Garmin Venu® 3, Premium Fitness Smartwatch, 45mm, Whitestone

This is my 1st purchase of a Garmin Smartwatch. I had several Fitbits in the past 10 years and I was pretty much satisfied with just using the basics of that simpler watch. Music, payments, advanced workouts, messages, all the rest – I never used my watch for those functions. I was looking for a smartwatch to count my daily steps, track heartrate (see why below), quickie weather forecasts, a few stock quotes, oh yeah…and the time. That was pretty much the limits of my Fitbit usage. So having those plus a bunch of other simple apps or glances (Garmin’s terms for simple and oft-used apps), I was more than happy. The Garmin Venu 3S does all of this and more. If you want to do music, videos, payments, and lots of other features the Venu 3S can do those too, but that’s not my bag, as Austin Powers once said. The glances features are pretty easy to navigate once you get comfortable with these app-like functions. The Body Battery function is interesting, combining data from several apps to determine how much energy your body has or needs. Sleep Score is also useful. I even found a nifty Sun & Moon app that gives me the time for sunrise/set and moonrise/set plus the Moon phase -- useful for my daily activities and those days and nights when I pursue my astronomy hobby. I am especially pleased with the heart apps. I have several heart issues including HOCM (Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy) so being able to check my heart rate at rest and during rigorous walks is very important to me. The ECG and HRV Status apps are nice additional features to have (if you have an arrythmia check with your cardiologist/doctor before activating the ECG function). The Pulse Oximeter is also good to check upon during long walks or other strenuous activities. Battery life consistently averaging 10 days is fantastic, especially compared to Apple smartwatches that need to be recharged in under 2 days. My Fitbits could last 5 days but that meant bringing a charger for most vacations or longer times away from home. The Venu 3S is able to last 10 days right on the dot, and that included during the setup run when the watch was being used a lot more and downloading updates, glances, apps, etc. A battery saver option with a “sleep” mode will help you survive until you can get back to your home and charger, preserving battery life if you’re using the watch but running low on power. I got the Venu 3S instead of the brand new model 4S (which had just come out) because for someone not maxxing out on all the apps/glances/features, the 3S was more than enough for my needs. I didn’t see a revolutionary change from the Venu 3S to the 4/4s. If you are a person who lives more off their smartwatch than your smartphone, then perhaps the additional features and new OS (assuming no glitches) on the Garmin Venu 4 will be worth it. At an extra 20% in cost, make sure you need the latest features or it’s an unnecessary expenditure. Net-Net: this is a really nifty smartwatch for the advanced or beginner smartwatch user. The interface is very nice…swiping is easy and seamless....button navigation also very simple...the watch face colors are bright and easy to see even in direct sunlight. The 41mm size is fine for me (I’m under 6 feet tall) and most people, but if you like having an oversized watch or are a bigger person with a bigger wrist, than the 45mm size of the Venu 3 might be better for you. Very happy with my Garmin Venu 3S and if my prior experience with their GPS car navigation systems holds, I should have many years of trouble-free usage ahead of me.

Absolutely love this watch! Garmin really gets fitness tracking right. I've found it to be much more accurate than other fitness watches and smart rings I've owned. It offers a wide variety of workout tracking options, which has helped me jump-start my fitness routine and stay motivated. The quality of both the hardware and software is outstanding. The watch feels durable and well-made, and the interface is intuitive and responsive. Setup was quick and easy, and navigating the features became second nature after just a short time. Overall, this has been an excellent purchase, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable, feature-rich fitness watch.

Let me preface this by saying I chose this one after buying, trying, and then returning the Apple Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch, FitBit, and a couple of other lesser-known brands. I actually went with a Garmin Venu Sq. 2 first and I loved it, at which point I bought this one due to the beautiful, large AMOLED screen and because it runs on the sand base software. That’s a GOOD thing, so let me elaborate. This is by far the most accurate watch for counting the total calories burned. The Apple Watch simply did not let me view the TOTAL calories burned, as it would show your estimated basal metabolic rate and then stack the active expenditure in a separate category, so you’d have to go back and forth to view each one and then add it up. The Galaxy watch suffered a similar problem, but it was not that accurate at measuring steps, which would directly affect the caloric expenditure. The FitBit was just WILDLY inaccurate and once told me I burned 5000+ calories in a day because I had a panic episode after something bad happened in my personal life, and so that night it registered me as having burned thousands of calories just laying in bed. The Garmin, however, did everything right (accurate steps that match the ones my iPhone said to within 5%, heart rate matched a professional blood pressure cuff, and the calorie counter tracked my weight loss exactly). It is extremely useful when counting calories where a slim margin is needed, such as aiming to lose 750 calories a day to lose 1.5 lbs/week. It it’s off by just 100 or 200, that’s already a half pound off, or 26 pounds a year. It is extremely important to me that it gets it right. It also has a ton of features, but I don’t use them honestly. It’s very easy to connect and set up, too. The price is subjectively fair but objectively it is quite high. Regardless, I am very pleased with it. The battery life is EXCELLENT if you turn Bluetooth and WiFi off, too. 5/5 all around!

