Customer Ratings & Reviews

I purchased this watch to replace my old Venue 2, and the differences are abismal, this one is way better.

Love it! Great battery life! Took me a little to get used to but now I love it!

Great product. Sometimes the HR feature seems off but no product is perfect. Not clunky at all! Would recommend getting it!

Great watch, haven’t had any problems with it at all.

Impressed with battery life. still getting familiar with the other functions of the watch

Great Display and features health and exercisegood.

Betthen apple watch to be honest.i will recommended for sure .

Omg i love this watch ..Its been great keeps ip with all of my miles .

Perfect ⌚ for fitness, super slim, battery last for more than 6 days.

First let me tell you a little about myself, I am a triathlete, marathoner and a hiker so to keep track of any or all these I must have a good watch that does a good job and has a great battery life. The Garmin Venu 3 does a great job on all the sports as well as every day tracking. I got the Garmin Venu 3 because when I completed the Camino de Santiago (The way of St James) I had a Garmin Fenix watch and it worked excellent and I gave that watch to a family member that is going train for a triathlon so now I am starting to use the Garmin Venu 3 since it just came out. So far I have ran outside as well as inside, worked out, went on a walk, cycled and slept with the watch, unfortunately the pool has been closed at my gym but I am certain it will work there as well. Running outside, I ran a few miles without the watch being on, so make sure that once you are going for a run, first, it will get the GPS signal, once it has a good signal then it will let you know it is ready so then you have to press the start button and then go. Once I knew how it worked It did a great job tracking the run, and it gives plenty of information, pace, distance, heartbeat, time, elevation, cadence, and more. The Venu also has options in running like mixed intervals, quarter mile repeats, run and walk, workouts, training calendar and finally the LiveTrack. I took it out on a bike ride and it also gives you the distance, total time, average speed, total accent, average heart rate, and it goes into details plus has great visual charts including the map where I ran with the colors showing the speed, I like the LiveTrack feature because it keeps track of your location during the activity and lets your friends and family follow along. So, LiveTrack is useful for instance, if you are doing a race, your family and friends will know where you are so they can meet you in different spots without guessing. I like that I have a button that I can press so I can have access to my assistant, so if I have my phone on my backpack and I push the button of my watch I can ask my assistant and will answer with the watch speaker, I do not need to take my phone out. Also the body battery function is great to have, it tracks my sleep, my activity and lets me know if I need to let my body rest or if I am ready to go out again and workout. The sleep coach is also something I like, it keeps track on how well I rested and it also gives me a score and even tips on when I should go to sleep. Pool swim, you can set your watch to do 25 50 meters or yards or even custom to what the pool size is. Among other activities you also have walk, run, treadmill, bike, pool swim, strength, cardio, yoga, meditation, bike indoor, bouldering, breathwork, climb indoor, disk golf, elliptical, ebike, floor climb, gaming, golf, handcycling, handcycling indoor, hiit, hike, indoor track, open water, padel, pickleball, pilates, row, row indoor, ski, snowboard, snowshoe, stari stepper, sup, tennis, walk indoor, xc classic ski, and you can change the order on what you want to be first on the list. The Venu 3 also comes with different useful apps, Wallet, phone, music, flashlight, alarms, timer, stopwatch, health snapshot and tips. Also connect IQ Store, Body battery, calendar, calories, challenges, contacts, dial pad, floors climbed, Garmin coach, hearth rate, history, hrv status, hydration, intensity min, jet lag and each of these are helpful. I like the application; it shows my day stats, challenges, calendar, news feed and more. Connect with other people is also fun to encourage each other on activities. I also like that I can customize the look of the watch as well as preset buttons. Overall the list is long on the things I like about it, battery life is one big yes for me, it lasts up to 14 days, it might last less if you have all the notifications sent to the watch but perhaps 10 days with all the notifications, I like that a lot. The one thing I would like is a bigger size since the Venu 3 looks a bit small at 45mm.

