September has been a massive month for smartwatches, with both Garmin and Apple revealing their latest flagship wearables.
If you’re considering either the Garmin Venu 4 or the Apple Watch Series 11 but aren’t sure which one to choose, this guide is here to help. Ahead of our reviews, we’ve compared the specs of the two new smartwatches right here.
Keep reading to decide whether the Garmin Venu 4 or Apple Watch Series 11 is likely to suit you better, and if either have a chance at making it into our best smartwatches list.
Otherwise, we’ve also compared the newly launched Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro to the Apple Watch Series 11.
Price and Availability
Available now, the Garmin Venu 4 is available in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, with a starting price of £469.99/$549.99.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is also available now, with a slightly lower starting price of £369/$399. Much like the Venu 4, the Apple Watch Series 11 is available in two sizes: 42mm and 46mm.
Garmin Venu 4 works on both Android and iOS
Arguably the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that Android phones aren’t compatible with Apple Watch. While it is technically possible to pair the Apple Watch Series 11 with an Android, you’ll miss out on practically all the features, so it’s essentially pointless. Instead, the Apple Watch Series 11 is only compatible with an iPhone.
The Garmin Venu 4, on the other hand, is a bit more flexible and can be paired with either an Android or iOS smartphone. Having said that, it’s worth noting that pairing any Garmin with an Android phone does offer some exclusive benefits, including the ability to view photos, reply to text messages and follow turn-by-turn directions from your watch.
Garmin Venu 4 includes Lifestyle Logging
One of the new features introduced with the Venu 4 is lifestyle logging. Essentially, this new tool allows you to log certain behaviours, including whether you’ve consumed caffeine or alcohol, in the Garmin Connect app. From here, you can see how those choices can impact your sleep, stress, HRV and more.
The idea behind lifestyle logging is to empower users to make more health-conscious and informed decisions.
That’s not to say the Apple Watch Series 11 isn’t equipped with anything similar. In fact, with the Journal app in watchOS 26, you can log your state of mind to keep track of your emotions and link other factors, such as exercise and sleep, to correlate with how you feel.
Apple Watch Series 11 provides hypertension notifications
A new addition to this year’s Apple Watch Series 11 is the inclusion of hypertension notifications, which should alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure (hypertension) are detected. Then, users are encouraged to log their blood pressure for seven days after the initial notification, with the idea being they can then share these results with a doctor.
Although this feature was introduced at the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 launch, hypertension notifications will be available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and 10, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Garmin Venu 4 promises a longer battery life
Apple Watches have never offered particularly impressive battery life, and the Apple Watch Series 11 is no exception. Although the Series 11 does benefit from a slight increase from its predecessor, with a promise of up to 24 hours from a single charge, it still falls short of the Garmin Venu 4’s claim of up to 12 days.
As we haven’t reviewed either the Venu 4 or Apple Watch Series 11, we’re yet to confirm how well their respective batteries perform in real-world use.
Garmin Venu 4 includes a built-in LED flashlight
Whether you spend a lot of time outdoors or just want an additional layer of safety while on a run, the Garmin Venu 4 might be a more appealing choice thanks to its built-in LED torch. The LED flashlight promises to be bright enough to illuminate your path, although we’re yet to test the feature ourselves.
This isn’t the first Garmin smartwatch to boast the nifty feature. In fact, a built-in LED light can be found in more premium Garmin wearables, like the Fenix 8 and Forerunner 970.
Early Verdict
First and foremost, if you are torn between the Garmin Venu 4 and Apple Watch Series 11 but are sporting an Android smartphone, then the decision is out of your hands.
Otherwise, both the Venu 4 and Apple Watch Series 11 are appealing choices for most everyday users, as they combine smartwatch features with genuinely useful health, fitness and even safety features.
We’ll be sure to update this versus with a more conclusive verdict once we’ve reviewed the two smartwatches.
