Smartwatches / Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) vs Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)
Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) vs Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)
Garmin Venu 4 (41mm)
Ten days, an FDA-cleared ECG and full iPhone/Android parity — with a $6.99/mo AI paywall.
Wins overall by 1.7 points
Quick Verdict
A 1.7-point gap makes the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) the straightforward choice here. Ten days, an FDA-cleared ECG and full iPhone/Android parity — with a $6.99/mo AI paywall.
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) and Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) are both current-generation smartwatch models, and the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) is $50 cheaper than the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) ($549.99 vs $599.95). On Display, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads (8.4 vs 3.0/10) — panel type, brightness, always-on behaviour and legibility in sunlight. On Fitness & GPS, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads (9.2 vs 4.5/10) — workout tracking, GPS accuracy, sport modes and training analysis. On App Ecosystem, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads (6.0 vs 2.0/10) — whether there is a real third-party app store on the wrist or a handful of proprietary mini-apps. Overall, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores 8.1/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 6.4/10 for the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm). Below, we break down the full spec sheet, category-by-category scores, and exactly who should buy which one.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Spec | Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) | Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $549.99 | $599.95 |
| Release Year | 2025 | 2025 |
| Phone Compatibility | Both iOS and Android, with no feature gated to a Garmin-branded phone (Garmin makes none). Garmin Connect is the same app on both platforms — the widest genuine compatibility of any premium watch here. | iOS and Android both fully supported — this is one of only three watches here that does not punish you for your phone choice. Nothing is gated to a Withings-branded handset because Withings does not make phones. |
| Claimed Battery Life (hrs) | 240 | 720✓ |
| What the Battery Claim Assumes | Garmin's 10-day 41mm figure is smartwatch mode with the always-on display OFF (the 45mm is rated 12 days). Enabling the always-on display, multi-band GNSS or continuous pulse-ox roughly halves it; Garmin publishes a separate 'battery life assumptions' support page per size because the modes differ so much. | Sources conflict: Withings' own US shop page states 'up to 35 days'; the Amazon listing title states '30-Day Battery Life'. Either figure assumes the tiny greyscale sub-dial rather than a colour touchscreen, connected GPS (borrowing the phone's radio rather than its own), and no continuous SpO2. The 720 hours recorded here is the conservative 30-day reading. |
| Case Size (mm) | 41 | 39 |
| Display | 1.2-inch AMOLED with an optional always-on mode. Peak brightness is not published by Garmin. | Analogue hands over a small greyscale OLED sub-dial — there is no colour touchscreen |
| Operating System | Garmin proprietary OS | Withings proprietary firmware (no third-party OS) |
| Third-Party Apps | Garmin Connect IQ store — a real third-party store with watch faces, data fields and apps, but a much smaller and more fitness-skewed catalogue than the Play Store or App Store | None. There is no app store and no third-party apps — the watch shows a small greyscale sub-dial and notifications only. This is a health instrument in a dress-watch case, not a smartwatch platform. |
| Health Features Enabled in the US | ECG app with AFib detection is FDA-cleared and available in the US (adults 22+ only, and region-restricted elsewhere). Also Pulse Ox, wrist temperature, HRV status, respiration and the new Health Status baseline alerts. No blood pressure and no hypertension notification. | ECG with AFib detection, SpO2, 24/7 wrist temperature, respiratory scan, sleep staging with HRV, and cycle tracking — all available in the US. Withings' ECG holds regulatory clearance; the blood-pressure device Withings sells (BPM) is a separate cuff product, not part of this watch. |
| Subscription Wall | Core metrics are free, but Garmin now runs a paywall: Garmin Connect+ costs $6.99/mo and gates Active Intelligence AI insights, extra coaching and premium performance dashboards. Buying a $549.99 watch does not include it. | Withings+ is optional and includes a one-month trial. All baseline health data — ECG, SpO2, temperature, sleep score — is available without paying. Withings+ adds programmes, deeper reports and coaching. |
| LTE Option | The Venu 4 has no LTE variant; Garmin's cellular models sit in other product lines. | No LTE variant exists; the watch has no cellular radio and no standalone GPS. |
| Water & Dust Rating | 5 ATM (50 m) | 5 ATM (50 m), swimproof |
| Battery Replacement | Garmin does not sell a user or dealer battery-replacement service for the Venu line; out-of-warranty support is a discounted replacement unit. | Withings sells the watch as a sealed unit; there is no published consumer battery-replacement service, but at 30+ days per charge the cell sees a fraction of the cycles of a daily-charge watch. |
| Warranty | 12 months | 24 months |
| Colors | Slate with Black band, Silver with Periwinkle band, Lunar Gold with Bone band | Two-tone gold and steel with cream dial, Silver steel with white dial |
Category Scores
Battery Life
The Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) leads clearly here, 9.6 against 9.0 — a 0.6-point margin on real endurance between charges, judged against what the claim actually assumes rather than the headline number. If that is what you are buying for, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Health Tracking
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) is marginally ahead, 8.2 to 8.0. A gap this small rarely decides a purchase on its own, though it counts if depth of heart, sleep and body metrics that are genuinely enabled and cleared for use in the US is your priority.