Horrible, leaves rashes all over wrist, even when wearing it loose, so loose it just spins around on your wrist. Contacted Garmin because others said they will swap your bands with a fabric or different material one. They told me no, gave me a bunch of crap to stop it from leaving a rash basically saying just don't wear it or barley touch it to your wrist and clean it everyday all day... They offered to buy it back from me instead of just a new band but ok. Have this allergy causing crap back. Loom on reddit everyone has the same issue.

The case of this is a bit large (45mm diameter), but it is delightfully thin, at only around 11mm (not including the heart rate sensor bump on the bottom). If this is too big, Garmin offers a Venu 3S that is smaller. The biggest thing for me is that it is incredibly light, weighing under 48g. This is the first device that I have owned that is actually comfortable enough to wear while sleeping (there is a sleep tracking system that also monitors your heart rate variability – nice). But if you don’t find the straps to be comfortable, then they can be removed using the quick release spring bars, and replaced with any two-piece 22mm watch strap that you want to use. The battery life is also impressive, with a realistic life of around 10-12 days, given moderate usage. As a fitness tracker, this is great. There is both a heart rate and a blood O2 sensor, as well as the usual motion tracking and GPS goodies on board. Doing a quick run will yield a GPS map outline of your path, as well as keeping all useful statistics. There are dozens of activities supported, including paddleboard and e-bike as options, as well as the usual walking, swimming, running, cardio, and others. The information is shown on a nice and bright round OLED display that is visible even in bright sunlight. While in an activity the data fields can be customized. When not being used in an activity, it does the usual tricks of showing your heart rate on a variety of watch faces, as well as other information, including current temperature and weather, sunrise and sunset times, number of steps taken, calories burned, current heart rate, and a lot of others. Alerts and messages from your phone can also be displayed, including text messages, emails, and phone calls. Phone calls can actually be taken through the speaker and microphone on the watch. A long-press of the middle button can also access your phone’s voice assistant. You can also control music being played back on your phone with the usual volume and playback controls. There are several customizable watch faces built-in, and you can download more from the “Connect IQ” marketplace. Many are free, and some cost a couple of dollars. I like the “LCD X” watch face, and it is worth the buck and a half asking price. You do need the marketplace app to install any additional apps, activities, or watch faces, and that same app is also used to make any customizations. It also supports a wallet, where you can store credit or debit card info, similar to Google pay or Apple pay. Once activated, it takes a four-digit PIN to unlock the cards. The only issue is that it identifies the cards by the last four digits of the car number, and you cannot give useful text names to the cards. Otherwise, it works well. So far this sounds like an excellent device, but now we get to the one area that needs work: integrating with your phone. Overall, this does a good job, but there is ONE FEATURE that it really needs that is lacking: integration with the phone’s mapping software. While navigating with Google maps (I am an Android user), it would be highly desirable to have the watch buzz and alert me to upcoming turns. While I am walking, I want my watch to vibrate and tell me that I have to turn right in 30 feet. Sadly, this does not seem to be possible at all. Showing any sort of map at all is not supported by Garmin, which is funny given that their background is in GPS and mapping. There are some 3rd party map applications, but they all have limitations and require jumping through some hoops to get them working, when they do work at all. It also does not allow you to read your email or messages (except through notifications), but this is fine given the small size of the screen. But if you ignore the lack of Google maps integration (I cannot speak to use with an iPhone), then this is an excellent product. I am hoping that Garmin will add this feature soon.

