Garmin Venu 4 review: Your do-it-all companion, from meetings to mountain biking

Date:
Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:02:11 +0000

Description:
The Garmin Venu 4 combines the power of a Forerunner 570 with the functionality of a Galaxy Watch

FULL STORY ======================================================================One-minu te review

The Garmin Venu 4 is a gem, and one that should satisfy moderate-to-serious exercise enthusiasts that want a great smartwatch with a generously sized battery and heavy focus on fitness. While it isnt as rugged as the
Forerunner, Instinct or Fenix range, this is a watch better-suited to people who want an unobtrusive, premium-looking watch for the office and a
powerhouse for runs and rides, something between a Samsung Galaxy Watch and a regular Garmin.

The Venu 4 delivers on this promise, packing a suite of features from the
best Garmin watches into its sleek-looking stainless steel body and bright screen. Its missing a few features that you might expect to find on an Apple or Samsung smartwatch, such as LTE connectivity and full-color maps and at this price tag, you might miss at least one of them.

The operating system, as slick as it is, also has a few cumbersome quirks: Im so used to Google and Apples raise-to-speak voice assistants that to use the upper button and touchscreen to get to Garmins voice assistant functionality, which I use to set kitchen timers and the like, seems almost archaic and counter-intuitive.

However, these are small niggles: generally speaking, the watch performs admirably. While the lack of full-color directional maps is disappointing,
the interface works just fine when following courses during runs, and the voice assistant is as responsive as Siri, if not as sophisticated as
on-device AI such as Gemini. The battery, said to be up to 12 days of use in smartwatch mode, is an accurate measurement: I wore the watch for around 10 days before needing to charge it, with quite a bit of working out. The heart rate readings from Garmins Elevate V5 sensor are accurate enough for all but elite athletes, but Ill touch on that more in the Performance section of the review.

New health tools such as Lifestyle Logging and Health Status are useful, especially the self-reporting Lifestyle Logging structure, which allows you
to assign tags to your day (caffeine, alcohol, healthy meals, heavy meals and so on) to show the effects of different stimuli on your metrics.

Garmins usual suite of outstanding metrics are present and correct: as a regular runner, I find stride length, cadence and so on useful for tweaking
my technique, and Garmins Race Calendar and Primary Race widgets are second
to none. Its a worthy buy for anyone who wants a Garmin, but doesnt like the outdoorsy look so many of them share. Garmin Venu 4: Price and availability (Image credit: Future) $549.99 in the US 469.99 in the UK AU$949 in Australia

The Garmin Venu 4 costs $549.99 / 469.99 / AU$949, and this is true for both the 41mm and 45mm sizes. You get the choice of Silver, Slate and Lunar Gold colors I have the Slate option, and it looks great and you can pay an additional $50 / 50 /AU$69 for other bands. Im seriously considering
splashing out on a brown leather band, which would really set off the look of the Slate.

Value-wise, this is around the price of a more expensive Apple or Samsung Galaxy Watch8 Classic, and Id say thats about right for where this sits in
the market; what it lacks in smart communication credentials, it makes up for in battery life and fitness features. Theres no getting around this is a
price rise over the older Venu 3, but the premium metal body and additional features make it worth the tradeoff.

Value score: 4/5 Garmin Venu 4: Specifications

Component

Garmin Venu 4 (41mm)

Garmin Venu 4 (45mm)

Price

$549.99 / 469.99 / AU$949

$549.99 / 469.99 / AU$949

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12 mm

45 x 45 x 12 mm

Weight

46g with band

56g with band

Case/bezel

Stainless steel/Polymer

Stainless steel/Polymer

Display

390 x 390px 1.2-in AMOLED display

454 x 454px 1.4-in AMOLED display

GPS

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

Battery life

Up to 10 days

Up to 12 days

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Water resistant

Yes, 5ATM

Yes, 5ATM Garmin Venu 4: Design (Image credit: Future) Stainless steel body upgrade Redesigned UI Brighter screen but bezels are thick

If youve got this far in our review, youll know I like the look of the Garmin Venu 4. Whereas the stainless steel element of the 3 was confined to the bezel, with the case itself made of plastic, Garmin has expanded its use of steel to include the case as well, and it looks all the better for it. The dark metal of my Slate model is understated and classy, and I cant wait to pair it with a leather strap. The screen is bright, but the bezels could be slightly thinner for my taste. Still, its hard to complain about the looks of this watch.

As opposed to its more outdoor-oriented watches such as the Fenix, Forerunner and Instinct series, the Garmin Venu 4 has two buttons instead of five. Its snappy and responsive touchscreen does most of the heavy-lifting when it
comes to navigating, although you can configure the buttons to operate on
long and short presses. A long press on my back button ignites the LED torch (a great addition on all the best Garmin watches now), while a long press on my upper start button summons the Controls tab, through which I can activate the Voice Assistant, Find my Phone, DND and other functionalities quickly.
Its a nice system.

The redesigned UI isnt quite as smooth and seamless as watchOS or Wear OS,
but it isnt far off. Garmin used to look downright basic in comparison (which I think had a charm all by itself to be honest, and part of me misses it),
but it looks great and works well in practice when youre swiping through widgets or teeing up a workout. Garmin users who choose to upgrade will find the new setup intuitive to use, as will first-timers.

Design score: 5/5 Garmin Venu 4: Features (Image credit: Future) New Health Status and Lifestyle Logging Usual suite of excellent fitness tracking features Speaker, microphone and LED torch

Tons of great features abound here. The new Health Status feature looks at five key metrics during sleep: heart rate, HRV, respiration, pulse ox and
skin temperature. It details whether all of your metrics are in their normal range, and if one or more is out of whack, something is afoot.