Fitness & GPS
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads clearly here, 9.2 against 4.5 — a 4.7-point margin on workout tracking, GPS accuracy, sport modes and training analysis. If that is what you are buying for, the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Ecosystem Freedom
The Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) leads clearly here, 9.5 against 8.5 — a 1.0-point margin on the category's trap dimension: how much of the watch still works on a phone other than the maker's own. 10 means full parity on iOS and Android; 1 means one phone brand or nothing. If that is what you are buying for, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
App Ecosystem
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads clearly here, 6.0 against 2.0 — a 4.0-point margin on whether there is a real third-party app store on the wrist or a handful of proprietary mini-apps. If that is what you are buying for, the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Display
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads clearly here, 8.4 against 3.0 — a 5.4-point margin on panel type, brightness, always-on behaviour and legibility in sunlight. If that is what you are buying for, the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Build & Durability
The Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) leads clearly here, 9.4 against 8.4 — a 1.0-point margin on case and glass materials, water and dust ratings, and how well it survives daily wear. If that is what you are buying for, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) leads clearly here, 7.0 against 5.5 — a 1.5-point margin on what you get for the money once LTE upcharges and subscriptions are counted in. If that is what you are buying for, the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) if…
- • Display matters most to you — the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores 8.4/10 here (panel type, brightness, always-on behaviour and legibility in sunlight).
- • Fitness & GPS matters most to you — the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores 9.2/10 here (workout tracking, GPS accuracy, sport modes and training analysis).
- • App Ecosystem matters most to you — the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores 6.0/10 here (whether there is a real third-party app store on the wrist or a handful of proprietary mini-apps).
- • Value matters most to you — the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores 7.0/10 here (what you get for the money once LTE upcharges and subscriptions are counted in).
- • You want to spend less — it's $50 cheaper.
Choose the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) if…
- • Ecosystem Freedom matters most to you — the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) scores 9.5/10 here (the category's trap dimension: how much of the watch still works on a phone other than the maker's own. 10 means full parity on iOS and Android; 1 means one phone brand or nothing).
Pros & Cons
Garmin Venu 4 (41mm)
Pros
- +Ten days of battery with an AMOLED screen, versus one day from Apple and Samsung
- +FDA-cleared ECG that works identically on iPhone and Android
- +Connect IQ is a real third-party store, unlike Fitbit OS, Zepp OS or Withings
- +Best-in-class training analysis, sleep metrics and Health Status baseline alerts
Cons
- −$549.99 and Garmin still charges $6.99/mo for Connect+ to unlock Active Intelligence and premium coaching
- −The 10-day claim is with the always-on display off; turn it on and you lose roughly half
- −Connect IQ apps are fitness-skewed — it is not a substitute for a Play Store
- −No LTE, no blood pressure, no hypertension notifications
- −No battery replacement service; out of warranty means buying a discounted replacement
Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)
Pros
- +Works identically on iPhone and Android — no ecosystem trap at all
- +A month per charge versus a day for Apple and Samsung
- +Sapphire crystal, steel bracelet and Super-LumiNova on a watch that also runs an ECG
- +No subscription is needed to see any health metric
- +Two-year warranty
Cons
- −No app ecosystem whatsoever — notifications and a greyscale sub-dial are the entire smart layer
- −No on-board GPS: workouts borrow your phone's location, so you must carry the phone
- −$599.95 is Apple Watch Ultra money for a watch that cannot run a single third-party app
- −Withings' own page says 35 days and the Amazon listing says 30 — the maker's own claim is inconsistent
- −The Amazon ASIN here is the gold two-tone variant; confirm the finish before buying
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) or Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) comes out ahead overall. See the full breakdown in the scores section above — the right pick still depends on which categories matter most for your use case.
Which is better for Display, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) or the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores higher on Display (8.4/10 vs 3.0/10) — panel type, brightness, always-on behaviour and legibility in sunlight.
Which is better for Fitness & GPS, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) or the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores higher on Fitness & GPS (9.2/10 vs 4.5/10) — workout tracking, GPS accuracy, sport modes and training analysis.
Which is better for App Ecosystem, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) or the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores higher on App Ecosystem (6.0/10 vs 2.0/10) — whether there is a real third-party app store on the wrist or a handful of proprietary mini-apps.
Which is better for Value, the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) or the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) scores higher on Value (7.0/10 vs 5.5/10) — what you get for the money once LTE upcharges and subscriptions are counted in.
Is the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) worth the price difference over the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) is the cheaper option at $549.99 versus $599.95. Whether the pricier model is "worth it" depends on how much you value its lead in Display.
What's the warranty on the Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) vs the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm)?+
The Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) ships with a 12-month warranty; the Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) ships with a 24-month warranty. Always confirm current terms on the manufacturer's site before buying.
Should I wait for the next model instead of buying either of these?+
If either model is more than two years old, a successor may be close — check the "Latest Model" link on each product page. Otherwise, both are current, well-supported options and there's no strong reason to wait.
Cheaper Option
Garmin Venu 4 (41mm) — $549.99
Premium Option
Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant (39mm) — $599.95
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.