
We loved the stainless steel bezel and attractive silicone strap that blends everyday sports watch with sleek and modern design. The little sister of our best buy, the venu 2S matches it in pretty much every aspect, apart from size. Overall, though, this is a great buy and a clear winner. It does have Garmin Pay, although we found this was limited. It is compatible with both Androids and iPhones, connecting via Bluetooth, which means you can get notifications via your watch so you’ll never miss another “like”. In terms of other key specs, you get 11 days of battery life in smartwatch mode (or eight hours if you have the GPS and music on), and it is water resistant up to 50 metres. If you do buy the venu 2 we’d recommend getting to grips with the animated workouts or yoga sessions as soon as possible, as it really brings it to life. It has an eye-catchingly high resolution, which makes it a joy to train with. The best bit, though, is the AMOLED display, which is little short of beautiful. The data displayed is tailored to the activity, so you can see things like breath rate, stroke rate, elevation or heart rate, depending on your sport of choice. In total, it tracks more than 25 activities – from running to rowing, pilates to paddleboarding. We found it balanced this monitoring with advanced activity tracking well, with a responsive touchscreen that makes it super easy to use. It tracks your respiration, hydration and stress levels, and also enables you to take a two-minute health snapshot. Its focus is on all-day health and wellbeing, with key features including energy monitoring, which shows just how charged your body is, and sleep scores, so you can better understand the quality of your snooze. Announced in April, the venu 2 is aimed at helping users live a healthier life.
