Garmin beefs up battery for new Venu Sq 2
Garmin is launching two new wearables at IFA 2022. The $249.99 Venu Sq 2 is an update to its affordable GPS smartwatch line, while the $89.99 Black Panther version Vivofit Jr. 3 gets a new special edition band.
The Venu Sq 2 is mostly an iterative refresh. The OLED screen is a smidge bigger at 1.4 inches. It’s also included its Health Snapshot feature, which lets users log a two-minute session that simultaneously records metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, respiration, and stress. Both of these updates are fine, but the most significant change is that it’s nearly doubled battery life from six days to 11 days. Like the original Venu Sq, it’ll also come in a Music version that can store up to 500 songs on the watch. As usual, the Music version costs an extra $50 at $299.99. Speaking of price, the entire Venu Sq 2 lineup is $50 more than the original, probably because inflation has finally come for our gadgets.
Like its predecessor, the Venu Sq 2 includes over 25 built-in GPS and indoor sports apps, as well as preloaded cardio, strength, yoga, HIIT, and pilates workouts. Users can also create their own workouts from 1,600 exercises, as well as access Garmin Coach training plans. As for health features, it supports Garmin’s Body Battery recovery metric, stress tracking, sleep tracking, and menstrual cycle and pregnancy logging. As for smart features, it has Garmin Pay, smart notifications, and access to Garmin’s Connect IQ third-party app store.
Meanwhile, the new version of the $89.99 Black Panther Vivofit Jr. 3… looks a lot like the original but adds purple etchings on the band. So if your kid wished the older solid-black version was more colorful, then good news: it’s… slightly more colorful now. Garmin has a ton of Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney princess-themed trackers, and this happens to be one of them. (And, not all of them are for children.) The tracker itself allows kids to unlock app adventures, games, and icons related to their favorite Avengers, as well as earn “Infinity Stone” points. For parents, the tracker includes an emergency contact widget, and the Garmin Jr. app lets you assign chores to your children in exchange for virtual coins that can be redeemed for whatever you wish to reward them with. It also has a replaceable battery that lasts up to one year.
Both the Venu Sq 2 and the special edition Black Panther band are available now. The Venu Sq 2 has a suggested retail price of $249.99 and $299.99 for the Music Edition. The regular Venu Sq 2 comes in shadow gray / slate, white / cream gold, and cool mint / metallic mint color combinations. The Music Edition comes in black / slate, ivory / peach gold, and French gray / cream gold. Meanwhile, the newer Black Panther Vivofit Jr. 3 will cost $89.99 and is available in limited quantities from Garmin’s website only.
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