The Garmin Venu 3, a robust lifestyle tracker, boasts a remarkable AMOLED screen, abundant sports tracking, and interactive features. With its AMOLED display, built-in speakers, and microphone, it offers exceptional meditation-based guidance, wheelchair user tracking, and doorbell visual alerts, enhancing its already comprehensive sleep tracking capabilities. While it’s not the most budget-friendly option, it justifies its price with an array of valuable features.
pros:
- The stunning AMOLED display
- Wheelchair user tracking
- The inclusion of built-in speakers and a microphone
- Its intuitive health guidance
- Specialized wheelchair tracking
cons:
- The relatively high price point
- The absence of certain premium training features
GARMIN VENU 3: IN BRIEF
The Garmin Venu 3, the third installment in this trilogy of watches, surprisingly outshines its predecessors. It’s not just one of Garmin’s best; it stands out among all smartwatches.
Incorporating smartwatch and health tracking elements, the Venu 3 dazzles with its vibrant AMOLED screen, rivaling top Apple watches. Plus, it boasts an impressive two-week battery life, far surpassing Apple’s meager 18-36 hours.
While it lacks premium running features like Training Readiness and Race Predictor found in the Garmin Forerunner 265, it excels in advanced sleep tracking, unique wheelchair-specific metrics, and health insights. Additionally, it supports speaker and microphone functions, enabling call handling and enhancing meditation training.
Despite its price, the Garmin Venu 3 combines smartwatch capabilities, including GPS tracking, offline Spotify, and contactless payments, with comprehensive lifestyle tracking around the clock.
GARMIN VENU 3: SPECIFICATIONS
Here’s a breakdown of the Garmin Venu 3’s vital specs:
| Component | Garmin Venu 3 |
|---|---|
| Price | $450 / £450 / AU$749 |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 12 (mm) |
| Weight | 46 g |
| Case/bezel | Fibre-reinforced polymer case, stainless steel bezel |
| Display | 454 x 454 1.4-inch AMOLED touch |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO |
| Battery life | Watch mode 14 days, GPS only 26 hours, GPS + Music 11 hours |
| Connection | Bluetooth, ANT+, WiFi |
| Water resistant? | Yes, 5ATM |
GARMIN VENU 3: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Garmin Venu 3 is priced at £450 in the UK, $450 in the US, and AU$749 in Australia. While it’s a tad pricier than some Garmin models and rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, it stands as an attractive alternative to the Apple Watch.
For $450 / £450 / AU$749, it offers a premium look and multifunctionality. Though a touch above the average smartwatch price, it’s worth the investment.
These initial prices tend to decrease over time, with deals aplenty. Keep an eye on our Black Friday Garmin deals page for potential savings.
Value Score: 4/5
GARMIN VENU 3: DESIGN AND SCREEN
| Specifications | Details |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.4-inch AMOLED |
| Bezel | Stainless steel |
| Strap | Comfy silicone, 22mm QuickFit compatible |
| Water Resistance | 50 meters, dustproof |
| Size Options | 41mm (Venu 3S) and 45mm (Venu 3) |
| Color Choices (Venu 3) | White, Black, Black with leather strap |
| Color Choices (Venu 3S) | Soft gold, Rose pink, Sage gray, and more |
The Garmin Venu 3 isn’t just another smartwatch; it’s a blend of style and functionality. The silicone strap, both comfy and waterproof, complements its minimalist design. Its stainless steel bezel adds a premium touch that sets it apart from curved-screen competitors like Apple Watches and the Google Pixel Watch 2.
However, the real charm ignites when the screen comes alive. Featuring a stunning 1.4-inch AMOLED display with a sharp 454 x 454 pixel resolution, it presents your metrics vividly, regardless of lighting conditions. The touchscreen’s intuitive menu navigation and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection ensure a scratch-free experience.
