Sunday Runday
On this weekly column, Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks talks concerning the world of wearables, apps, and health tech associated to operating and well being, in his quest to get quicker and healthier.
I’ve solely worn the Garmin Venu X1 for just a few days. It took me a month to guage the Forerunner 970 expertise within the context of previous fashions. However the Venu X1 is such a weird unicorn of a smartwatch that there is no want for cautious consideration or in-depth evaluation. Let’s discuss probably the most polarizing, oddball watch that Garmin has ever made!
I’ve seen the Reddit threads responding to early Venu X1 patrons, calling it “ugly AF” or like a “dangerous Apple Watch Extremely.” I feel the response could be much less visceral if the Venu X1 did not price $799, with no Venu 4 in sight. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless evoking the Apple design language, for a neighborhood that is spurned Apple Watches for years.
As a Garmin megafan, I am unable to assist however giggle on the indignation, if solely as a result of Garmin watches…aren’t handsome, y’all. You are accustomed to the rugged design, however they’re nonetheless cumbersome, thick, and lack the posh model of a “regular” watch. The Venu X1 is merely a extra synthetic tang of the identical bitter medication all of us take to get nice health insights.
What extra justifiably rubs Garmin hard-liners the incorrect approach is that this uber-skinny smartwatch has an eight-day battery life that falls to 2 days with always-on show (AOD), or simply 14 all-systems GNSS hours, so that you burn at the very least 7% battery per hour of monitoring. Garmin watches often last more the extra you pay; the Venu X1 inverts that expectation.
And out of doors the health sphere, the Apple followers Garmin is focusing on will love the look however be bewildered by all the things else.
I’ve by no means worn a smartwatch just like the Garmin Venu X1; nobody has
The Venu X1’s positives are primed to fall on deaf ears due to the way it shakes up Garmin’s established order. And it is a disgrace, as a result of my goodness, the X1 is snug to put on.
It takes up extra wrist house than I am used to, however as soon as that is normalized, I barely discover it. Going from my 71g Apple Watch Extremely 2 or 75g Fenix 8 47mm, my 39g Venu X1 is heavenly, whereas exhibiting me extra information than I am used to seeing. Most Garmin watches weigh about 50–55g, however with out all that display house.
And from the facet, it is simply so dang skinny! Individuals would possibly initially suppose the Venu X1 seems “unnatural” in top-down photographs, however from the facet in individual, it seems proportional and unassuming on my wrist, the place a standard smartwatch protrudes awkwardly.
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Individuals who purchase health bands just like the 31g Fitbit Cost 6 can get double the display actual property of a health band for a couple of quarter-ounce of additional weight. They will admire that the Venu X1 places a lot much less stress in your wrist for sleep monitoring than most smartwatches, too.
My fiancee, an everyday Apple Watch wearer, loves the look and the way skinny it’s, and does not thoughts that it is proportionally a bit massive for her wrist in trade for the scale and brightness. And he or she scoffed at the concept that every week of battery life wasn’t sufficient.
That is why the premise of a giant, skinny watch would not be so outlandish…if the Venu X1 did not undergo from Garmin’s post-tariff value inflation and goal Garmin’s traditionalist energy customers with an $800 price ticket.
The obvious use case for a 2-inch, 448 x 486 show is maps, and Garmin’s strict function tier listing means it will not put offline maps on a less expensive watch. It is irritating, however in keeping with Garmin’s technique. So moderately than observe up on the Venu Sq 2 or Venu 3, Garmin made this new Extremely various with a full suite of instruments that solely hardcore customers want.
I am unable to wait to take the Venu X1 out on hikes and observe trails, or to plan out my golf photographs on my native programs. And in the event you subscribe to Out of doors Maps+, you possibly can’t get a greater view except you purchase a GPS handheld.
Flip-by-turn navigation works on a round watch as a result of the main target is solely on the arrow, however this 2-inch squircle cuts off the limiters and allows you to see extra context round you, while not having to zoom out. The identical goes for exhibiting extra buttons across the map edge with out blocking content material or making menus bigger and extra readable.
Like my Forerunner 970 and Fenix 8, the Venu X1 may be laggy when utilizing maps, a consequence of Garmin’s battery effectivity. Anybody used to an Apple Watch will most likely care much less concerning the further topographic element and need it had been as speedy as Apple Maps.
The Garmin Venu X1 is caught between two audiences
This is the principle drawback with the Garmin Venu X1: It may possibly solely be this skinny by missing the CPU and RAM of conventional smartwatches or the lengthy battery lifetime of health watches.
Garmin’s target market (Apple converts) will miss their apps, messaging, and Siri. And the UI is liable to overwhelm them with data and premium health options that will not be related to their lives. The inexpensive, restricted Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a greater gateway for first-timers.
As for Garmin energy customers, the Venu X1 has almost all of the premium options of the Forerunner 970 in a extra snug package deal. However these individuals are accustomed to perks like multi-week battery life and Up/Down buttons throughout coaching.
Different health watch followers would fortunately commerce battery life for consolation…however they don’t seem to be those who would spend $800. They’d moderately spend $200 on a Fitbit.
That is why I feel the Venu X1 will find yourself a distinct segment gadget, too superior and costly for health casuals however too hamstrung by its skinny design for hardcore followers. However for individuals who hit that area of interest candy spot, they’re going to completely like it: The Venu X1 is cozier and lighter than some other watch this measurement, the show is implausible for displaying a ton of knowledge, and it has almost each function the Fenix 8 does for $200–300 much less.
