The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu are among the smartwatches launched by Garmin at IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany. These three are equally well equipped to track your active life comprehensively. And the design is topnotch leaving each of these three with a decent appearance, but there are differences in the display, case size, battery life, and weight. We’re comparing the Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Venu specs and features, so you the differences and which is right for you.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs 4S vs Venu – Specifications

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What’s the Difference?

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The difference between the Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu is that the later has a more interactive and lively display than the former, but however has a lower battery life than the Vivoactive 4/4S

• Design


The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu have same appearance, it’s a decent and stylish one, that no doubt makes each of these three a nice wear for any outing. These three are durable as fiber-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover material has been used for the respective cases, and as well are compact.

However, AMOLED powers the display of the Venu compared to transflective memory-in-display (MIP) that powers the display of both the Vivoactive 4 and 4S. AMOLED offers a more interactively and decent display than the transflective MIP display but it is easier to read outdoors than the AMOLED.
So for those of us who like to workout outdoors will enjoy the Vivoactive 4/4S more as it would be easier to see complications on the display.

The case sizes also vary with the Vivoactive 4S having the least case size of 40mm compared to the Venu’s 43.2mm and the Vivoactive 4’s 45.1mm. This makes the Vivoactive 4S a great choice for those with a smaller wrist, while the Vivoactive 4 will be more befitting wear for those with a fatter wrist.

Although these three watches are slim and sleek, the Venu with 12.4mm thickness size is slimmer than both the Vivoactive 4 and 4S which leaves it with a slightly more attractive appearance.

The Vivoactive 4 has the biggest display which means you get to see more at a glance compared to the 4S with a 1.1-inch display and the Venu’s 1.2 inches.

• Fitness Tracking

Akin to Garmin’s smartwatches, each of these three is fitness-focused and well equipped to track your active life comprehensively. So, with any of these three, you can be sure to get the same fitness tracking features.

Some of the notable additions to the Vivoactive 4 and Venu that’s not present on the Vivoactive 3 are the new animated workout that coaches you through your favorite moves, wrist-base heart rate tracking while swimming, as well as pulse ox sensor that tracks blood oxygen level and the battery energy monitor that can help you train only when you’re fit.

Below are some of the fitness tracking features Garmin has built into the Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu.

• Steps, calories, fitness age, sleep monitoring, and all-day stress tracking.
• Available indoor gym activities include; indoor rowing, strength training and cardio training.
• Training and planning features include training load, training effect, and activity history on the watch.
• Running features include running, treadmill running, and trail running.
• Heart rate sensor tracks your heart rate variability to give you insight on your heart rate zones, max heart rate, and recovery time to help you manage the intensity of your training so that you can achieve more fitness goals without breaking down.
• Outdoor recreational features include hiking, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, xc skiing, stand up paddleboarding, rowing, and jumpmaster. And cycling features such as biking, indoor biking, mountain biking, triathlon.
• Loads of golfing features are also available.
• In-depth swim-tracking features including stroke detection and SWOLF including the newly added wrist-based heart rate tracking while swimming which enables you to manage your swimming intensity effortlessly. Thereby making these three great choices for Pro swimmers and enthusiasts alike.
• Just like the Vivoactive 3, you can log your period with the Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu enabling you to monitor and track changes in the menstrual cycle which can help you understand yourself better.
• The incident detection feature introduced to the new Forerunner series is also available on the Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu which can help you get the needed assistance when there’s an accidental fall. It sends your location to preset emergency contacts.
• The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu come with a pulse ox sensor which serves two functions; A. for altitude acclimation, where it can help you know when it’s not safe to continue climbing and B. sleep monitoring to help you see the quality of your sleep. The Pulse ox sensor achieves these functions by monitoring how well your body absorbs oxygen.
• The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu feature the body battery energy monitor that uses data from heart rate variability, stress, sleep, and other data to gauge when you’re ready to be active or when you may need to rest, ensuring you get to train at the appropriate time, so that you train and achieve more without breaking down.
• The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu feature hydration tracking which is important for your well-being. It lets you log your daily water intake to help you stay hydrated and see how consistent you are from day to day.
• The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu feature respiration tracking which lets you see how you’re breathing throughout the day, during sleep, and during breathwork and yoga activities.
• Garmin added animated workout modes to the Vivoactive 4, 4S, and Venu that coach you through some of your favorite workout modes. The Vivoactive 4/4S and Venu feature easy-to-follow, animated cardio, strength, yoga and Pilates workouts you can view on the watch screen. Choose from preloaded animated workouts, or download more from Garmin Connect online community. So, you don’t really need to watch videos, it saves you money, yet very effective.
• Features 20 preloaded workout modes.
• Battery Life

Each of these three has got an impressive long battery life that’ll keep you going for days on a single charge. However, the price to pay for that very interactive display of the Venu is that it consumes more battery power resulting in it having a slight shorter battery life than the Vivoactive 4 and 4S.
The Vivoactive 4 has the longest battery life that should keep you going for over a week on a single charge which is very much impressive and makes it the best choice for anyone involved in extreme workout activities.
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Which Should You Buy?

Clearly, each of these three has got an outstanding aesthetics that leaves each with a decent and stylish appearance, while also being comprehensive fitness trackers with lots of features to help improve your fitness goals. So, any of these three is a great choice.

However, the Venu with a slight slimmer case size and a more interactive display is a more attractive and stylish smartwatch than both the Vivoactive 4 and 4S. Although, you’ll need to spend a bit more to own the Venu.

The Vivoactive 4 with the longest battery life is the best choice for fitness enthusiasts who’re engaged in long hours of activity tracking.
While the Vivoactive 4S with the smallest case size is a more befitting wear for those with smaller wrist size.

Our Pick

The sleek and classy Garmin Venu with the an attractive design, a more interactive display, and a quite impressive long battery life is our preferred choice.

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