Garmin unveils its Apple Ultra Watch 2 competitor, the Venu X1

If you’re a fan of bold smartwatches, Garmin just unveiled its biggest watch ever. 

Garmin announced its newest smartwatch Thursday, the Venu X1. What’s immediately noticeable about the Venu X1 is the size. It has a large, rectangular face (Garmin said its biggest) and an extremely thin design. It’s a watch that’s easy to see, but it doesn’t look overpowering or like it’s too heavy to wear.

The press release about the watch details several more design features, including the 2-inch screen, a sapphire lens (scratch-resistant for outdoor activities), a titanium caseback, and an 8mm case. 

Also: My new favorite Garmin watch offers flagship features at an affordable price point

The Venu X1 will come in two colorways, black and moss, and have a built-in LED flashlight, speaker, and mic. It will have access to more than 100 sports apps, mapping, the ability to make and take calls, a sleep coach, and the wealth of fitness and health information Garmin’s devices are known for.

Garmin said the watch will have up to 8 days of battery life in smartwatch mode. That will be less depending on how much you use tracking features and if you have the always-on screen enabled, but from several early online reviews I’ve seen, it still seems to be about two days.

The Venu X1 has a suggested retail price of $799.99 and will be available to order on June 18. For comparison, other fitness tracking watches like the Garmin Venu 3S, the Apple Watch Series 10, and the Pixel Watch 3 are all in the $300 to $400 range. 

Also: This Garmin watch looks like a casual smartwatch, but it still aced my fitness tests

Overall, it seems to be a direct competitor to the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which comes in at the same price point. These are two very different watches, though, offering a different app library, different phone connectivity, and different design.

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