Before getting the Garmin Venu 3 GPS, I have been switching smart watches between a Withins ScanWatch ($350) and a Tissot Connected T-Touch ($1200). The reason behind choosing those 2 watches above others was the amazing battery life where the Withins would give me a month of usage (with limited smart watch features but good fitness tracking) and 6 months of battery use with the Tissot (good fitness tracking and poor smartwatch features). When I saw the Venu 3 that claimed almost 14 days of battery life, a bigger screen with Garmins reputation with fitness tracking, I decided to give it a try. Build quality and design: I love the black polymer look where its not fully gloss but not fully matte either, the band is comfortable and stays clean, the watch looks biggish and stylish with everything you wear, and I can wear it to work and to work out or basketball unlike my metal withins and Tissot. Features I am enjoying the most: - One very underrated feature is nap tracking, this is the first watch that does that without messing sleep tracking. - Bright screen with images from texts and newsfeed showing on the screen! - Body battery energy that seems and feels very accurate - Calory expenditure and showing how many calories I spent during activity and during rest! This helped me a lot with regulating my intake. - Stress monitoring and management. - Great app with detailed features while still getting most of the information collected on the watch itself. - Heart rate monitor - Respiration rates - Calendar snapshots which show you your activity withing the app. - Good selection of watch faces in the app. Features I miss having that are not available in this watch: - Integration with Google Fit (both my Withins and my Tissot integrate with fit and that’s how I have been tracking and having most of my fitness stats since 2014. This is not available with Garmin. - No Oximeter. And honestly at this price point, its disappointing. - Strange charging port placement and clickness. I have charged the battery once and I was afraid that I will snap the port pins while I was plugging the watch in. Real life usage for what this watch is intended for: I do like hiking a lot and I do hard hikes a few times a year, I did one hike recently while having this watch in Smokey Mountains to top rock and I had another fitness tracker on and 2 of my friends have different trackers/ smartwatches as well. The Venu 3 was as accurate as any of them and it was really great to see all the different measures it takes in real time. Conclusion: In my opinion and through my use of different smart watches that fit my life and priorities, I do believe that that Venu 3 is a great option that have most features I need from both a smart watch and a fitness tracker without the compromising short battery life. I intend to keep using it and I do recommend it for anyone who wants a good smart watch with a good battery life.

The Garmin Venu 3 strikes a wonderful balance between sleek smartwatch design and robust fitness tracking—perfect for everyday wear and health-conscious users. Its 1.4-inch AMOLED display (454 × 454 pixels) is bright, colorful, and exceptionally sharp, offering vivid visuals that stand out even in sunlight .One of its standout features is long battery life—up to two weeks in smartwatch mode and around five days with frequent GPS use—putting many rivals to shame. This makes it ideal for long trips or those who simply don’t want to charge every night. On the smart side, Garmin brings back the speaker and microphone, enabling on-wrist calls and voice assistant access—truly convenient for quick replies or hands-free use Gadgets & Wearables

