Training status, recovery time, training effect missing on Venu 2

As you said Garmin used to pay Firstbeat Analytics. Now they own them. So it shouldn't be big deal to have Firstbeat features on all Garmin watches now. On Fenix 6X PRO Solar you pay for Solar Glass, you pay for Magnesium body wth DLC coating. You pay for storage memory that is used for Music and Navigation. Not so much for software features. Software is 99% same between cheapest Fenix 6 base version and most expensive 6X PRO Solar. Venu 2 costs almost as much as base Fenix 6, so why it's lacking features? I haven't said that Venu 2 display is bad. I meant 6X PRO Solar display is bad compared to GS PRO or any AMOLED watch including Venu 2. Garmin LCD displays used on Fenix/Forerunner are hard to read indoors, on cloudy day, on evening. Because of low contrast and low resolution, poor color calibration and accuracy. ALOMED used on GS PRO is almost always nicely readable, even in direct sunlight. Benefit of Garmin's LCD used on Fenix/Forerunner is always on functionality and lower power consumption in general, but it comes with too much compromises in quality. When it comes to privacy, i personally don't believe there is anything left private today's. Whenever you go, whatever you go there is always some trace of you. So why not embrace it, when you at least get something for it in return.

Zange, if I go to Garmin Connect / Training Status, it says "No Status. To receive a Training Status, use your Garmin device to track one or two weeks of runs or rides to that VO2 Max data."

So I've been doing that and patiently waiting for the information to populate before 2 weeks are completed. Nowhere does it say my watch is not supported.

Regarding returning it, I think if the watch doesn't meet my expectations or needs, then I am within my right to return. If I just don't like it, I can return it.

Garmin has added features to "older" devices, and that is somewhat of an expectation. If they own Firstbeat, licensing costs is not an issue. If the hardware is capable, then the software should follow.

The Always On Display doesn't even work correctly, which is one of the core features of the watch. I have the expectation Garmin is going to improve the functionality in the near future.

Training status is a data shown in Garmin Connect always, even if your watch is not supported. It is like with weight. Weight data is shown there too but of course you need a Garmin scale for it to work correctly with every single data like BMI etc. This is the same with all metrics. Only because power meter and other stuff is shown somewhere doesn't mean it is inside the watch. Garmin Connect works indepentently from a watch. For support they have a data sheet on their website. Nowhere does it say the Venu 2 supports training load etc. Training load is there too when no watch is connected. So what?

Sorry but this is really something some should check before buying. Of course everyone can return a watch if not satisfied, and the V2 has some bugs. But to return it because it doesn't support stuff which is nowhere written to be supported and you can see that on their site. Most of all when comparing watches which I would do before buying a watch I don't know anything about. If you compare almost any Forerunner and Fenix with the Venu 2 it is obvious which metrics are supported by each watch. People interested in such important athlete metrics should do their research before buying anything. Normal Venu 2 buyers don't care about that stuff. 

But of course at 400$/€ I would expect some more metrics like recovery time, still I knew before buying it as I did compare my previous VA 4s and Fenix 6 with the Venu 2 and had all three and it's features shown next to each other. Couldn't be easier. But to be honest AMOLED displays are way more expensive than those of every other Garmin watch. So a Fenix or FR with an AMOLED display would also be around 100$ more expensive then those with Garmin's cheap display technology. Without having more features besides the AMOLED. So you can't really compare the price of the Venu 2 with those of FR and Fenix lineup till they have one model with AMOLED display. 

I actually prefer a reflective display and non-touch, so Amoled is not preferred by me. I bought the Venu 2 because my F6 couldn't track my heart rate while walking (and I returned it). This happened after a software update and was never fixed.

With the Venu 2 having the newer sensor and some new functionality, I wrongly assumed it would have some of the same things as the Fenix. Why they limit the devices by software is the question that is basically asked with this thread. It seems you are used to this practice, but some of us aren't and end up disappointed.

I struggle with things like the HRV activity that has been added. What the hell is this for? If the Venu 2 is for non athlete dummies, what is the thought process behind this? If VO2MAX is already tracked, why isn't training status?

At least I would personally pay 100 EUR extra for AMOLED, in addition to Fenix 6 base version price. Rather than having to buy Fenix 6 Solar which is 200-300 EUR more expensive just to get somewhat decent LCD screen with good sharpness, contrast and colors without blue tint. Which in the end is still much inferior in almost every way compared to good AMOLED screen like that one on GS PRO, GT2, Xiaomi Watch, etc... I owned VA3, FR245, Fenix 6 base, Fenix 6X PRO solar each of them having totally different display quality, colors, sharpness while Garmin is claiming that they use same display technology. I like Garmin watches, but display quality consistency is really poor. It's not sure that you get unit with good display, even when when you buy Solar or Sapphire edition and pay close to 1000 EUR. So it would be just easier for Garmin to give us Fenix 6 with AMOLED.

VO2Max is tracked with every modern Garmin device, even the cheap older Vivosmart 4 band includes it. Well fair enough. This is indeed a value for athletes that non athletes do not care about. Maybe to motivate more? HRV within the health stats app? I think maybe it is a for the later watches to see if it works probably. HRV is already included in BB, but BB is a number which includes more than just HRV but also sleep quality, RHR etc. I think. 

The higher the HRV the more fit you are on that specific moment. Normally it should have highs and lows during the day, it is some kind of stress data. A heart doesn't just beat each second when you have 60RHR but sometimes faster and the next ms slower. And the higher the number the less stressed you are and the more fit you are. And after being stressed, f.e. after a workout, it should go down. Also after a really bad night it should be low. To me this is a good data to show if I can do a very hard workout this very minute. BodyBattery shows it also but it shows more, actually it is how fit you are during the day, not specifically this very moment. But I think this is maybe something they test to see if it is working probably to bring it to higher end watches this year. The 955 and Fenix 7 will probably be released this year. 

But with HRV there are so many different units. Hard to compare to other HRV units for someone like me. With Garmin Venu 2 mostly have 70-100ms. With Apple Watch I often had 250ms. So you are right about this not being for someone who doesn't care about all those metrics, stats etc. 

But I love the Garmin comparison sheet where you can select the watches to compare with. And there you will find any data, the device gives you. But Garmin Connect shows almost everything even if the watch doesn't support it. Esp easy to find out when going through GC without any watch connected. 

I would say it this way to Garmin. Give us Fenix 6 with AMOLED display taken from Venu 2 or make advanced training metrics from FR/Fenix series available on Venu 2.

Or make Venu 2 PRO version, which will have advanced training metrics and will be 100 EUR more expensive than regular Venu 2. If possible throw in also bigger battery to give us better GPS time on Venu 2 PRO version.

Yeah, I would buy that in a minute ...

For my part, it is also the AMOLED screen that made me adopt the Venu (and the Venu 2 that I am expecting soon)
But the TE that I discovered on my fenix 6 test is really an important and essential feature, even if you are not a pro runner, you can be a fitness athlete.
I was on Polar before switching to Garmin, and I really appreciated during my "Les Mills" indoor training, the "training load pro" (equivalent to the Garmin traing effect), which is present from the Polar ignite, which costs only 200 € ...
It's really incredible that Garmin did not add the TE to the Venu when it is a product dedicated to fitness .......