Garmin Venu 2 vs Garmin Forerunner 55: Which One Should You Buy?

The Garmin Venu 2, Garmin Venu 2s and Garmin Forerunner 55 are Garmin’s latest sports watches. Are you curious what exactly the differences are between these sports watches? You will find out in this comparison.

Design and operation

Both the Garmin Venu 2 and 2s have a fiber-reinforced polymer case surrounded by a stainless steel bezel. Both have AMOLED screens, and the Venu 2’s is slightly larger than the 2s. There is a suitable size for different wrist sizes. There are different versions/colors of both, and in terms of straps you also have the freedom to switch between Garmin or other manufacturers. You control the Venu 2 via the touchscreen or via one of the two physical buttons. The operation via the screen is not always pleasant with sweaty hands.

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is of a completely different order. This watch is only available in a 42mm case. Here too, a polymer housing with a 20 mm silicone band has been used. You can choose from several colors, but the whole looks simpler than the Venu 2 series. This is mainly due to the lack of the stainless steel edge, and the fairly large bezels around the screen also stand out. Control takes place via the five physical buttons that work fine.

• The Venu 2 is suitable for wrists with a circumference of 135-200 mm
• The Venu 2s is suitable for wrists with a circumference of 110-175 mm
• The Forerunner 55 for wrists with a circumference of 126-203 mm

Specifications

Activities and health

You can use almost as many health functions with the Venu 2 and the Forerunner 55 as the more expensive watches from the manufacturer. This gives you an idea of ​​the way you sleep with a display of your light, deep and REM sleep phases. You can also monitor your current stress level and view your overall stress level. That level is based on training, physical activity, sleep, and diet. With breathing exercises on the watch you can reduce your stress level again.

In addition, the watches keep track of your heart rate during the day and night, even under water. The heart rate monitor also warns you if the heart rate remains high while you are resting and during exercise you can see in which heart rate zones you have trained. The watch also displays your fitness age, based on your age, weekly activities, resting heart rate and body fat percentage. This way you can immediately see how fit you are.

1. Track your menstrual cycle
2. Tracking your sleep
3. Stress monitoring
4. Keeping track of your heart rate
5. Hydration Tracking
6. Measuring Respiration
7. Pulse Oximetry (Pulse Ox)
8. Energy monitoring with Body Battery
9. Animated workouts

Of course, the watches can count your steps, calories burned, floors and the distance traveled. There is also plenty of choice in the number of sports you can capture with it, from snowboarding to Pilates and from swimming to bouldering. If you are looking for a different sport, a specific data screen or watchface, you can go to the Garmin Connect IQ app. The range of third-party apps is a big advantage over other sports watch manufacturers. This gives you more options to personalize a watch.

Understand your body better

New features on the Garmin Venu 2 series are the Health Snapshot. This is a screen on the watch that allows you to view key stats about your health over a two-minute session. There’s also a new activity profile that allows you to record and track HIIT workouts through various timers. Think AMPRAP, EMOM, Tabata and custom workouts. The Forerunner 55 does not have this feature, as Garmin has only released them for the Venu 2 series and the Forerunner 945 LTE.

The Venu 2 also has a Pulse Ox meter to measure the oxygen level in your blood. As with other smartwatches that measure oxygen levels, these measurements are often not as accurate as a Pulse Ox meter that you attach to your finger. That’s why it’s better in my opinion to turn it off, because this way you save battery.

Reach your personal running goals

The Forerunner 55 is especially suitable for runners, which can be seen from the more extensive running functions. The Venu 2 records running, indoor track, and treadmill running for you. The FR 55 adds track running and virtual running. In addition, there is the PacePro function. This will give you the right guidance for your selected route or chosen distance. This way you can be more aware of your effort while running. Finally, the Forerunner 55 also includes interval workouts and the so-called Race forecast. The Race Forecast shows your predicted race times for 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon.

The recommended recovery time, suggested workouts, and cadence warnings should also help you become a better runner. By the way, sports such as swimming, cardio and cross training, step aerobics, Pilates, HIT training can also be tracked on this watch.

battery life

All in all, the Forerunner 55 is very similar to the Forerunner 45, but with a much better battery life. That battery life is also much better than that of the Venu 2. That is due to the transflective screen that consumes much less energy. As a result, the Forerunner 55 has a battery life of up to 2 weeks. The Venu 2 lasts up to 11 days on a single charge. That is still very long for a watch with AMOLED screen.

Smart Features

I classify both the Garmin Venu 2(s) and the Garmin Forerunner 55 as sports watches and not smartwatches. They are watches with smart functions and not so much smart watches as smartwatches are.

Both watches receive notifications from your smartphone and contain a function that allows you to find your phone. You can also use the function Find my watch use. In addition, you can download additional watch faces, widgets, apps and data fields from the Garmin Connect IQ app on both. Both allow you to control your music during a workout, but only the Venu 2 has music storage. You can then play music directly from the watch and leave your phone at home. Garmin Pay is only present on the Venu 2. This allows you to pay contactless with the watch. The Venu 2 also shows nice animations when you have achieved your step goal, for example. The Forerunner 55 doesn’t care so much about beautiful animations and more about functionality.

Due to the built-in accident detection on both watches, you can manually or automatically send a message to your contacts in an emergency. They will then receive an update of your real-time location. A similar feature is Garmin LiveTrack. While running or cycling, your partner or someone else you give permission to do so is aware of your location. The Forerunner 55 also has Share Live Event. With this you can share a running race with acquaintances. They will then receive messages with updates, including your LiveTrack location.

Conclusion

The Garmin Venu 2 series is intended for the athlete who is looking for a functional sports watch that also looks stylish. The Venu 2 lives up to this picture thanks to its beautiful case with stainless steel bezel and colorful AMOLED screen. That screen provides you with the usual data, but with beautiful animations. The watch can be worn on any occasion and provides you with all the functions that more expensive watches also have, such as music storage and Garmin Pay.

Garmin’s Forerunner series is aimed at runners and the Forerunner 55 is the latest and very affordable variant in this series. This watch gives you informative and easy-to-read data in a way that can help you reach your running goals, while also encouraging you (much like the Venu2) to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Simplicity is paramount with the Forererunner 55, functionality is more important than design.

Are you looking for a stylish, complete health smartwatch with many smart functions including fancy animations? Then the Garmin Venu 2 or Venu 2s is the best choice for you. Are you a novice runner or do you already run considerable distances? Are you looking for a sports watch to keep track of and analyze your running training? Not a fan of fuss? Then the Forererunner 55 is the best option of the two.

Buy Garmin Venu 2

The Garmin Venu 2 is available in different models, so you will always find a model that suits your personal style. The Venu 2 is available in Blue Granite/Silver and Black/Slate versions and the suggested retail price is EUR 449.

Buy Garmin Venu 2s

The Garmin Venu 2S is available in four finishes, namely Mist Grey/Silver, Light Sand/Light Gold, Rose Gold/White and Grey/Slate. The watch has a suggested retail price starting at 399.99 euros.

Buy Garmin Forerunner 55

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is available in four versions, namely black, white, aqua and Monterra Gray. The watch has a suggested retail price from 199.99 euros.