Pros Good screen Always on option Good battery life Lightweight Smaller size for daily wear Has the main features for novice to intermediate athletes Uses standard watch bands 3rd party apps available Body battery helps you know when to exercise Tells you how much to train and when in plain English No need to guess if you truly need that rest day Continuous heart rate and SPO2 monitoring Integrated coached exercise options Very accurate GPS Very accurate sleep tracking Speaker and microphone for calling Cons Battery life much lower than stated Very limited 3rd party apps Most 3rd party apps incomplete Paid apps don’t list price and aren’t paid directly in store Step counter too sensitive Weight training tracking far overestimates caloric burn Very limited good watch faces Timer randomly turns on Watch ignores notification settings Notification preferences not customizable per app Alarm doesn’t sync with phone alarms No hourly chime option ECG function missing from previous generation The Garmin Venu 3 seems to be Garmin’s attempt to strike a balance between a dedicated smartwatch and hardcore exercise training device. The battery life, reflective screen, and solar charging are missing but in turn you get a much smaller case and OLED screen. Garmin doesn’t state the maximum brightness of the screen, but the best guess based on visual inspection it’s probably somewhere around 600-700 nits. While not very accurate a free app measured the brightness at a max of 760 lux. In short, the screen doesn’t get as bright as the competition but still reasonably bright. The newest heart rate sensor is included for better accuracy but at the time of writing ECG functionality is not available. There is no word from Garmin if it will be added later but the previous Venu 2 had such functionality. The style can blend in more easily for casual wear versus Garmin’s higher tier offerings. Out of the box it includes a silicone band which doesn’t breathe well but is reasonably comfortable. It is compatible with standard watch bands so you can easily change the style. One thing to note is that while the bezel is stainless steel, the case is essentially plastic. This means that while it is light and should be durable, it does feel cheaper on the wrist. From a durability standpoint it does have gorilla glass 3, but it rests slightly above the stainless-steel bezel so it will be the first thing to get hit in a fall. Included in the box is the proprietary charging cable which plugs into the back of the watch. Unfortunately, wireless charging is not supported. Setup Setup is done through the Garmin Connect app. It took several attempts to pair where it would not show up in the app but it finally worked. Suspecting this might be due to early firmware the first thing was to check for firmware updates within the Garmin Connect app. This brought to light something that after reading is common with Garmin watches. Depending on the watch, certain features might only be available on the watch even if showing on the app. After multiple update checks that kept saying failed came the realization that the watch also has a check for updates option in the menus. After tapping update on the watch, it found an update and prompted to install. This led to another odd behavior where the watch just switched to updating but gave no feedback on the progress. After 45 minutes the watch was put on the charger to see if that might be the problem, but still no progress was displayed. After leaving on the charger for approximately another 45 minutes the watch chimed saying update was completed. For someone new to Garmin watches this might be a bit concerning thinking something is wrong. Everything updated correctly but the process could be refined. The next day the watch prompted for another update automatically and this next update only took about 20 minutes. After this point things smoothed out quite a bit although certain settings when changed withing the app, such as display, would not change on the watch. The setting only seemed to change when done directly from the watch. After further testing it seems some of the issue might be related to battery management limiting how often the watch syncs with the phone. The watch does have a manual sync button which seemed to improve this. The Venu 3 can mirror your phone notifications for phone, text, and apps. While it would be great if Garmin allow turning off apps on a per app basis it is an all or nothing setting. This means if you want to get security alerts from your security cameras on your watch you also must allow every email that arrives to alert you as well. This makes the smart watch aspect seem much less smart. Hopefully Garmin will offer more customizability on this in the future. Because having app notifications on meant the watch constantly buzzed every minute or two with each new email, news article, and security alert the option was turned off. The strange thing is for some reason some apps, such as Gmail and one news app, are still alerting on the watch. