Garmin Venu X1 review: A smartwatch for health, sport, lifestyle – and everything in between

Garmin just raised the bar with its brand-new Venu X1 smartwatch.

The Venu X1 is Garmin’s best everyday smartwatch – combining advanced health tracking, fitness tools, and modern smart features in a premium design you can wear anywhere, anytime.

Every element of this new smartwatch is crafted to match your everyday life, and invaluable features like an 8-day battery life and a built-in torch, microphone, and speaker perfectly round it off.

These were our thoughts after testing the new Garmin Venu X1 for a week.

Watch our review below.

Impressive Garmin “firsts”

The first thing you notice when handling the Venu X1 is that it’s really sleek.

At only 8mm thick, it’s Garmin’s thinnest watch ever – and incredibly comfortable for all-day wear.

The chassis measures 41 by 46 millimetres, and houses a stunning 2-inch AMOLED, which is Garmin’s other ‘first’ – it’s largest display to date.

This display sits behind a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens for superior durability – and the robust design theme continues into the chassis, too.

Fibre-reinforced polymer and a titanium caseback gave me peace of mind while keeping the Venu X1 extremely sleek and lightweight.

It weighs a mere 34 grams (40 grams with the strap), which made it hardly noticeable on my wrist – and this was also thanks to the stylish ComfortFit Nylon strap.

This comfortable overall build ensures the Venu X1 effortlessly fits into your daily routine, all while still including powerful features like a microphone, speaker, and torch.

These features ensure that phone calls, voice notes, voice commands, and alarms are easily accessible, while the flashlight is surprisingly bright.

They are supported by integration with your smartphone, since this gives you access to smart notifications, music controls with offline playback, and Garmin Pay for contactless payments.

The Garmin Connect app on your smartphone (Android or iOS) lets you view all your stats in one place and customise your dashboard.

You can also change your watch face, adjust font sizes to make notifications more readable, and tailor the layout to show what matters to you – like steps, heart rate, or altitude.

Health and fitness

Within the two-inch square display, you get access to extensive health features and navigation functions.

Advanced sensors track your vitals to provide insights into your heart rate, heart rate variability, stress levels, sleep quality, oxygen saturation, and body battery energy.

Additionally, each morning, the Venu X1 will give you a Morning Report showing your sleep quality, recovery, and training readiness.

If you didn’t sleep well, the Sleep Coach will then help you improve your sleep quality, and if your stress levels spiked throughout the day, the Stress Tracker will nudge you to take a break.

There’s also a Health Snapshot you can share with your doctor, as well as respiration tracking, a jet lag advisor, and even altitude and heat acclimation data – which is ideal if you’re travelling or training in extreme conditions.

Sports and workouts

The Garmin Venu X1 is a goldmine for workouts and sporting activities, as it comes pre-loaded with over 100 sports apps.

This helps you track your activities, see your training status, and determine your readiness.

It also suggests workouts based on your body’s condition, using sleep, stress, and recovery data to suggest whether you can go hard or take it easy.

Garmin Coach then uses this data to help you train for specific milestones or improve your overall fitness.

If you’re serious about your training, features like Endurance Score, Hill Score, and Training Status give you more nuanced and detailed insights – such as how your body’s holding up over time, and whether you’re improving, plateauing, or pushing too hard.

Navigation and smart features

If you’re hitting trails in the countryside, navigation on the two-inch display is a game changer.

Maps look fantastic and are easy to read in bright sunlight.

Using these maps, Dynamic Round Trip Routing lets you set the distance you want to walk, run, or ride, and the Venu X1 will suggest routes that return you to your starting point.

To achieve this, the Venu X1 uses Garmin’s trusted ABC sensors – Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass – for reliable outdoor navigation.

These sensors are also great when hitting the golf course – and the Venu X1 comes preloaded with over 43,000 courses from across the world.

Overall, the Venu X1 bridges the gap between premium design and superior performance, while offering a ruggedness that will keep up with your day-to-day.

It’s stylish enough for everyday wear, smart enough for modern lifestyles, and powerful enough for serious workouts.

It is available in Black and Moss – two versatile colours that work with any outfit.

Click here to get the Garmin Venu X1 smartwatch.