Venu 2S and Forerunner 255S Music edition are two smartwatches that are suitable for smaller wrists. These work really well for women and people with thin wrists. Both watches have identical price points. So, should you get a Venu 2S or the Forerunner 255S Music edition? If you are a runner, the Forerunner series is more apt. Let us review some of the salient points about the two watches below.
Table of contents:
Size and Physical Specifications
Venu 2S and Forerunner 255S Music Edition watches have similar sizes and weights.
- Both watches have a physical size of approximately 41 mm.
- The size of the display screen is almost 28 mm for both watches.
- And, both watches have approximately 39 g weight.
There is nothing much to choose from in terms of the size of the Venu 2S and Forerunner 255S Music.
However, there is a difference in the watch material.
- Venu 2S is made of fiber-enforced polymer and the bezel is made of steel.
- Forerunner 255S is made of fiber-enforced polymer completely.
So, a Venu 2S will definitely look more premium.
Display
The display of Venu 2S is definitely better than the Forerunner 255S Music edition watches.
- Venu 2S has an AMOLED display while the Forerunner 255S Music edition has a MIP screen or the memory-in-pixel screen.
- Venu 2S has a display resolution of 360 x 360 pixels and the Forerunner 255S Music has a display resolution of 218 x 218 pixels. There is almost a 50 percent difference between the display resolution of both watches.
- One of the good things about the Venu 2S is that you can put the watch on Always-on-display mode as well. It will use more battery. But, the AOD feature does make it a premium watch to look for.
Touchscreen
Venu 2S watch comes with a touchscreen feature that can be turned on or turned off at your convenience. The Forerunner 255S Music edition smartwatch does not have the touchscreen feature.
Battery Life
There is a marginal difference in the battery life of the Venu 2S and Forerunner 255S Music Edition watches.
- On the smartwatch mode, Venu 2S can last for up to 10 days and the Forerunner 255S Music can last for up to 12 days.
- On the GPS mode, Venu 2S can last for 19 hours and the Forerunner 255S Music can last for up to 26 hours.
Again, the Forerunner has an improved battery life as it is designed for runners and athletes.
Device Storage
Venu 2S has device storage of 4 GB that can be used for downloading personal audio content. Venu 2S can store up to 650 songs. The Forerunner 255S Music edition watch can store up to 200 hours of activity data. It can also store up to 500 songs on the device storage.
The difference in the watch’s device storage between the Venu 2S and the Forerunner 255S Music watch is not very significant. You will be equally good with either of these.
GNSS and multi-frequency
One of the major advancements on the Forerunner 255S Music edition watch is the addition of the multi-frequency positioning sensor. This is equivalent to saying that the Forerunner 255S Music can support multi-band frequencies. The GPS accuracy afforded by a multi-point frequency watch will be higher than the normal single band frequency watch.
You can use GPS and GLONASS satellite systems simultaneously on the Forerunner 255S Music edition. When you are out in the deep woods or in dense areas of the city with high-rise buildings, multi-band frequency helps in better and more reliable GPS connectivity.
For advanced runners, the Forerunner 255S Music edition must be preferred over the Venu 2S edition.
Golf
There is no Golf on the Forerunner 255S Music edition watch. You cannot use the golf app on it. And, you cannot download any golf course data on the Forerunner 255S Music watches.
Venu 2S is compatible with the Golf app. You can play a game of Golf through the Venu 2S as it supports almost all the features of golf through the Golf app. This also includes the famous Garmin Golf Autoshot feature.
Multi-sports
When it comes to multi-disciplinary sports activities, the Forerunner 255S Music provides in-depth training and activity tracking metrics. There is no match with Venu 2S when it comes to multi-sports functionality on the Forerunner 255S Music edition.
- Forerunner 255S Music edition supports the Ultratrac mode for running.
- It also supports the point to point navigation.
- Forerunner 255S Music supports additional cycling profiles for Mountain Biking, eBiking, and eMountain Biking besides biking and indoor biking. Venu 2S only does biking and indoor biking.
- Forerunner 255S Music supports pool and open water swimming profiles. Venu 2S only does the pool swimming profile. If you are a pro swimmer, you must prefer a Forerunner watch.
- Forerunner 255S Music also supports Outdoor Track Running, Trail Running, Virtual Running, and Ultra Running modes. This is over and above the Running, Treadmill Running, Indoor Track Running profiles that are supported by Venu 2S and the Forerunner 255S Music edition.
Cost
Both watches have a list price of $399.99. From time to time, Garmin does offer special pricing on its smartwatch range. So, you may want to keep an eye on any discounts on offer.
Summary
Venu 2S is a better general purpose smartwatch. I really like the fact that it has an AMOLED display with a touchscreen. The display resolution is also better on the Venu 2S. And, the steel bezel adds a premium look to the Venu 2S. If you are into pro or advanced level running, the Forerunner 255S Music would be a better choice as it offers in-depth tracking of the running activity.
You may also like to read more content related to the Forerunner and Venu 2 series below:
- Garmin Forerunner 955 vs Venu 2 Plus
- Garmin Venu 2 Plus vs Vivoactive 4
- Fenix 7 vs Forerunner 955 Garmin watches
- Garmin Forerunner watch with elite running
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].