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for this happening as the settings are off and even stranger is that it isn’t all emails. This seems like it could be user error, but no other options have been found that could cause this. The Venu 3 is supposed to be part smart watch and part fitness watch. Connect IQ which is their app store. It is mostly loaded with third party watch faces. You can browse for apps and watch faces but any fees are not listed because they are paid directly to the developer using the method the developer chooses. They simply say Payment. Some apps are listed with no price also activate a trial period on install, such as the Big Easy watch face, suggesting at some point they may prompt for payment. It did not indicate it was a paid app so it is strange it would say trial. Overall, the app store is limited with mostly variations of watch faces, most of which are data heavy with little emphasis given to readability or aesthetics. Garmin has a few watch faces, such as Mountain Festival, that do this quite well. Apps and watch faces can be specific to certain watches. There are some very well-developed fitness watch faces for the Fenix series of watches that aren’t available for the Venu. It would be nice if Garmin can find a way to make apps and watch faces universal to their entire lineup. Performance With an iPhone Apple restricts access to features like messages. The Venu 3 can display new text messages as well as answer and place calls but what you can’t create new texts. At least not the normal way. Garmin has a clever workaround the restrictions by using Siri connected via Bluetooth to compose new text messages as well as access more features on the iPhone. Unfortunately, at least on my iPhone it was not stable as it kept saying Bluetooth disconnected. It is possible that this is related to the phone though as it has an early build of iOS 17 and other Bluetooth devices have been behaving strangely. While the smart watch features are a bit behind, Garmin has a lot of experience on the fitness side. Garmin has spent time trying to take all the data the Venu 3 collects and simplifying it down to answer what I should do today for my health. It takes your heart rate, SPO2, HRV, sleep, and activity intensity to determine what your body needs. If your HRV is decreasing, it shows the number but more importantly it will let you know what you need to do. Maybe you need more sleep or just a light workout day. In either case, it will tell you in plain English what you need to do. Using these metrics, it can get a good idea that even if you haven’t exercised, maybe you are under more stress and your vitals are off. Right after getting the Venu 3 the family caught a virus going around. When feeling off, our normal rule is if you aren’t sure if you feel like exercising or not then do it. You will know when you can’t. Of course, sometimes this has caused pushing through and feeling worse. Well, the Venu 3 took out the guesswork. It noticed my HRV and SPO2 took a slight dip and eventually my sleep quality. First it suggested a little more rest and light exercise. As things progressed it recommended taking a rest day and bumped sleep up further. No need to guess if I was making excuses to sit on the couch. As the family started to recover my sleep goals were reduced and it gave me the green light for exercise. Now I know if that jog I’m dreading will be one where I will feel happy or regret pushing through after. It can also determine your training intensity using those same metrics and determine how long you need to recover before you do another hard training session. For example, after what felt like an unusually hard weight training session it increased my recovery time from my normal 48 hours to 69 hours. Overall, the sensors have been very accurate with heart rate and GPS matching the most accurate devices I own. If there was one criticism on accuracy it would be the step counter. The Venu 3 can’t tell the difference between fast chopping of vegetables or the slow stirring of a pot and walking. While making a meal it interpreted chopping vegetables as a brisk walk. Final Thoughts As long as this is, there is still much more it could cover. The big question is who is the Venu 3 for? If your primary concern is a smartwatch with lots of apps, there are better options. Where the Venu 3 shines is in taking lots of health metrics and simplifying them down to what should I do today for my health. You can still dig into the data if you want but between a simplified body battery meter, automatic recovery time calculations, and dynamic sleep suggestions the Venu 3 means you don’t have to. If you are a novice or intermediate fitness enthusiast looking for a sleek fitness watch you can wear every day that has some smart watch features while not being as big and bulky as the top end Garmin watches then the Venu 3 is worth consideration.