I used to be an "All In" Apple fan until the last couple of years when they really started going downhill. My daughter had started doing research on Garmin and told me about all the wonderful selling points on it, and I just couldn't believe it! I went with the Venu 3 in the men's version instead of the women's version because it gave me a bigger watch face. I wear reading glasses and want to be able to see it without having to put my glasses on for the smaller selections that I would need to see. Let me tell you what I found as a new Garmin convert! First of all I wasn't sure if it was going to like the round face as opposed to the square face, but I actually love it more. It took a couple of days to get used to the different ways of doing things, but once I understood how it worked I find I really like it more. The bottom button is kind of like your "go to" button on the right side of your watch. This button is your "back" button that you hit to go back a screen and finally end up at your Home Screen. If you want to record an activity or access one of your apps then you would press the top button. If you want to do an activity, you press the one that you want on the screen, and then you would press the button on the top to start it. To pause the activity or restart it you would press the top button again. If you want to delete the activity for whatever reason then there is a trash can on the top of the screen that you tap, it will take you to the next screen and you can either confirm that you want to delete it with the top side button, or you can go back because that is not what you want to do with the bottom side button. If you want to change your watch face, record an alarm or stop watch, or go to settings then you would long press the bottom button. It will give you the choice of "Watch Face", "Clocks", or "Settings". if you go into one and that is not what you want then you simply press the bottom button again to go back to the previous screen. Garmin gives you some really neat watch faces to choose from, or you even get the option of customizing one of your own. One thing I have to mention is how long the battery lasts! I was used to my battery draining by the end of the day, or way before if I was recording any activity. However, with my watch I can record activity or not and I can still have a ton of battery power left by the end of the day. When I don't record anything I will normally have about 92% left from a full charge. I decided to do a test to see how long I could go before I really needed to recharge my watch. I didn't Not record activity for this little test of mine because I wanted to get a fair assessment of how well it would work for me. By the 5th day I was at like 45% when I finally decided to that the Garmin was going to win in this stand off. I came to the conclusion that if I went on a week's vacation that I wouldn't need to bring my charger with me. I went with the Venu 3 because I wanted the ability to answer calls and read emails, while also being able to record activities. I still need to figure out how to turn up the volume on my watch when I am talking on it so I can better hear when someone is talking to me. Other than the volume thing, it is pretty straightforward on how to answer it. I included a picture of how the watch looks on my wrist as a woman with a small to medium frame. I love it and highly recommend it. I really love this watch and I am super glad that I went with the Venu 3!

I absolutely love my Garmin Venu 3S\! It’s the perfect size for a smaller wrist and looks stylish enough to wear every day\. I use it to track my workouts, steps, heart rate, sleep, and overall activity, and I love how much information it gives me about my health and fitness\. The battery life is also amazing compared to other smartwatches I’ve used\. The screen is bright and easy to read, and it’s comfortable enough to wear all day and while sleeping\. It is definitely an investment, but I think it’s worth it if you’re serious about tracking your fitness and daily activity\!

