Earlier this summer, Garmin dropped a surprise release of a watch people weren’t expecting – a square faced watch. True, they had these before (in fact, their first square watch came out even before the original Apple Watch) but it had been a long time.
With its appearance, it caused many to wonder if Garmin was going after Apple Watch customers and I think, based on using it for a while, that was definitely what they were doing. This post will be a rundown of what it offers and if it is enough to pull people into the Garmin system.
The Garmin Venu X1 – The Watch That Beats the Apple Watch Ultra in Key Points
Link: Garmin Venu X1 – $799 (this is an affiliate link that supports the site)
Let’s get this out of the way right away – the X1 does not have the two-way communication with the iPhone and apps like the Apple Watch Ultra does. If you want a smartwatch that lets you handle many tasks like that right on your wrist, you need to just get an Apple Watch. If you want cellular connectivity on your wrist, get an Apple Watch.
But, if you want an Apple Watch-looking, fitness-centered watch that will give you notifications and a ton of metrics for your training, the Garmin Venu X1 is the one for you.
The price is the first indication (other than the square design) that Garmin is making it clear it is to target the Apple Watch Ultra crowd – it comes in at $799. I will say that this is a very high price for this watch. Sure, it has some great features but it is also lacking ECG which is something that even cheaper Garmin watches have. By and large, except for voice notes, all the features will be found in the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 970 which has better battery life as well.
So, who is getting this watch? It is definitely a great watch for someone who has been using an Apple Watch for a while and likes the square design and super bright display but they want a watch they don’t have to charge every other day.
The Apple Watch Ultra will get you through a couple of days and around 12 hours of GPS workout – the Garmin Venu X1 will give you up to 8 days of smartwatch mode but more like 2-3 days if you leave the display on all the time. With the Apple Watch and this one, I never leave the display on all day. The gesture response is good enough on both of these watches that I can quickly see what I need just by turning my wrist.
When it comes to a GPS activity, you are going to get around 15-16 hours with the X1 – an increase of 25% over the Apple Watch Ultra. Plus, you get the full suite of Garmin metrics and Garmin Connect to dive into your fitness and see the various data points that you need to help you in your training. When I have used Apple Watches, I always missed the level of details and the options for metrics on the display that Garmin gives me.
For example, I normally have my Garmin running data screen setup to show me:
- Heart rate for the lap
- Distance
- Lap pace
- Cadence
- Stamina Distance (a Garmin metric that shows how far you can go at that effort)
- Time of Day
That is much more than I get from Apple – and that is just some of the dozens of options that Garmin gives me. So, the X1 is a great watch for someone that wants the metrics and battery life that Garmin offers while still having a big square screen.
And that display is really something else. Estimations put it around 2,000 nits of brightness while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is 3,000 nits. But, there was not a situation where I didn’t find the X1 to be bright enough – in fact, almost too bright.It worked great in the bright sunshine and the 2″ display gives much more information than the Apple Watch Ultra. You really see its potential when using the map display with overlays. It is a great detailed display that gives you all the information you need with just a glance at it.
Then there is the software – Garmin really leaned into this to make it very touch friendly. While many Garmin watches are touch displays, with the multitude of buttons that many have (as many as 5 or 3 like other Venus), I rarely use the touchscreen. But, the X1 has only two buttons and no crown so it really does rely on using touch.
And that is not a problem since the on-screen buttons are big enough to hit on the go so you won’t have any problems with that. It is actually a fun watch to use with the touch though I am still more of a buttons guy.
And Garmin did all of this while making it so much thinner and lighter than the Apple Watch Ultra. This was something that I couldn’t stand about the Apple Watch Ultra – it just felt too bulky on my wrist. When running ultra marathons, I didn’t like the way the Ultra fit. With the X1? I hardly knew it was there it was so light.
What the Garmin Venu X1 Does Better than the Apple Watch Ultra
So, what was Garmin’s point with making this watch? The Garmin Venu X1 acts like it was a watch that was made to answer the pain points of Apple Watch Ultra users and to show Apple what they could make the Ultra 3 to be.
- Garmin made the X1 with much better battery life
- And they did it in a much thinner and lighter body
- They gave it a larger display that still is incredibly bright
- They made the on-screen buttons large and easy to tap on the go
- They have their awesome software with offline mapping ready to go (not a thing with Apple natively)
- They included a light (something that you will not be able to do without once you have it!) instead of just using the display
All in all, Venu X1 will not be a watch for everyone but it is a great case to show Apple Watch Ultra users what is possible in that form factor with an even lighter and thinner profile. For the Apple Watch Ultra user jealous of Garmin battery life, this is a great watch.
For most Garmin users, unless you want a big touchscreen, there are other watches that would likely be better for you – the closest one being the Garmin Forerunner 970. It is $50 cheaper and has almost everything the X1 has plus a bit more.
At the end of all this, I am still more of a round watch guy so the other Garmin’s appeal to me more. But, I know that there are those that will be drawn to this big screen Garmin.
This post is to show what the X1 is like compared to Apple Watch Ultra and to show what can be done in that form factor. But, to read more on this and the technical aspects of the watch, check out DC Rainmaker’s post and video.
In just a few hours, Apple will announced the Apple Watch Ultra 3 – let’s see if they took Garmin’s strong nudge and increased battery life in the AWU3!
