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I’ve been using the Garmin Venu X1 for several months, and my first reaction has held steady: it’s an exceptionally comfortable yet eye-wateringly pricey fitness watch that trades endurance and classic looks for an expansive, brilliant display. Despite its obvious shortcomings, I can’t help but love it.
Think of it as a leaner, sleeker take on the Apple Watch Ultra. The Venu X1 excels in areas like weight, battery efficiency, and training support but falls behind when it comes to smartwatch conveniences like messaging or voice controls.
Its 8-day battery life will feel underwhelming to anyone spending this much on a fitness device. Yet, if you can overlook longevity, it stacks up impressively against the Garmin Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970, offering nearly the same toolkit.
So the real debate is this: does the Venu X1’s dazzling 2-inch screen justify choosing it over a Fenix or Forerunner?
Garmin Venu X1: Price and Specs
Released on June 18, 2025, the Garmin Venu X1 is priced at $799 / €799 / £679 / CAD $1,159. That places it well above the $449 Venu 3, on par with the Forerunner 970 ($750), and still below the $1,000-plus Fenix 8.
Buyers can pick from two styles:
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Black with Slate Titanium caseback and Black ComfortFit nylon strap
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Moss with Titanium caseback and Moss nylon strap
Garmin also sells interchangeable silicone straps in Black or Moss for $39, and third-party 24mm Quick Release bands are widely available.
What Makes the Venu X1 Shine
Most Garmin watches I’ve tested fall into the 50–60g weight range, while higher-end models like the Fenix 8 push into 70–100g territory. Lightweight options, such as the 36g Vivoactive 6, sacrifice display size for comfort.
The Venu X1 manages to weigh just 40g while packing a full 2-inch display. The result? All-day comfort without compromising visibility. After using it, heavier watches feel like a step backward.
At 7.9mm thick—around 4–5mm slimmer than most Venu or Forerunner models—it’s the rare Garmin I don’t mind wearing to bed. The smaller profile means less pressure on your wrist and more consistent sensor contact while you sleep.
During workouts, it sits flush against the wrist, so activities like push-ups, pull-ups, or trekking feel unrestricted. And somehow Garmin still squeezed in its LED flashlight. The brightest setting won’t replace your phone, but the red LED is perfect for late-night navigation, and the strobe mode improves visibility outdoors.
In terms of features, the Venu X1 is now loaded with nearly every Garmin training tool, especially after the August 2025 update, which added Forerunner 970 exclusives like advanced running metrics and evening reports. Previously, the Venu line missed out on things like training load or training status; now, it includes perks like ClimbPro, lactate threshold heart-rate tracking, Endurance Score, and personalized cycling or running workouts.
One standout is the running tolerance metric, which measures how elevation changes and faster paces impact your body differently, distinguishing muscular strain from cardiovascular fatigue. It’s a valuable tool for avoiding overtraining injuries.
Perhaps its biggest upgrade is offline mapping. Unlike the circular displays on some other Garmins, the rectangular Venu X1 gives you more usable map space with larger text and shortcut buttons that don’t crowd the view. Navigating trails or tricky junctions becomes far easier.
Ultimately, the Venu X1’s display is the star. It’s twice as bright as the Fenix 8, covered in sapphire glass, and offers crisp detail at 328ppi. Watch faces can cram in multiple complications, while workout screens display enlarged stats that remain easy to read even mid-run.
HR and GPS Accuracy
The Venu X1 employs Garmin’s newest optical heart-rate sensor and All-Systems GNSS mode, which balances accuracy with efficiency. It’s not quite as pinpoint as dual-frequency GPS but drains less power.
Across a 12-mile run and a forest hike, I compared its performance against the Forerunner 970 and a Garmin HRM 200 chest strap. Results were consistent: while it lagged slightly on rapid HR changes—as most wrist sensors do—it stayed in line with the chest strap overall, even during high-intensity peaks where other watches often falter.