With 50-meter waterproofing and dustproofing, it’s versatile and durable. Three buttons facilitate menu interactions, enhancing usability. The Venu 3 comes in two sizes, 41mm (Venu 3S) and 45mm (Venu 3), with various color options, including white, black, and black with a leather strap for the Venu 3, and even more choices for the Venu 3S.
Design Score: 5/5
FEATURES
| Key Features | Details |
|---|---|
| Guided Meditation Content | Tailored audio and visual guidance, no headphones required |
| Wheelchair User Tracking | Specialized mode for tracking pushes and sports |
| Sleep Tracking | In-depth tracking with guidance, stress scores, and more |
| All-Day Heart Rate Tracking | Continuous monitoring for a comprehensive health overview |
| Connectivity | Contactless payments, Bluetooth headphone support, offline Spotify |
| Exercise Tracking | Versatile options, including swimming and golf |
| Meditation Benefits | Monitors respiration and heart rate for direct feedback |
The Garmin Venu 3 excels in health, lifestyle, and fitness tracking, accompanied by valuable smartwatch apps from the Connect IQ store. Notably, its AMOLED screen integrates with the Ring doorbell app, displaying alert screenshots, adding convenience.
With a built-in speaker and microphone, the watch enables audio alerts and call handling, though some app integrations may not be seamless. Its core strength remains in fitness tracking, covering heart rate, sleep, stress, HRV, respiration, and extensive exercise options, including golf.
Unique to the Venu 3, guided meditation content offers audio and visual guidance without requiring headphones. Wheelchair users benefit from dedicated tracking, monitoring pushes and specific sports.
The watch also supports contactless payments, Bluetooth headphones, offline Spotify, and a practical flashlight mode for daily use.
Features Score: 5/5
GARMIN VENU 3 Review: PERFORMANCE
The Garmin Venu 3 excels in practicality, offering near-flawless GPS, precise heart rate data, and advanced sleep tracking with reports. It even introduces nap detection.
The speaker and microphone prove genuinely useful for guided meditations, phone calls, and music. However, it falls short in sports tracking depth compared to dedicated sportswear. The setup process remains an ongoing issue with Garmin’s connection.
Performance Score: 4/5
GARMIN VENU 3 Review: SCORECARD
| Category | Comment | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Higher priced but reasonable | 4/5 |
| Design and screen | Stunning AMOLED | 5/5 |
| Features | Broad range of options | 5/5 |
| Performance | Outstanding, apart from setup | 4/5 |
| Total | A life tracker with super screen, speaker, and smarts | 4/5 |
SHOULD I BUY?
Buy it if…
- You want a super screen: The vibrant AMOLED screen offers a delightful, clear view in any lighting.
- You want sleep smarts: It’s among Garmin’s most comprehensive sleep trackers, providing valuable insights.
Don’t buy it if…
- You’re a serious runner: For deep running metrics, consider dedicated running watches.
- You’re on a budget: This is a pricey option; consider a lower-priced model if the screen and some features are expendable.
ALSO CONSIDER
| Component | Garmin Venu 3 | Garmin Forerunner 265 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $450 / £450 / AU$749 | $449 / £429 / AU$770 | £269 / $279.99 / AU$499 |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 12 (mm) | 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9 (mm) | 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8 (mm) |
| Weight | 46 g | 47 g | 33.5g |
| Case/bezel | Fibre-reinforced polymer case, stainless steel bezel | Fibre-reinforced polymer | Armor aluminum frame |
| Display | 454 x 454 1.4-inch AMOLED touch | 416 x 416 px AMOLED, Corning Gorilla Glass | 450 x 450 px super AMOLED, Sapphire crystal |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO | GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, SatIQ | GPS, Glonass, Galileo |
| Battery life | Watch mode 14 days, GPS only 26 hours, GPS + Music 11 hours | 13 days (20 hours GPS) | 24 hours |
| Connection | Bluetooth, ANT+, WiFi | Bluetooth 5.2, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi |
| Water resistant? | Yes, 5ATM | Yes, 5ATM | Yes, IP68 |