The Apple Watch Series 11 may be shipping today (September 19), but I want the new Garmin Venu 4 instead. The latest Garmin offers advantages across the board over the latest flagship Apple Watch. For fitness and sleep tracking, in particular, the Venu 4 seems to have the Series 11 beat.
The Venu series is arguably Garmin's best-looking smartwatch line — the Venu 4 is nearly identical to those Venus before it — boasting a sleek metal case design and a bright AMOLED touchscreen paired with physical controls.
Now available in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, here are the five biggest reasons I'd choose the new Garmin Venu 4 over the Apple Watch Series 11 (along with two reasons for choosing the Apple Watch instead).
Buy the Garmin Venu 4: In-depth sleep tracking
Apple Watch users now have a sleep score metric of their own to match Garmin's — finally. But the sleep tracking tools and insights offered in the Venu 4 supersede those aboard the Series 11.
Both devices keep tabs on the consistency of your bedtime, sleep stages, and sleep disturbances, but Venu 4 takes things further. A new Health Status feature monitors your heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and more while sleeping over a period of nights to form a wellness baseline that's then used to predict signs of potential illness and/or heightened stress.
The Venu 4 also has Garmin's Body Battery metric, which is a reflection of your overall energy levels based on recent workouts and sleep patterns. Best of all, it updates dynamically throughout the day. Apple still lacks a metric of this sort.
Buy the Garmin Venu 4: Better battery life
While the Apple Watch Series 11 received battery life improvements over its predecessor, from 18 hours per charge to 24 hours per charge (or 38 hours in low-power mode), the Venu 4 lasts a whole lot longer.
With the always-on display, the Venu 4 lasts up to four days per charge (or 12 days without it). When using GPS to track an activity, the Venu 4 is rated for up to 20 hours of use. The Series 11, meanwhile, is rated for 8 hours of use with GPS tracking.
Buy the Garmin Venu 4: Multi-band GPS
Speaking of GPS, when it comes to location tracking in areas with spotty views of the sky — like in midtown Manhattan or the middle of the North Cascade National Park — the more bands the better. While the Apple Watch Series 11 GPS is a single-band affair, the Venu 4 boasts a more reliable multiband antenna.
For runners, hikers, and anyone who enjoys tracking outdoor activities, this will likely result in greater location and elevation data accuracy. That said, I've got both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Garmin Venu 4 headed my way, and I can't wait to test their precision head-to-head. Stay tuned for that!
Buy the Garmin Venu 4: Onboard LED flashlight
Forget turning up the screen's brightness to max output to find your way; the new Garmin Venu 4 sports an LED flashlight with adjustable output hidden within the case.
An awesome feature borrowed from my favorite Garmin watch, the Instinct 3, Garmin's on-wrist "Torch" light has come in handy on numerous occasions, from locating dog poop in the dark to finding my lost phone in bed without waking my sleeping partner. It can also be activated with a button press, no screen interaction required.
Buy the Garmin Venu 4: Suggested workouts for 25 activity types
Apple's new AI-powered, personalized fitness coach, Workout Buddy, is no doubt cool, but it requires a paired iPhone 15 Pro or later to actually use it. The feature is also focused especially on running at launch.
Meanwhile, the Garmin Venu 4 offers exercise suggestions for 25 different activity types beyond running via the Garmin Coach app. For example, based on your recent workout history and preferred activity type, you can receive recommendations for cycling, walking, rowing, weight training, HIIT workouts, and more.
Buy the Apple Watch 11: Price
Garmin increased the price of the Venu 4 by $100 compared to the Garmin Venu 3. Regardless of whether you choose the 41mm or 45mm model, the Venu 4 is $549, a full $150 more than the Series 11 starting price.
The Series 11 starts at $399 for the smaller 42mm non-cellular model or $499 for 5G. The 42mm Series 11 starts at $429 or $529 for 5G. It's worth noting here that the Garmin Venu 4 does not support cellular connectivity.
Buy the Apple Watch 11: Smart features and apps
The Garmin Venu 4 offers basic smartwatch features like onboard music storage, support for Google Maps, and tap-to-pay, but it doesn't have nearly the same amount of smart features as the best Apple Watch models, including the Series 11.
Not only are the latest Apple Watch models jam-packed with native apps, but the number of apps available for the wearable in Apple's App Store is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
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