Why You Can Trust CNET The Garmin Venu 2 Plus: A Great Gift for Fitness and Smartwatch Lovers Alike
Because there is a world beyond the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch.
- Webby Award honoree, 2x Gold Telly Award winner
There's no shortage of great smartwatches to give as a gift, but if you want one of the most flexible options, something that works with Android and iOS, that's the Garmin Venu 2 Plus. It's ideal for anyone who wants a flexible watch that can keep an eye on their activity and get notifications from their phone.
Why it's a great gift: You might associate Garmin watches with fitness enthusiasts only, but the Venu 2 Plus is the first real hybrid smartwatch I can wholeheartedly recommend for people who aren't necessarily athletes first and foremost. It has a bright, circular AMOLED display, plus a speaker and mic so you can talk to your voice assistant or take quick calls on your wrist when your phone is within range. You can access plenty of third-party apps like Spotify. And of course, you can track a range of different workout types and get extra details like sleep data, recovery metrics and accurate heart-rate monitoring.
The battery life is also second-to-none. Some other watches can barely last one to two days on a full charge, but even with the screen in always-on mode, tracking workouts and sleep, you can get a week or more from the Venu 2 Plus before needing to charge it. You can read our hands-on with the Venu 2 Plus for more details on how it goes head-to-head with the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch.
What you'll pay: The Venu 2 Plus retails for $450 but sometimes is on sale for less than $400. If that's still out of your budget, definitely consider the regular Venu 2, which has most of the same features, apart from the speaker and mic.
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