Garmin just dropped the Venu X1 without warning, and I’m still trying to make sense of what exactly this thing is supposed to be. It looks like a squared-off Venu with a few luxury touches, but the spec sheet reads like something built for serious athletes.
Venu X1 arrives with top-tier specs and a bold price tag
There were no leaks, no teaser videos, no FCC filings floating around that we could spot. Garmin just went ahead and launched the Venu X1. And they’ve priced it like they know exactly what they’re doing. At $800, it’s the most expensive Venu we’ve ever seen. Honestly, it makes the Venu Sq 2 feel like it’s from a different category entirely.
What we’ve got here is a squarish design, a big 2-inch AMOLED display, and a loadout of sensors and features that makes it hard to classify. The design is lightweight and ultra-thin. The caseback is titanium. And the display is protected by a sapphire lens. All of that fits into a watch just 8mm thick, with a flashlight, mic, speaker and even maps on board. It’s hard to argue with the feature set.
But there’s something else going on here.
This doesn’t feel like a typical Venu
At first glance, I thought this might be a Venu Sq 3 with a new name. But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Garmin is pitching this at a different crowd.
The price, materials and sensor package say high-end. Most of the features you’d expect from a Fenix or Epix are here. That includes multi-band GNSS, mapping, HRV status, hill score, endurance score, and training readiness.
You’re also getting over 100 sports modes, nap tracking, altitude and heat acclimation, and wrist-based running power. It’s basically a training watch disguised as a lifestyle device. The only clear omission is ECG, despite the fact that the Elevate V5 sensor is in use here.
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No LTE either, which is worth noting. You do get calling over Bluetooth and a speaker for voice assistance, but cellular remains off the table. So the wait for a proper Garmin LTE watch continues. One would have thought this was a good candidate.
As far as battery life you can expect around 8 days with normal use. Which is decent, although we are used to more from Garmin. Presumably that big display is an energy guzzler. With the always-on display enabled, you only get around 2 days between charges. That’s Apple territory…
Apple Watch comparisons are inevitable
Because of the shape and the price, it is inevitable the Venu X1 is going to be compared to Apple’s high-end models. Garmin seems aware of that, and you can see hints of it in features like on-wrist photo viewing and red-shift display mode. These feel less like core Garmin tools and more like nods to lifestyle smartwatch buyers.
But the difference is clear if you look closely. This isn’t a smartwatch. It’s a high-performance sports watch with just enough smart features to pass for a basic smartwatch. All of this makes me wonder if “X” is going to be a new sub-brand. Maybe we’ll see X1 Pro, or X2 next year. There’s room to expand if this one sticks.
I’m not sold on the design
Personally, I’m still undecided about how I feel about the look of it. The squarish design isn’t ugly, but it doesn’t quite land for me either. It feels caught between the minimalist style of the Venu Sq and the more rugged utility of Garmin’s outdoor watches. That might be the point. But it leaves me wishing they’d pushed it in one direction or the other.
It’s light. It’s thin. It’s got everything most people would want from a fitness watch. But $800 is a big ask, even with all the bells and whistles – and despite the tariffs!
The watch will ship from June 18th. You can pick it up on Garmin’s website in a choice between Black with slate titanium caseback and black ComfortFit nylon band or Moss with titanium caseback and moss ComfortFit nylon band.
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