Garmin Venu 2 Plus is one of the best smartwatches made by Garmin. It was released in January 2022. Fitbit Sense 2 was released sometime in September 2022.
In this comparison, we mark out the major features and differences between Gsrmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2.
Main differences
The main differences between Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 are mentioned in brief below:
- Venu 2 Plus is pricier than Fitbit Sense 2 by $150.
- Venu 2 Plus uses 3rd generation Corning Gorilla display lens. Details of the manufacturer of the Sense 2 display lens are not in the public domain.
- Venu 2 Plus comes in a single size of 43 mm. Fitbit Sense 2 comes in a single size of 40 mm.
- Venu 2 Plus offers full music coverage while the Fitbit Sense 2 lacks music features or functionality.
- Venu 2 Plus supports GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite networks. Fitbit Sense 2 can only do GPS and GLONASS.
- Garmin Venu 2 Plus supports ANT+, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Fitbit Sense 2 can only support Bluetooth connectivity.
- Venu 2 Plus supports fall detection. The fall detection feature on Venu 2 Plus is known as the incident detection feature. It notifies designated emergency contacts about the hard fall detected by the watch.
- Venu 2 Plus comes with 9 days of battery life on the standard smartwatch mode. Fitbit Sense 2 can do a maximum of 6 days of battery life. However, both watches support fast charging.
We look at these differences and other features in detail below.
Display specifications
Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 support AMOLED display. The AMOLED display yields the following advantages:
- With the AMOLED display, the display resolution is higher.
- Always-on-display or AOD mode support is possible due to the AMOLED display.
Apart from this, the 3rd generation Corning Gorilla Glass used in the Venu 2 Plus is one of the best glasses for the wearables industry.
The other display specifications are shared below for ready comparison.
| Display specifications | Garmin Venu 2 Plus | Fitbit Sense 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display lens | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | No information |
| Display shape | Round | Box or Square |
| Display size | 1.3″ or 33 mm | 1.58″ or 40 mm |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 pixels | 336 x 336 pixels |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Color display | Yes | Yes |
| Always-on-display | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Garmin Venu 2 Plus uses a better quality display lens than the Fitbit Sense 2. Venu 2 Plus has a higher display resolution than the Fitbit Sense 2.
Physical specifications
You will find the build quality of Venu 2 Plus way higher than the build quality of Fitbit Sense 2. Venu 2 Plus looks and feels like a sturdier watch.
The other hardware specifications of Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 are shared below.
| Physical specifications | Garmin Venu 2 Plus | Fitbit Sense 2 |
|---|---|---|
| iOS compatible | iOS 15 and higher versions | iOS 15 and higher versions |
| Android compatible | Android 7 and higher versions | Android 9 and higher versions |
| Watch size | 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm | 40 x 41 x 11mm |
| Watch weight | 51 g | 46 g |
| Thickness | 12.6 mm | 11 mm |
| Band size | 22 mm | Small and Large bands |
| Band material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Watch body | Fiber-enforced polymer with stainless steel rear cover | Aluminum |
| NFC or Contactless Payments | Garmin Pay | Fitbit Pay and Google Wallet |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM or 50 Meters | 5 ATM or 50 Meters |
| Device storage | 8 GB | 7 days of activity data |
| Speaker | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
Venu 2 Plus comes with an in-built speaker and microphone just like Fitbit Sense 2. However, Venu 2 Plus offers higher device memory or storage. It also has a stainless steel bezel and steel rear cover. The steel bezel lends a distinctly rich look to the Venu 2 Plus smartwatch.
GPS
Venu 2 Plus offers a reliable and accurate GPS experience. Venu 2 Plus supports GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellite networks.
The GPS performance in Venu 2 Plus is more accurate.
The additional support for the Galileo satellite network makes Garmin’s performance more precise and accurate in Europe. Remember that the Galileo satellite network is owned and managed by the European Space Agency.
Fitbit Sense 2 does offer GPS and GLONASS support. The missing support for the Galileo GPS network is a cause of concern. This could, potentially, affect GPS performance in Europe.
Apart from this, Garmin GPS performance is professional grade. Fitbit devices would be considered a secondary fiddle to Garmin as far as GPS performance is concerned.
If you want to experience reliable and accurate GPS performance, choose Garmin Venu 2 Plus over the Fitbit Sense 2. We have already explained the reasons above.
Wireless Connectivity
Garmin Venu 2 Plus supports ANT+, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
Wi-FI connectivity is essential as it can be used to pull firmware updates. The Wi-Fi connectivity also affords an opportunity to fetch audio content or to stream music directly using the third-party content providers.
ANT+ is a useful wireless technology. One of the best potential uses of ANT+ connectivity is to stream HRV or Heart rate variability data from your watch to an ANT-receiver device.
Fitbit Sense 2 only supports Bluetooth connection. The lack of Wi-Fi on the Fitbit Sense 2 is a big limiting constraint for the watch.