PROS + Puts health first with a wide variety of health tracking features including body battery, stress, HRV, recovery, sleep, and more tracking available right out of the gate + Automatic sleep and nap detection with built-in sleep coach + Data, data, and more data for all you want to track + Plenty of smart features like call/text response with built-in mic on watch, notification tracking, timer, alarms, flashlight, stopwatch, etc. + Screen gets plenty bright for outdoor use with great colors for artistic watch faces + Multiple sports apps for indoor and outdoor use + A dedicated wheelchair mode for better accessibility + Guided Garmin coaching functionality built-in, along with guided meditation exercises + Heart rate tracking is very responsive and seems very accurate + Built-in GPS for route tracking and location detection + Automatic emergency contact notification in case of emergency situation detection + Lots of free and paid apps available via Garmin ConnectIQ + Garmin Connect App provides lots of easy ways to interact with watch functions and data + Very comfortable to wear all day and night + ~2 week battery life CONS - Dedicated music apps need to be installed via ConnectIQ app, which limits functionality (e.g. no Tidal or Apple Music currently) - Some settings nested in the app, requiring a fair amount of online research to really know what the watch can fully do and where to access things like data privacy measures, or how to swap watch faces easily SO-SO ~ Stress detection can be hit and miss with some false positives or missed stress ~ Offers a ton of features and customizability, but that also makes the learning curve a bit steeper than normal to really get the benefits from the watch ~ Step tracking seems a bit generous in my opinion compared to other step trackers I have used, and seems to pick up more phantom steps than usual ~ Doesn’t play quite as nice with IOS as it does with Android (for example there is no direct way to limit notifications in the watch from some apps but not others, requires turning off banner notifications for the apps in IOS) THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT I really love the Garmin Venu 3. It isn’t perfect, as no device is, but it really swings with all of its might by trying to offer as many features as possible, and it is really surprising how often it nails them. This has very quickly become my favorite smartwatch I have used, and I still feel like I am learning new things everyday about it that make me like it even more. It is by far and away the most comfortable watch I have used, and it has all of the health tracking and functionality I could ask for to make everyday use very easy. I have found that the stress tracking can be a bit hit or miss, as sometimes it mistakes excitement for stress, or underestimates stress in situations where physical symptoms are lessened, but honestly, this is a very tall task for any wearable. In general though, it still managed to track average stress well, and the data did tend to correlate with what I perceived as high stress moments, even if the edge cases weren’t always detected. But this example is a good one to show how this watch performs in my view. Even when it doesn’t do things perfect, it still does them very well. It is just a very well rounded, feature rich, customizable, comfortable, and useful device. I haven’t had any bugs or quirks yet that I couldn’t easily look past, and if you are willing to spend time really setting it up to be what you want/need, you will get a lot out of it. It does really give you back what you put into it, and so you may have a steeper set-up curve than you are used to for really dialing it in and figuring out everything it can do and how to do it, but if you put in the time (which is the fun part in my eyes), you have a fantastic piece of technology on your wrist at all times. Like I said, it's my favorite smartwatch and smart wearable I have used thus far, and I highly recommend it. SET-UP From a set-up standpoint, the Venu 3 is pretty easy to get up and running. It mainly involves pairing the watch to your phone using Bluetooth and Garmin Connect app. The pairing process is very similar to any other smart device you may have used, and is really very straight forward. Once connected to your phone, you can connect it to Wi-Fi, and then you are pretty much off to the races. You will go through a set-up process, a quick tutorial, and then you are pretty much free to adjust everything to your liking. In terms of customization, there is a ton on offer here. You will find yourself using the Connect and ConnectIQ mobile apps a fair amount to download custom watch faces, music, and other apps native to the watch. This is a pro & a con in that you have a ton of options (can be a bit overwhelming at first honestly), but you also are reliant on 3rd party apps for some of the features like native music streaming, which means when apps like Tidal or Apple Music are unavailable, you can be out of luck. Not a big deal for me, since I like to use my phone to control music, but your mileage may vary, especially if you like to use native music apps that aren’t supported for things like control while running. You get a lot of controls and functionality on the watch itself, with many features and shortcuts accessible directly via the watch itself. You can use the mobile app to get yourself set-up, but once up and running, you shouldn’t need to use the app for everyday use unless you really want to get in-depth with metric tracking and workout creations. You can do a lot with the watch, its touchscreen, and customizable shortcuts between apps and features. FEATURES I think the biggest takeaway here is that there is a little something for everyone when it comes to what the Venu 3 offers. It bills itself as a GPS Smartwatch, but honestly I was most impressed with its health tracking functionality that could give many dedicated health trackers a run for their money. From things like dedicated automatic sleep/nap tracking, workout detection, heart rate/HRV monitoring, guided workouts/meditations, stress tracking, recovery, body battery estimation, and more; the Venu 3 really puts health first. The best part is that all of this functionality is just available out of the gate, without needing to pay for a premium monthly subscription to maintain the benefits, which can’t be said for many other health trackers. Sure, you may miss some of the more specialized health tracking features if you are really into health monitoring, but for me and most everyday users or casual athletes, I would be surprised if this isn’t more than enough for you. Add to this more traditional smartwatch features like answering calls/texts with the watch, managing notifications, stopwatch/timer, flashlight with the screen, and more, and you have a fully well rounded device. One of my low-key favorite features has been to shortcut to the flashlight app with one button press, which is great when getting up at night without having to search for your phone in the dark. You get a ton of customization between the Connect and ConnectIQ apps, and the watch specific apps you can get for free or purchase from the ConnectIQ store. I particularly love the wide variety of watch face apps available, and I have customized a few I can easily swap between for different use cases depending on what I am going for. Some of them in particular really go heavy on data tracking, if you want to have as much data as possible at your fingertips. One of the features I really appreciate, even if it doesn’t apply to me directly, is the accessibility features like wheelchair mode for health tracking tailored to those individuals who use a wheelchair daily. For women, there is also Menstrual Cycle tracking built-in. Of course, all of this would be mute if the watch didn’t perform well at these features, and thankfully it does in almost all regards. The actual tracking capabilities are very accurate from my estimation, and while things like in-depth sleep cycles and stress are hard to validate, they generally sense check with what I see/feel day-to-day. Things like REM tracking or high-stress moments may not be as accurate as dedicated devices for tracking these things, but you can’t expect miracles from an all-in-one watch like this. It hits where it counts, and still provides plenty of useful information I have been able to use to help improve my behaviors. One great example of this is when it suggested a 5 minute guided breathing meditation because I was getting stressed, which did help and I could see the results clearly in the data. COMFORT AND EVERYDAY USE It is very comfortable to use and lightweight, and I never had any issues wearing it all day or even at night for sleep tracking, which I wasn’t expecting, given I normally hate wearing watches or other jewelry to bed. Honestly I barely noticed it was on half the time, and it only took a day to adjust to it, due to its lightweight and comfortable band, with highly granular wrist size adjustments. For everyday use, this is likewise a great device, and is very easy to navigate and function once you get used to the gestures/shortcuts. Honestly, there isn’t much to say here. It is very comfortable and intuitive to use. With practice and some customization, you should be within just a few clicks or swipes of most everyday features you want/need.

