurate reading. The readings make sense.
The other three features that you can also take seriously are breathing rate and estimated VO2 max (gauges and improves athletic performance), stress monitoring (I was cool as a cucumber while writing this piece!) and sleep tracking (the app gives a peek into a tremendous amount of data). We wish Garmin had kept the gyro sensor.
Is it for you?
What you get from a smartwatch with a tremendous degree of smarts is six days of battery life if you keep things like always-on display and brightness level under check. It’s a brilliant figure to have. Plus, there is the Garmin Coach right on your wrist to train for a 5K or 10K marathon. Many users swear by the feature. In case you are not interested in the music and streaming aspect, there is always the simple Venu SQ (Rs 21,090), which is around 5K cheaper. The real value proposition of the Garmin Venu SQ Music (Rs 26,290) is the high level of data accuracy. It’s for those who want to monitor their performance
Apple Watch SE or Garmin Venu SQ Music?
The Telegraph
In way of navigation, the Apple Watch SE has a crown, which makes navigation super smooth, especially when it is combined with the touchscreen. On the Apple product there is an altimeter which is missing on this particular Garmin device. But when it comes to battery life, it’s Garmin all the way. In case you don’t need access to music, go for Garmin Venu SQ, which is substantially cheaper (but powerful) than the Music edition and Apple Watch SE
Enough sensors have been packed into the Garmin Venu SQ Music
Enough sensors have been packed into Garmin Venu SQ Music The Telegraph
High notes
⚫ Excellent battery life
⚫ Accurate fitness and health tracking
⚫ In-depth sleep tracking
⚫ Strong vibration motor
⚫ You can access offline music streaming service downloads
Muffled notes
⚫Lacks AMOLED display
