For a long time, Garmin has been synonymous with the big, chunky sports watches that adorn the wrists of adventurers and marathon runners. But over the past few years, Garmin has been quietly working to change this perception, releasing fitness-first smartwatches that can be worn to the office or out for drinks with friends.

Today, the tech brand unveiled two new watches at CES 2022, both heading in the same direction: the Vivomove Sport and Venu 2 Plus are both hybrid smartwatches, tracking steps, heart rate, and calories burned while, They are also beautifully designed to look good.

If Pandemic has taught us anything, it's that health is far more important than how many steps you take each day or how hard you work on your tempo runs. Both of these watches are targeted at fitness enthusiasts who want to wear their sports watches 24/7 and keep track of their overall health, including how well they slept and how much water they drank. This is an encouraging move and a nod to the big changes we are seeing in the fitness world right now.

Now, let's cut to the chase. We've spent the past few weeks putting the Vivomove Sport and Venu 2 Plus through their paces and bringing you hands-on feedback on Garmin's latest creations: our review of the Garmin Vivomove Sport is here, and our review of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is here.

The Vivomove Sport is an entry-level fitness tracker, the kind of watch you wore before you cared about fitness. With the ticking hands of a traditional wristwatch and a sleek display, the Vivomove Sport is also loaded with health tracking features normally reserved for Garmin's more expensive smartwatches, such as blood oxygen levels.

I like to think of the Vivomove Sport as an upgraded version of the Vivomove HR Sport version; the Vivomove Sport can track 10 different activities, sleep, hydration, and menstrual cycle from your wrist. This watch does not have built-in GPS, so it is definitely more for beginners than marathon runners.

Nevertheless, the affordable price (the watch retails for $179.99) makes it a great inexpensive fitness tracker that easily competes with something like the Fitbit Charge 5. The watch is currently available on Garmin's website and comes in brown, white, mint green, and black.

This was a bit unexpected since the Garmin Venu 2 was only released last April, but with the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, Garmin has aimed to solve one of the Venu 2's biggest drawbacks: the voice assistant.

To better challenge a well-known competitor, the $449 Garmin Venu 2 Plus introduces wrist calling and a voice assistant. While maintaining Garmin's reputation for thorough fitness tracking and accurate GPS, the Venu 2 Plus is a stronger selling point for those who want their smartwatch to act as an extension of their smartphone.

Senior writer Kate Kozuch said, "The Garmin Venu 2 Plus promises a more connected smartwatch experience than most other Garmin watches; with support for Android and iOS calls, making and answering calls from your wrist It was easy to make and answer calls from my wrist. In addition to making calls without having to search for the phone, the Venu 2 Plus can be paired with a smartphone assistant. Those with Google Assistant or Bixby-enabled smartphones should enjoy the same convenience.

The Venu 2 Plus can store up to 650 songs, including playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. Tools like Garmin Pay, mirror notifications, and timers are also integrated into the user experience.

The Venu 2 Plus retails for $499 and is currently available on Garmin's website in black, white, gold, gray, and silver.