If a Garmin kids’ smartwatch that probably won’t land at retail in SA doesn’t excite you, perhaps the Garmin Venu 4 will. An update to (obviously) the Venu 3, the newest in the product lineup brings new features to the table along with its performance upgrades.
The immediately obvious ones — i.e., the ones that required fresh hardware — are new accessibility features and a new LED flashlight. The latter is something Garmin has jammed into a few of its more premium devices, so it’s not all that surprising to see here. The former gives the Venu 4 the ability to talk to users, specifically to read out the time and health metrics that appear on the screen. Colour filters also make the Venu 4 a better proposition for the colour-blind.
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Other upgrades take the form of software functions, but that doesn’t make them any less useful. A new Health Status option lets users see if their metrics are trending away from a baseline and perhaps catch problems early. It is currently in beta on the device.
Lifestyle logging — basically allowing users to input caffeine or alcohol intake (or even a custom addition — spits out reports on how your non-fitness behaviour is affecting overall scores. Improved sleep tracking monitors “how aligned the body is to its inner sleep cycle using circadian rhythm. Sleep consistency provides a look at the average bedtime over the past seven days.”
Garmin Fitness Coach tracks and personalises more than 25 activities, accounting for previous days’ activities, quality of sleep, and other gathered data. In other words, it should know that you’re just too tired for burpees this morning. Jumping jacks instead. Yay. This will function whether or not users set up a specific plan in Garmin Fitness Coach, but they’ll reap the most benefits by giving it some direction.
An overseas launch date of 22 September is set, with a price point of R9,600. The Venu 3 made it to South Africa, but since its price is still R11,000, expect to pay a little more for the Venu 4 when it arrives.
