Garmin unveils the $799 Venu X1 smartwatch with a 2" square AMOLED screen, a titanium body, an eight-day battery, and a blood oxygen monitor, coming on June 18
Emma Roth / The Verge :
Context & Ripple Effects
Garmin’s Venu line previously included the $450 Venu 2 Plus, which emphasized voice assistants and calling; the Venu X1 moves the line toward a larger, square-screen premium design with materially higher pricing.
The launch also sits between lower-priced smartwatch options such as Samsung’s $199 Galaxy Watch FE and Garmin’s own high-end Fenix range, where a $1,000 Fenix 8 review highlighted battery and fitness tracking as key differentiators.
First-order effects
- Garmin gains a new $799 Venu-tier option on June 18, pairing a titanium body and 2-inch square AMOLED display with eight-day battery life and blood-oxygen monitoring.
- Buyers seeking a large-display fitness watch must weigh those premium materials and battery claims against the Venu X1’s substantially higher price than the earlier $450 Venu 2 Plus.
Second-order effects
- The Venu X1 narrows the feature-and-price space between mainstream smartwatches and Garmin’s premium fitness models, increasing pressure on rivals to distinguish their lower-priced devices through software, health features, or value.
- Garmin’s product ladder becomes more dependent on clear segmentation: the Venu X1 needs to justify its premium without eroding the appeal of its Fenix-oriented performance watches.
Third-order effects
- If square displays, premium materials, and multi-day battery life continue moving into higher-priced fitness watches, smartwatch competition may shift further from entry price toward device longevity and specialized tracking.
- The blood-oxygen sensor adds to the normalization of health-oriented watch hardware, though the coverage does not establish what health functions or claims Garmin will attach to that sensor.
The trend: The Venu X1 is one data point in the premiumization of fitness-focused smartwatches, where display size, materials, battery life, and health sensors are used to support higher price tiers.