The Venu and Fenix 6 are among Garmin’s most popular GPS smartwatches. Simply put, the Garmin Venu is more affordable and designed for life and style, while the Garmin Fenix 6 is more expensive and made for outdoorsy types—think hikers and mountain climbers. In choosing between the two, the most important factors to take into account are durability, activity tracking, and battery life. We’re here to make their differences clear and help you decide which one will suit your needs best.
Get a cutting-edge fitness companion with the Garmin fenix® 6 multisport GPS watch. Features built-in activity profile, performance metrics, satellite navigation, Vo2 Max plus more.
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Garmin Venu vs Fenix 6 Comparison Chart
| Model | Garmin Venu | Garmin Fenix 6 |
 | | |
| Price | Check Price at Garmin.com | Check Price at Garmin.com |
| Screen Size | 1.2″, 390 x 390 | 1.3″, 260 x 260 |
| Display Type | AMOLED touchscreen, Always-on mode (optional) | Sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel |
| Lens Material | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass DX |
| Bezel Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Strap Material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Battery Life | Up to 5 days, Up to 6 hours with GPS and music | Up to 14 days, Up to 36 hours with GPS |
| Water Rating | 5 ATM | 10 ATM |
| Heart Rate Tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Hydration Tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration Tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Stress Tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Sports App | Yes | Yes |
| Music App | Yes | No |
| Safety and Tracking Features | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Notifications | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Pay | Yes | Yes |
| Weight | 0.10 lbs | 0.17 lbs (steel), 0.12 lbs (case only) |
| Year of Release | 2019 | 2019 |
| Colors | Slate, Gold, Rose Gold, Silver | Silver |
Design
The Garmin Venu looks more like a lifestyle watch for everyday use, while the Fenix 6 is more rugged and built for the outdoors.
Taking a look at the two, the first thing that’ll jump out at you is that the Garmin Venu has a stylish design, while the Fenix 6 has a more rugged look.
The Garmin Venu’s display is more attractive and vibrant than the Fenix 6’s because of its AMOLED touchscreen, but that comes at a cost. For starters, its battery life isn’t on par with other Garmin models. It’s also not that visible under the sun.
On the other hand, the Garmin Fenix 6 is equipped with a transflective memory-in-pixel display that offers better visibility outdoors. However, it’s not that visible indoors. Considering that it’s made to be used outside, that isn’t much of an issue. One thing that could be a problem is its weight. It’s a bit on the heavy side, but that comes with a worthwhile payoff: It’s tough as a tank.
Activity Tracking and Other Features
The Garmin Fenix 6 has more training features than the Venu.
When it comes to activity trackers, you’d be pressed to find anything lacking in the Garmin Venu and Fenix 6. They have all the basics, including a step counter, stress tracker, and sleep monitor, to name a few. They’re also packing plenty of sensors to monitor your body and workouts and keep track of your stats.
Both of them have Body Battery Energy Monitor that gives you an estimation of how much energy you have based on heart rate variability, activity, and stress. Things like Pulse Ox and TrueUp are also in the mix.
The Garmin Venu GPS smartwatch features a bright touchscreen, wrist-based heart rate, pulse ox sensor, body energy monitoring, sleep tracking, animated workouts and more.
One notable feature the Garmin Venu has that the Fenix 6 doesn’t is animated workouts. You use these as a guide to make sure you know how to properly execute workouts.
Meanwhile, the Garmin Fenix 6 has ClimbPro and PacePro, the latter of which is a welcome addition for runners who want to improve their runs by a mile (or miles, if you’re taking it literally). On top of that, it has UltraTrac for hikers and provides open-water swimming metrics for, well, swimmers. It also doesn’t hurt that it has mapping and navigation features. In short, it can track a lot of activities and give you a ton of info to develop future training plans.
Smart Features
Thanks to its music capabilities, the Garmin Venu is a bit “smarter” than the Fenix 6.
Both the Garmin Venu and Fenix 6 come with the usual smart features, such as notifications, Garmin Pay, safety and tracking functions, weather, and calendar.
That said, the Garmin Venu has one clear advantage over the Fenix 6: You can download songs from services like Spotify and Amazon Music on it—up to 500 songs, in fact. Pair that with Bluetooth earphones and you’ve got phone-free listening, so you can just leave your smartphone at home when you’re, say, going out for a run.
For the record, you can control music that’s playing on your phone via the Garmin Fenix 6, but that’s just about it.
Battery Life
The Garmin Fenix 6 can stay on for up to two weeks, while the Venu can barely make it through one week.
One of the most important things to consider when getting a smartwatch is how long you’re willing to go between charges. At that, the Garmin Venu is expected to last up to five days on smartwatch mode or six hours with GPS and music on.
Meanwhile, the Garmin Fenix 6 has a battery life of up to 14 days or 36 hours with GPS on. If that’s not enough for you, you can turn on the Battery Saver mode and go up to 48 days on a single charge.
Verdict
The Garmin Venu has a more attractive AMOLED display and is “smarter” in a sense, but the Fenix 6 is the better and more reliable workout companion.
The Garmin Venu GPS smartwatch features a bright touchscreen, wrist-based heart rate, pulse ox sensor, body energy monitoring, sleep tracking, animated workouts and more.
Get a cutting-edge fitness companion with the Garmin fenix® 6 multisport GPS watch. Features built-in activity profile, performance metrics, satellite navigation, Vo2 Max plus more.
Comparing the two wasn’t easy since they’re really apples and oranges, but if we had to choose, we’d pick the Garmin Fenix 6 any day over the Garmin Venu. Sure, it’s pricier, but considering its durability, activity tracking, and battery life, it’s a sound investment. Not to mention that features like PacePro and ClimbPro are just too hard to pass up.
FAQs
Yes, the Garmin fenix 6 is highly durable smartwatch with plenty of advanced smart features for fitness tracking, outdoor recreation, and more.
No, the Garmin Venu does not have routable or visual maps that you can use to navigate.
Yes, you can answer phone calls that the Garmin Fenix 6 is notifying you of and it displays the caller’s name (if saved as a contact) or phone number. However, to actually proceed with the conversation, you’ll need to use your connected smartphone.
Yes, the Garmin Venu is fully waterproof so you can wear it in the shower.