Fenix 6 vs. Other New Editions From Garmin

Well, in defense of the Fenix.  The Fenix does so much more.  But in Defense of the consumer, there shouldn't be the number of problems with the core features as we have.  Blue Screens, OHR inaccuracy are the biggies.  Others seem to be slowly getting worked out.  Latest BETA is a step forward.

I agree. I am a huge Training Peaks fan and I use Garmin just as a format to get my info into TP, so I need the Garmin to be accurate. I ALWAYS, without fail, use a H.R. strap for ANY activityy. OHR will never be good enough for my training.

It's also likely that there have been many more Fenix 6 watches sold then those other two, it's a very popular line of wearables. More users means it's more likely someone will experience problems and post about them.

very true.

The Fenix 6 has a following of people that are total data geeks and we use and try every new feature, and then come here on these forums and pose bugs and issues.  I expect that the average Vivoactive buyer doesn't know that these forums even exist.

My wife has the Venu.  It too has problems.  There just aren't as many Venu watches out there.  If you look at ratings in various places, there are complaints about battery life and HR inaccuracy and overall Venu doesn't really get great ratings.  That might change as more people own them and take the time to review them.  I had the Venu for a little while before settling on the Fenix 6S Pro and HR was ridiculously inaccurate for me.  I also thought that the touch screen was too sensitive.  More often than not, I'd end up somewhere in the menus that I did not intend because it would register touches that I never made.

Another point to consider on top of the other excellent points made by other posters - the Fenix range has existed for a much longer time period than the Venu or the Vivoactive (I think?). I've been here since I got an F3 (which was an upgrade from a Forerunner) and I know there's a bunch of people here that have had multiple generations of Fenix watches. I'm not sure you'd see the same level of longevity in the other watch forums as people tend to slowly migrate upwards towards the Fenix watches as they upgrade their watch.

Yup.  And regardless of how long the Vivoactive series has been around, the Venu is completely new.  I know that they say that the Venu is a Vivoactive 4 with a nicer screen, but how true is that?  Are the internals exactly the same, or are there a lot of differences?

I don't usually buy the first generation of anything.  More and more, it seems like technology companies treat purchasers of first generation products as beta testers for the better versions that will come later.

Pretty sure garmin is using purchasers of the Fenix 6 as beta testers also.