The Garmin Venu 3 GPS Smartwatch has become an indispensable part of my daily routine, seamlessly blending functionality with style. This sleek and lightweight device has truly impressed me with its array of features and exceptional performance. Firstly, the design is a standout feature. The watch's slim profile and comfortable weight make it ideal for all-day wear. The high-resolution AMOLED display is vibrant and easy to read, even in bright sunlight, providing crisp visuals for notifications, workouts, and various activities. The inclusion of GPS functionality is a game-changer for fitness enthusiasts. Accurate tracking of runs, hikes, or bike rides without needing to carry a phone adds a level of convenience that's hard to beat. The watch's sensors are incredibly precise, delivering detailed and reliable fitness metrics, making it a fantastic workout companion. Battery life is a crucial factor for any smartwatch, and the Venu 3 doesn't disappoint. Despite its impressive array of features, it boasts a commendable battery life that lasts several days on a single charge, even with regular use and GPS tracking during workouts. This reliability minimizes the need for frequent charging, which is a significant plus. The watch's intuitive interface and customizable widgets make navigation a breeze. The user-friendly experience extends to the Garmin Connect app, which offers in-depth insights into fitness data, sleep tracking, and personalized health recommendations. Syncing data and customizing settings is effortless, enhancing the overall user experience. Moreover, the watch's durability and water resistance add to its appeal, allowing me to wear it during various activities without worry. The availability of numerous watch faces and interchangeable bands further adds a touch of personalization to match any style or occasion. In conclusion, the Garmin Venu 3 GPS Smartwatch is a standout choice for individuals seeking a blend of style, functionality, and reliability in a smartwatch. Its lightweight design, impressive battery life, accurate fitness tracking, and user-friendly interface make it a top contender in the market. Whether for fitness tracking, daily use, or style, the Venu 3 stands tall as a versatile and dependable smartwatch.

