They're easy to follow and if you like the idea of turning to your watch for some Pilates and Yoga action, this is a good way to start. From durable Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 to the sleek stainless steel bezel and comfortable silicone band, this smartwatch is ready for anything. We found daily step counts in the ballpark of step counts recorded on the third-generation Oura Ring and a Fitbit Charge 5. Resting heart rate data felt reliable too, sitting at around the same average we're used to seeing on Fitbit's Charge 5, the Oura, and our current go-to watch, the Garmin Enduro. They're both in this particular department and it's hard to really separate them at all. Battery life

A leather strap provides a classic and timeless look that can take your smartwatch to the next level. Protection and maintenance We also took the Venu 2 out on a range of runs against a Garmin HRM-Pro chest strap and found that on long, steady runs there were no major accuracy issues and the data was reliable. Garmin Venu 2 (top) vs. chest strap

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A beautiful AMOLED display brings this watch to life, even under bright sunlight. Try always-on mode to keep the display visible at all times. Strength, Cardio, HIIT and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork See your health and fitness information all in one place. The Garmin Connect app is a thriving online community where people on the go can connect, compete and share. However, we like the feature and the advice for reducing Fitness Age and we feel many people will find it motivating.

Like Body Battery, the stress score has also been overhauled to be more sensitive and insightful. You can easily see spikes in stress throughout the day, and this isn’t just limited to the physiological demands of moving about. The sensitivity means the daily stress score is now of more interest, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for high numbers. It’s also linked directly to the Garmin breathwork feature, so you can undertake some guided breathing if you need to. It also means that Garmin has been able to move its Shortcut feature, so getting to your fave mode or feature is now a button press away instead of a screen swipe. This feature uses chronological age, your weekly vigorous activity, resting heart rate and BMI or body fat percentage4 to estimate if your body is younger or older than you are. And you can get tips to lower your fitness age.This is where the key big difference lies between the two Venu 2 watches. If you want the richest smartwatch experience that Garmin currently has to offer, then it's the Venu 2 Plus. On a longer run where we upped intensity hard at the end, we were pleased to see it reach a max HR of 190 alongside the chest strap, and produced a similar average HR for the session. Budget: The sky is the limit when it comes to replacement band options. Between Garmin and third-party retailers, you can find bands covering a wide range of prices as well. Decide how much you want to invest in your new strap before diving in. Another new feature on Venu 2 – this is something perhaps aimed at more general users, rather than “prosumer” athletes. The Fitness Age takes your stats and fitness data from workouts and predicts a fitness age. However, it does take time to work out, and this is something that benefits from nearly a month of solid use.