The Venu X1 is, according to Garmin, the blend of a Forerunner 970, Fenix 8, and Venu 3 series device. They noted that it was the culmination of designing a device without being held to the norms/limits of a given model lineage (e.g. Forerunner or Fenix names). In the end, Garmin decided it needed to fall into one of the existing product families, thus earning the ‘Venu’ name, albeit, unlike any Venu/Vivoactive before it.
But in being this blend of three different devices, it can be confusing for consumers. Despite lacking a ‘Pro’ monitor (e.g. Venu Pro), it’s very much a pro-level Venu. It has virtually every feature of the Fenix 8, save a few. Thus, my goal here is to explain the differences, and in doing so, poured through more than 234 different settings/options/features, to figure out where they differ and where they align.
However, what’s probably the most notable thing here is that all three watch series now share the same codebase. As such, virtually every single setting is identical. That may sound logical/obvious, but that’s not at all how it was just a year ago – with Venu, Forerunner, and Fenix product teams all working from different sheets of music. As you might remember in my Forerunner 965 vs Garmin Epix comparison, it was mind-boggling how options/settings had different names, different components, etc… That’s all gone.
Which doesn’t mean there aren’t different features. After all, the Fenix 8 costs $200+ more than the others. But those features are toggled on specifically, such as Virtual Caddy in Golf, or an extra sport profile or two like Surfing or Duathlon. Sometimes, it’s extra hardware driving those enablements – such as is the case for diving and other high-speed watersports on the Fenix 8 (which has a higher water resistance rating, plus a depth sensor).
From a pricing standpoint you’ve got:
Forerunner 970: $749
Venu X1: $799
Fenix 8: $999+ (depending AMOLED/SOLAR/size/etc…)
In any case, let’s get into it.