In terms of wireless connectivity, Venu 2 Plus trumps Fitbit Sense 2 by a lot. The missing Wi-Fi connectivity on Sense 2 is disappointing.
Music
Garmin Venu 2 Plus has full music functionality. This means you can do the following in terms of music on Venu 2 Plus:
- You can store music content on the smartwatch storage of Venu 2 Plus directly. It has 8 GB of device storage. The music stored on the watch can be used for offline listening.
- The music on the smartwatch can be managed directly from the watch.
- You can control and play music on the paired smartphone using Garmin Venu 2 Plus.
- You can stream music through third-party music providers like Spotify. For this, you will need to use Wi-Fi to connect to the music streaming provider. You will also need a premium subscription to the music streaming provider.
Fitbit Sense 2, however, does not support music functionality at all.
If you need music features on the watch, your choice would have to rest on Garmin Venu 2 Plus. Fitbit Sense 2 does not have any music capability.
Battery
Fitbit Sense 2 battery lasts for up to 6 days on the full battery charge. The battery drains at a faster rate when GPS is used on the Sense 2 smartwatch.
But, Sense 2 does support fast charging. This means that the full battery can be charged in a little over 90 minutes. With 12 minutes of charging, you can add a day’s worth of battery charge on the Fitbit Sense 2.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus battery can last for up to 9 days in the smartwatch mode. The battery backup for Venu 2 Plus in different watch modes is shared below.
| Watch mode | Garmin Venu2 Plus backup |
|---|---|
| Smartwatch mode | Up to 9 days |
| GPS mode | Up to 24 hours |
| GPS mode with music | Up to 8 hours |
| Battery Saver mode | Up to 10 days |
Since both watches support fast charging, the battery backup is not a very significant differentiator of the Venu 2 Plus and Sense 2 smartwatches.
Sensors
Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 come with a basic set of sensors for providing different functionality.
| Sensors | Garmin Venu 2 Plus | Fitbit Sense 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Barometric altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | No |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes (tempe sensor to be bought separately) | Yes |
| Heart rate sensor | Yes, Garmin Elevate Sensor | Yes |
| Blood Oxygenation sensor | Yes, Pulse Ox Sensor | Yes |
| NFC Receiver | Yes | Yes |
| cEDA Sensor for Stress tracking | No | Yes |
Fitbit Sense 2 lacks a sensor for the compass functionality. For other basic features and functions, Venu 2 Plus and Sense 2 have identical sensors.
Health monitoring
Fitbit Sense 2 did make significant health monitoring progress. It comes with an ECG app to take on spot electrocardiogram readings.
Some other important health tracking features have been placed in the Fitbit Premium subscription.
Fitbit Premium costs $79.99 annually. Or, you could opt for a monthly subscription amount of $9.99.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus also added the ECG app for talking on the spot ECG readings. Other health monitoring features on Venu 2 Plus are a part of the standard offering. There are no additional costs involved in tracking any health metrics on the Venu 2 Plus.
| Health monitoring | Garmin Vivoactive 4 | Fitbit Sense 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Resting Heart rate | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate variability (HRV) | Yes | Yes |
| ECG app | Yes | Yes |
| cEDA Sensor for Stress tracking | No | Yes |
| Respiration rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Oxygenation monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Stress monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Stress score | Yes | Yes (in Fitbit Premium) |
| Health Dashboard/Snapshot | Yes | Yes (in Fitbit Premium) |
| Temperature readings | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Glucose Tracking | No | Yes (in Fitbit Premium) |
| Women Health | Yes | Yes |
| Body stress scores | Body Battery | Daily Readiness Score (in Fitbit Premium) |
| Hydration | Yes | No |
| Fitness Age | Yes | No |
Fitbit Sense 2 has a rich set of health tracking features. However, the Health Dashboard and Daily Readiness scores are behind the paywall of Fitbit Premium.
In comparison, Garmin Venu 2 Plus offers all the regular health metrics and ECG without any incremental costs.
Costs
Fitbit Sense 2 costs $299.99. But the cost escalates very quickly if you were to take the Fitbit Premium subscription.
Fitbit Premium costs $79.99 on annual payments. The monthly subscription for Fitbit Premium costs $9.99.
Assuming a 2-year ownership period for Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Premium subscription, we are looking at a total cost of $460 or above.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus comes at a list price of $449.99.
For a 2 year period of ownership of Garmin Venu 2 Plus and Fitbit Sense 2 (with Fitbit Premium), the costs are identical.
Final verdict
Fitbit Sense 2 is a decent watch.
Our preference, however, is for the Garmin Venu 2 Plus for the following reasons:
- Venu 2 Plus has a better display lens
- Venu 2 Plus supports Wi-Fi, ANT+, and Bluetooth connectivity options.
- Venu 2 Plus supports GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite networks with exceptional GPS accuracy and dependability.
- Garmin Venu 2 Plus offers full music functionality.
- There are no additional subscription costs involved with Garmin Venu 2 Plus.
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