The Garmin Venu 2 is one of those solid all‑rounders—bright AMOLED screen, great health tracking, and sleek design. But even a good device needs polish, right? Garmin’s latest updates—spanning stable builds (v19.05, v15.20) and earlier betas—bring real perks, yet also surface some lingering oddities. Let’s unpack it.
🚀 Bigger Move: CIQ System 7 Arrives (v19.05)
In May 2024, Garmin rolled out System 7 for Venu 2, Venu 2 S & 2 Plus with firmware 19.05. This “Creative IQ” upgrade unlocked better performance, richer watch faces, enhanced sports analytics, and smoother UI navigation.
That means faster widget loading, more responsive apps, and a broader app ecosystem.
🎮 Play Mode: “Gaming” Activity Added (Beta 15.10/15.20)
In late 2023, beta versions 15.10 and 15.20 introduced a quirky but neat addition: a Gaming activity. It tracks biometrics like heart rate and stress while you play, feeding data back to your PC for real-time stats.
Also restored: Tennis and Pickleball activity profiles—if you’re into court sports, that was a welcome glitch fix.
Battery got some love too. The 15.20 beta pushed optimizations to help preserve long-term lifespan, along with sensor-hub firmware tweaks (v25.x).
❤️ Health & Wellness Enhancements
Updates really honed in on health tracking:
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Improved sleep detection: restlessness scoring and staging got better in past updates—restless nights now tracked more accurately.
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Resting heart rate sync across devices: Ensure your resting pulse data matches between Venu 2 and other Garmin devices (like Fenix or epix).
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Run/Walk/Idle breakdown in running activity summaries: see when you paused or slowed mid-run—handy for interval work.
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Incident Detection UX improvements: smoother prompts during emergencies (e.g. on a run or bike accident).
🛠️ Bug Fixes & App Reliability
Smaller updates addressed nagging issues:
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Fixed problems where golf distances could show errors in front/middle/back views.
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Wi-Fi crash bug resolved, improving firmware stability.
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Fixed a bug where music paused unexpectedly when using voice assistant (Venu 2 Plus only).
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Fixed strength workout/jog combo crash bug.
The improvements are mostly behind-the-scenes, but trusty.
🔋 Battery Drain: Still a Headache
Despite neat updates, battery drain remains a pain point:
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After v10.18 (Aug 2022), some users reported battery dropping ~20% in a few hours.
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Wi‑Fi firmware loops also caused battery cycles and instability.
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Similar issues resurfaced with v15.20 and later—users buzzed about faster-than-expected drain affecting daily use .
If brief battery effusions still worry you, go easy: stick with stock watch faces, disable Pulse Ox or gaming mode, and reboot after each update.
🔄 Should You Update?
Yes, if you want:
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Smoother UI and better app performance from System 7.
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Gaming mode, tennis/pickleball, and updated battery management.
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Enhanced health data—sleep staging, incident detection, resting HR sync.
Maybe wait, if:
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Your battery life is critical—gaming/activity perks might tax the battery.
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You depend heavily on Wi‑Fi features—update hops sometimes break wifi loops.
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You prefer stability—some users still wrestle with firmware quirks.
🛠️ Tips for a Smooth Upgrade
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Charge ≥ 50% or plug in before updating.
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Use Garmin Connect (phone) or Express (PC) for the install.
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After update, restart your watch—reboots often settle issues.
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Check Wi‑Fi—if the old loop bug returns, reconnect or update hub firmware.
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Monitor battery for 2–3 days post‑update; tweak Pulse Ox/Gaming settings if needed.
🤔 Still Annoying?
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Battery usage spiking? Roll back watch faces or gaming features.
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Wi‑Fi acts weird? Reconnect network or wait for a fix on backend.
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Health stats feel off? Breath rate spikes? Stress shifts? Those may normalize in following versions.
🔮 Future Updates: What’s Next?
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More battery optimizations to match AMOLED lifestyle.
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Possibly breathing variation detection—already hitting Venu 3 and newer, may trickle back to Venu 2.
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Continued Sensor Hub upgrades and bug patches (watch faces, wifi, voice).
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New sports or wellness profiles—maybe golf or hiking enhancements.
✅ Final Verdict
The Garmin Venu 2 update journey shows upgrades big and small. System 7 delivers speed and smoother apps; Gaming activity and Tennis add fun; health metrics got more robust. Yet battery and wi‑fi quirks persist. If you want a sharper smartwatch experience and don’t mind adjusting settings, updating is worth it. Just charge up, reboot, and ride the wave cautiously—your Venu 2 will reward you with smarter performance and cool new features.