Often, this can be combined with the Lifestyle Logging feature to self-diagnose potential issues. Lifestyle Logging allows you to tag your day with the amount of caffeinated drinks, meditation, alcohol, healthy meals, heavy meals, cold showers, or other custom tags you might care to add. If
your skin temperature is outside your healthy range and you logged some alcoholic drinks at a party the day before, or your HRV is off after a day of too much caffeine, youll know what to change to bring yourself back in line. Still, it will be a cold day in hell before Garmin makes me give up my
morning coffee.

The usual suite of wellness and fitness features are present, with the Venu 4
like the rest of the best Garmin watches excelling at running and cycling, in particular. Training plans from Garmin Coach, local courses generated in the Garmin Connect app and upcoming races can be loaded onto your watch to turn it into a training powerhouse. Advanced metrics such as power for cyclists, and ground contact time or vertical oscillation for runners really empower the watch to be particularly helpful for connoisseurs. I also use it to time my rest periods in the gym between sets a useful feature in the Strength workout profile to keep my mind on my workout. Im missing full-color maps here, but the basic follow-along directional arrow for longer courses will be good enough for most.

Smarts-wise, the Controls tab features the Find my Phone and Voice Assistant functionalities, which are serviceable and useful but pretty basic. There are no on-device AI smarts here, but I can set a timer easily enough. The LED torch is eminently useful in three tiers of powerful white light and a less aggressive red option for night runs. A speaker and microphone allow you to take calls on-wrist, which is useful in a pinch. However, without the option to connect the watch to your network without a phone via LTE, its a convenience rather than a necessity.

Features score: 4.5/5 Garmin Venu 4: Performance (Image credit: Future) Elevate V5 sensor is accurate compared to industry-standard heart rate
monitor Battery life performs as described The watch was comfortable and useful throughout the testing process

I compared the Garmin Venu 4s Elevate V5 heart rate sensor to a chest strap the Polar H10, described as the most accurate heart rate monitor available to most people, and used by professional and amateur athletes alike during a couple of workouts.

During my tests, after a brief bit of initial variation, the Garmin Venu 4 tightened up and matched the Polar H10s readings very closely. After a 30-minute run, the Polar H10s average beats-per-minute for my heart rate registered as 156bpm. The Garmin Venu 4 registered 151bpm.

For training purposes, thats certainly close enough for most it isnt really a serious statistical outlier although I suppose it could be closer. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, which I also wore during this run, registered 155bpm. Still, 5bpm out across the entirety of the workout isnt anything to worry about, and a good enough estimation to indicate the Elevate V5s accuracy.

Battery life performs as described, too: the watch lasted a full 10 days with multiple workouts before needing a top-up. The Venu 4 was comfortable to use and better to sleep in than a lumpy Fenix I hardly took it off all week.

Performance score: 4.5/5 Garmin Venu 4: Scorecard

Attribute

Comments

Score

Value

About right for its place in the lineup, but not a huge bargain

4

Design

Looks great and is intuitive to use. Top marks

5

Features

I would have loved LTE and full-color maps, but theyre my only quibbles

4.5

Performance

Accurate, long-lasting and looks great on wrist in the office. Enough smarts for most.

4.5 Garmin Venu 4: Should I buy? Buy it if...

Youre looking for an all-rounder

This smartwatch can be worn looking smart to social occasions, dressed up
with a change of strap, and out on the trail. View Deal

You want battery life

Forty-two hours for the Apple Watch Ultra 3? Try 10 days with the Venu 4.
View Deal

Youre a keen outdoor exerciser

While this will work fine for the gym, its a bit of a waste for gym-bunnies: it really shines on runs, hikes and rides. View Deal Don't buy it if...

Youre a rugged adventurer

Those who spend their lives in the wild might prefer an Instinct or Fenix instead. View Deal

You want the smartest watch

If youre looking for LTE connectivity, an AI voice assistant and seamless phone connectivity, you might be better off with a Wear OS or Apple Watch. View Deal Also consider

Component

Garmin Venu 4 (41mm)

Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm)

Samsung Galaxy Watch8 (40mm)

Price

$549.99 / 469.99 / AU$949

From $399 / 369 / AU$679

From $349.99 / 319 / AU$649

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12 mm

42mm x 36mm x 9.7mm

42.7 x 40.4 x 8.6mm

Weight

46g with band

30.3g (42mm)

30g

Case/bezel

Stainless steel/Polymer

Aluminum with a metal back or Titanium (100% recycled)

Armor Aluminum

Display

390 x 390px 1.2-in AMOLED display

Always-on Retina LTPO3 display Wide-angle OLED at 374 by 446 (42mm)

1.3-in super AMOLED

GPS

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou

GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo

Battery life

Up to 10 days

24 hours, 38 hours in Low Power Mode

Up to 30 hours

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, second-generation ultra-wideband chip, and 5G
(Optional)

Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3

Water resistant

Yes, 5ATM

WR50 and IP7X

Yes, 5ATM

Apple Watch Series 11

The best all-around smartwatch for iPhone users, and a solid Venu 4 alternative.

Read our full Apple Watch Series 11 review

Samsung Galaxy Watch8

A terrific smartwatch and the best for Samsung users. Great run tracking, although again, battery life suffers compared to the Venu 4.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch8 review View Deal How I tested

I wore the Garmin Venu 4 for two weeks, drained the battery down while completing gym, running and hiking workouts. I used features such as
Lifestyle Logging, tested the Voice Assistant, ECG functionality, ran at
night with the torch enabled, and conducted an accuracy test against the
Polar H10 heart rate monitor and Apple Watch Ultra 3.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/garmin-venu-4-review


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)