Important Health Update Published 12/27/24 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters: “New research reveals that many smartwatch and fitness tracker wristbands, particularly premium models, contain alarming concentrations of PFAS chemicals that could potentially seep into wearers’ skin. The study highlights specific concerns about a compound called perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), found at unprecedented levels in some devices worn continuously against the skin.” !!! Based on that research, I removed the silicone wristband that came with this watch and ordered a nylon wristband instead! If you plan to do that, consider the color of the edges of the watch you choose, which coordinate with the colors of Garmin’s silicone wristband and may not be easily matched with the colors of alternative wristbands. I chose the sage gray and now wish I had purchased the black! As for the watch itself, having not yet owned a smartwatch, after much research, I carefully chose this Garmin Venu 3s watch just for its health indicators: Heart rate and variability, respiration, pulse oxygen level, stress, sleep tracker and overall “Body Battery” (Body Battery is the perceived energy level based on other readings). I walk, don’t run, jog, lift weights, play golf or the myriad of other options this watch can track. I particularly appreciate the HRV (Heart Rate Variability) indicator, as well as the “Sleep Coach” data and reminders. Various settings are adjusted using the Garmin Connect app (Tip: After checking it out, I found the additional Garmin Connect “IQ” app worthless for myself - they are 3rd party apps that gather too much personal data; the IQ app offers some additional watch faces to choose from but there are about 10 of those that come loaded onto the watch and there is the ability to create your own watch face - see several related YouTube videos for help, if needed). The Sleep Coach points out whether I am hitting my sleep/rest goal for the day, with breakdowns of deep, light, and REM sleep, as well as how many times I woke during the night. The watch offers a few “tips” along the way, like pointing out my day has been stressful (whether I realized it, or not), so I should relax well before bedtime in order to sleep better. I’ve used this lightweight Garmin Venu 3s for several months and really appreciate it, especially for its battery life which I extend by setting the watch face to “go dark” until I tap the watch face, not set to always be lit and not to light up when I raise my wrist to check the time. I turned off all exercise items I do not use. I also chose not to activate the phone or messages features on the watch, since my smartphone has to be within sight to be connected to the watch to receive those anyway, and responding with anything other than quick/preset messages would be “clunky” - not with a standard type of keyboard (See YouTube videos about the Garmin Venu 3/3s for those in-depth details!). I chose the model that must connect to a smartphone - instead of the “Cellular Venu 3/3s” model that would need its own cellular account! This smaller 3s is comfortable to wear 24 hours and, after 5 days, usually has about 45% battery remaining (Most Apple Watches must be charged daily, and there is also a question about the accuracy of the method Apple uses to determine Heart Rate Variability - since Apple uses a continuous monitoring method, rather than when the person is at rest as is customary). Once the Garmin Connect software was downloaded, the watch easily connected to my Apple 14 (Pro) phone to set up the watch and update the software. I have settings adjusted so health readings are saved only when I access the Garmin app from my smartphone - rather than having the Garmin app constantly connected to the watch to provide routine background updates that would drain battery life. I spent hours researching other models and chose the Venu 3s - the smaller version. The Garmin Venu 3 is a bit larger/heavier but otherwise has the exact same features as the 3s (Though I’m not sure the larger model has a touch screen! Something to definitely determine before considering that “3” model.) I’m very happy with this watch. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I removed one star for the unhealthy silicone band that came with the watch that I had to remove and order a replacement for, due to the health issues of wearing silicone next to skin. After seeing how beneficial the watch has been for me, my husband had me order one for him and is pleased with it, especially when, after a month of wearing it, the HRV readings alerted him of a potential issue which his cardiologist is now checking further. My husband opted for the smaller 3s version, as I did, and though he’s a big guy, it looks fine - not too small. I hope all of this helps with your own purchase decision and would appreciate an indication of that if so.