The Garmin Venu 3 is an awesome smartwatch. The screen is super clear, the battery lasts for days, and it tracks everything from workouts to sleep really well. GPS is accurate, and the health insights keep me motivated. Comfortable to wear all day and packed with features—definitely worth it!

TLDR: This is a fantastic alternative for those not married to the competitions’ products. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS I’ve been a Garmin user for years, but quite honestly when someone mentions Garmin, who doesn’t think about their GPS units. A long-time gold standard in the GPS industry Garmin has also been making smartwatches for many years. Unfortunately, they have been overshadowed by the watches made by their competition. I tried a Garmin smartwatch several years ago. I made it almost a week before returning it. The lack of a touchscreen interface and, at the time, a very thin app store did not win me over. Call it being spoiled from using the smartwatch from Garmin’s competition, the touchscreen interface is just too intuitive to not have been included. I was looking for a watch that could provide an overall whole health approach at the time, which Garmin has always strived to provide, I just didn’t fall in love with the non-intuitive interface. The Venu 3 addresses nearly every concern I encountered in my previous purchase and aims to be a major player in the smartwatch field. The Venu 3 has a 45mm AMOLED touchscreen, physical buttons, superb battery life, for those with smaller hands and wrists, a sleeker, thinner design, and a very robust and comprehensive app store and watch face options. Not as good as the competition, but light years better than it was a couple of years ago. USE Having never had a true Garmin smartwatch for any length of time, I was a bit concerned about the interface. I am accustomed to my Android smartphone manufacturer’s watch and its interface, so I wasn’t sure if I would like Garmin’s way of doing business. I think they have done an excellent job at bridging the gap between their offering and the offerings of Garmin’s 2 major competitors. While the user interface is different and so far, I find less intuitive than my previous Pro model of Android watch, it is just a matter of getting used to Garmin’s idiosyncrasies. The screen is sharp and responsive. Apps that provide a thumbnail of an event like my doorbell or smart lock look clean and clear. Possibly even clearer than my other smartwatch. In addition to the negatives, I’ve listed about my previous Garmin smartwatch, I found it annoying that I couldn’t get text messages or make and receive calls from the watch. After all, that is one of the main selling points to me for having a smartwatch. Garmin has addressed all these issues. The Venu 3 allows you to make and receive phone calls from the watch, along with sending and receiving text messages. I find the phone portion works just as well as Garmin’s competition, but the text messaging aspect leaves room for improvement, I will address in my negatives section. Though, I will give Garmin props for making the text extremely legible. Garmin does not hide the fact that they want to market their watches to those seeking and wanting a fitness-oriented product. The Venu 3 does this well. There are many items that keep you informed about your day and overall health. Things like sleep analysis, step counter, workout intensity, heart rate, stress level, pulse ox, recovery, floor counter, and body battery. While some of these features are available from Garmin’s competition. Garmin puts their own unique spin on each one that even though some are available on my Android smartwatch, these apps feel different, and honestly more comprehensive and informative on the Garmin. I have grown used to my previous watch interface, having had the last 3 generations of the product, but I prefer Garmin’s approach to fitness and health. It is a subtle, but interesting and informative change. They even offer guided workouts directly on the face of the watch. Outstanding. NEGATIVES I don’t like Garmin’s approach to text messaging. I have, so far, found it unreliable. My old Android smartwatch included a companion app on my phone that allowed for an intuitive option for speech to text. I find the Garmin implementation lacking. I have not had a successful speech to text completion yet, even though my phone and watch are paired perfectly, and I have enabled all the necessary Google permissions. Garmin claims up to a 14-day battery life. I have used the watch for the past 4 days and am now at 17%. Garmin is estimating 3 days remaining, but it won’t be close to that. I have 1 day left, at most. It is still better than the 5th generation Pro model Android watch I have. It lasts 3 days, at best. My buddy’s iOS-based watch must be recharged every night. CONCLUSIONS I am quite impressed with Garmin’s newest product. I consider this watch the first real Garmin offering that can compete with its 2 major competitors. My experience before left too much on the table to consider switching. Having used this watch for some time now, I can see users being as happy, or happier with this watch, if they are not married to Garmin’s competitions’ ecosystems. Garmin’s approach to smartwatches and whole-body health is unique and thorough. The Garmin OS appears to be as refined as any of my other smartwatches. I find delivery of texts and alerts quicker than my old watch. There haven’t been any stutters or slowdowns switching between apps and notifications and no lagging going from one thing to another. Good work. While the text messaging debacle still needs some sorting, I still recommend the device and think those in the market for a smartwatch should give the Garmin a try. I doubt they will be disappointed. RECOMMENDED

Excellent fitness watch. It has the perfect combo of smartwatch and fitness tracking elements. I recently went from an iPhone 15 Pro to a Pixel 9 Pro, had an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and therefore needed a new watch. Not only is the Garmin more accurate but it also has better fitness tracking and health tracking such as active calories burned and calories burned at rest. I also bought the Garmin heart rate Strap Pro to increase the accuracy of my heart rate recordings as regardless of manufacturer, wrist HR sensors are inferior to the chest strap sensor. I wish I went with the Garmin before I got the ultra watch 2 as it's much better overall. The only trade off is that the apple watch has better integration with the system where you can control remotely from the watch and the UI looks better. But the Garmin works, the UI doesn't look fancy but it works and can do most of the things I could do on my Apple watch. The battery life is also superb! Holy smokes this thing blows every other watch out of the water. I lift for 2 hours 6 days of the week followed by 50 minutes of cardio and do kickboxing for an hour 5 days of the week. After a normal day where I start with my watch at 96% battery, by the end of the day on average the battery life is at 86%. Very impressive for having to use the heart rate sensors, GPS, smart notifications, and other things. My apple watch would have to be charged everyday because I would be in the 50s to 40s after a normal day of activity. To end with it, it's half the price of a watch ultra!!! Don't make the same mistake I did, get the Garmin, you're not going to regret it.