Garmin Forerunner 955 vs Venu 2 Plus

Forerunner 955 and Venu 2 Plus are Garmin smartwatches with comparable costs. Both watches were released in 2022 and are relatively new variants in the Garmin range of smartwatches.

Which of these two smartwatches would you prefer to buy? We evaluate these smartwatches in detail below to help you get the one that is right for you.

Smartwatch features covered in this post

Main differences between Forerunner 955 and Venu 2 Plus

Venu 2 Plus has an AMOLED display while the Forerunner 955 uses the MIP (memory in pixel) screen.
Forerunner 955 offers a longer battery backup
Forerunner 955 supports multi-band GPS for accurate GPS data.
Forerunner 955 has higher internal storage than Venu 2 Plus
Forerunner 955 uses a better display lens than the Venu 2 Plus.
Venu 2 Plus has an in-built speaker and microphone.
Forerunner 955 comes with safety features of spectator messaging and Group LiveTrack.

The details of all these differences are shared below in great detail.

Display

The biggest feature that works for Venu 2 Plus is the AMOLED display. AMOLED display makes the screen brighter and improves the overall display experience.

The chief benefits of the AMOLED display of the Venu 2 Plus are:

Venu 2 Plus has a much better display resolution than Forerunner 955.
Venu 2 Plus supports AOD or Always-on-display feature

Forerunner 955 continues to use the MIP or memory in pixel screen.

A concise list of display specifications is presented hereunder.

Display specifications	Forerunner 955	Venu 2 Plus
Display lens	Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Display type	MIP (Memory in pixel)	AMOLED
Display size	33 mm or 1.3″	33 mm or 1.3″
Display resolution	260 x 260 pixels	416 x 416 pixels
Pixel density	282 ppi	452 ppi
Color display	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes

Physical specifications

There are marginal differences in the sizes of the Forerunner 955 and Venu 2 Plus. The device comparison is displayed below for ready reference.

Specifications	Forerunner 955	Venu 2 Plus
Watch size	46.5 x 46.5 x 14.4 mm	43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm
Watch body material	Fiber-enforced polymer	Fiber-enforced polymer with metal rear cover
Bezel	Fiber-enforced polymer	Stainless steel
Watch weight	52 g	51 g
Band size	22 mm	20 mm
Band material	Silicone	Silicone
Water rating	5 ATM	5 ATM
In-built speaker/microphone	No	Yes
Device storage	32 GB	8 GB
Recommended wrist circumference	130-220 mm	125-190 mm

You can see that the device storage of Forerunner 955 is four times the device storage of Venu 2 Plus. And, you do have an in-built speaker and microphone in the Venu 2 Plus.

GPS

Forerunner 955 comes with a multi-frequency positioning sensor. In other words, Forerunner 955 can support dual frequency.

Forerunner 955 can work on the multi-mode GPS mode to get accurate GPS data from multiple satellites at the same time. Multi-mode is very useful when the GPS signals are weak or are of degraded quality.

You can find more information about multi-mode GPS and how it works on this Garmin page.

Forerunner 955 also supports SatIQ technology to turn the multi-mode GPS on or off automatically. SatIQ is useful as it helps in optimizing battery usage of the watch.

The combination of multi-mode GPS and SatIQ promises a better GPS performance for the Forerunner 955.

This is the reason that we recommend Forerunner 955 for athletes, triathletes, serious runners, and cyclists.

Battery

The battery of Forerunner 955, expectedly, offers longer backup than the Venu 2 Plus smartwatch. Garmin watches can operate in different modes.

For each mode, the smartwatch offers different levels of battery backup. We have compiled the battery backup times for Forerunner 955 and Venu 2 Plus below.

Watch mode	Forerunner 955 backup	Venu 2 Plus backup
Smartwatch mode	up to 15 days	up to 9 days
GPS mode without music	up to 42 hours	up to 24 hours
GPS mode with music	up to 10.5 hours	up to 8 hours
All Systems GPS Mode without Music Battery Life	up to 31 hours	Not available
All + Multi-Band GPS Mode without Music Battery Life	up to 20 hours	Multi-band not available
All + Multi-Band GPS Mode with Music Battery Life	up to 8.5 hours	Multi-band not available
All Systems GPS Mode with Music Battery Life	up to 10 hours	Not available
Ultratrac mode	up to 80 hours	Not available

The backup offered by Forerunner 955 is pretty decent for serious runners. In comparison with the Venu 2 Plus, the Forerunner 955 does provide extended battery backup.

Activity profiles

The Forerunner 955 smartwatch does offer additional profiles in cycling, swimming, running, and outdoor recreation.

Venu 2 Plus offers an additional profile for cardio workouts in the Gym profile.

We look at the additional profiles offered by the Forerunner 955 smartwatches below.

Cycling profiles – Forerunner 265 has additional profiles for Mountain Biking, eBiking, eMountain Biking.

Swimming – Forerunner 265 has an additional profile for open water swimming.

Running – Forerunner 265 has additional profiles for Outdoor Track Running, Trail Running, Virtual Running, and Ultra Running.

Outdoor recreation – Venu 2 has additional profiles for Indoor Climbing, Bouldering, XC Classic Skiing, and Disc Golf

Cost

Forerunner 955 comes at a cost price of $499.99 while the Venu 2 Plus watch is available at a list price of $449.99.

Final verdict

Our money is on Forerunner 955 for various reasons. The primary reasons that make us pick the Forerunner 955 are:

Multi-mode GPS and SatIQ for improved GPS performance
Better device storage of 32 GB
Spectator messaging and Group LiveTrack safety features
Longer battery backup

Forerunner 955 is a better watch when it comes to the functionality of the watch.

Venu 2 Plus has an AMOLED display and an in-built speaker and microphone. The steel bezel of Venu 2 Plus also looks nice. For these reasons, you may like to get a Venu 2 Plus.

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