There are so many things wrong with this watch it's hard to begin. First off I was trying really hard to get past all the problems and try to get used to the watch. My last watch was a fossil 4 and it was amazing. The only downside to that watch which was a huge downside was the battery couldn't last a full day when using the watch functionality regularly. Unfortunately, Fossil has stopped making their smartwatches and have gone a different direction so now I'm left with trying to find another brand that is as good and has a better battery. I thought I found something better when I found Garmin's venu series. I was sorely mistaken. Let's start with the only two positives I have about this watch: Physical aesthetics and battery life. I bought the 41 mm diameter version of this watch and it feels and looks amazing. It's extremely light and the face and back of it have the dimensions of a small and unobtrusive as well as elegant looking watch. Battery life, I haven't had a chance to test just because I was disgusted by the watch after the first 30 minutes of trying to get it set up. On paper, the battery life looks amazing so I'm just going to give Garmin the benefit of the doubt and say that, yes, it will probably last a full 10 days. All right, now to the laundry list of garbage associated with this watch that makes it completely unusable. 1. This watch is incapable of connecting to my Wi-Fi router. I'm pretty good at setting up devices on my router. I can set them up with automatic settings or manual settings pretty easily. Anything that has the ability to connect to a modern router I've been able to connect to my router. So far I've had several failed attempts at connecting to my Wi-Fi from this watch. I've attempted to make the connection from the watch itself as well as from the Garmin app. I've restarted the watch and attempted these connections again. I've also attempted doing the connection manually on the watch by setting the security type of my network as well. I know the SSID and password for my network like the back of my hand so the chance of user error trying to set this up is zero. This reason alone is enough to return the watch. Without Wi-Fi access there's no way to configure apps, there's no way to install apps, there's no way to sync up data to my phone, basically you can't use the watch for anything other than checking the time. If that's all I wanted then I would have gotten a cheapo $20 piece of garbage at the store that only tells time. 2. The UI is nowhere near as good as WearOS 3.0. Garmin touts their watch as a device for active people who are outside a lot and want to track their location, distance, calories and everything else associated with being active. To do this, they decided to build their own operating system/app instead of piggybacking off of what Google made. That was a big mistake because there UI and UX designers are absolutely incompetent at building a user experience that is intuitive and easy to use. The way you have to swipe around to get to different screens is not as intuitive as WearOS. All of the swiping is mostly vertical and really only gives you exercise and activity screens. You can swipe right to give you a custom screen which could either be a music app or a couple of other different options. That's it. That's all you get. For $450 that is pathetic. Furthermore the physical sliding of your finger across the screen has to be perfectly done from the outer edge of the screen to make a swipe register. My Fossil watch would let you start your swipe from anywhere on the screen and as long as you swiped in a particular direction that it recognized (Left, right, up, down) it would do as you asked. I would love to have reviewed the rest of the watch such as the activity functionality as I was using it, The GPS accuracy, the battery life, and everything else associated with using The everloving atrocity that is the Venu 3S, but alas, Garmin made it impossible to actually use their watch. I wonder if this was a ploy by the engineering team to sabotage the company. It sure feels like it.

So far, I'm impressed. I'm not a big brand purchaser, and I've used a $50 smart fitness watch for years quite happily. I always wanted a Garmin, but was put off by their lack of function as a smart watch, but really wanted their better fitness tracking. Finally decided to treat myself even at the much higher cost, but so far I've been truly impressed by the upgrade. Everything it does, it just does better. The tracking seems truer, but it's really easy to use and has a lot more functionality; BP, O2 states, as well as good monitoring when you're using as a fitness tracker. The watch is a nice size (41mm), plenty of visibility to read and react to notifications, works great with my android, but without the cost of an I-watch. The watch itself is nice to look at, and the strap is strong but so soft and flexible that it's a pleasure to wear it. This doesn't have the sapphire face, so I did spend a few bucks buying screen protectors, which do not interfere at all with the functionality of the touch screen. I think this is my new favorite, and i'd definitely but this watch again if I lost it.

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1 month in and so far quite impressed with the watch. I'm just recovering from some virus and looking back at my body stress graphs over the past few days has given me a fascinating insight as to how my body has reacted to the virus. Low stress levels were replaced with very high levels overnight while my body did battle with whatever this flu-like virus is. I didn't want to fork out double the price to get a watch which gives me full marine functionality, but I've added a couple of apps via Garmin Connect IQ which i can use while sailing that give me basic course and speed. Also tides, weather, tracking... whatever floats your boat you can download an app and add to your watch menu! The only small issue I've found is neither of my bank cards are supported on Garmin Pay. With current set-up between the apps running in the background and about 10 alarms currently set I'm getting about 4 days battery life. If I put on charge while getting ready in the morning - say 15 mins - gives an extra 12% or so.

I bought this to replace my aging Fitbit Sense, which wasn't charging well anymore. It had the promise of using the phone's voice assistant, which was better than the Sense 2 which only has access to Alexa now. It's Bixby given I'm on a Samsung phone, but it's better than Alexa and it can control stuff on the phone remotely from the watch which is a cool bonus. I did not have any appreciation for the massive difference in health tracking between a Fitbit and a Garmin when I pressed Buy Now. Every feature of the Fitbit is here in some form, both subscription features like readiness score (recovery) and enhanced sleep metrics to all of the basic stuff. Lots of things that are restricted to while you're asleep on the Fitbit work at all times on the Garmin, like respiration and blood oxygen. The sensor and LEDs on this are much bigger than on a fitbit and are much more sensitive to highs and lows in heart rate that fitbit can't pick up. The stress detection and body battery features are really cool and seem accurate. Fitness age presents an unflattering but likely pretty accurate picture of my health after wearing the watch for a few days. Everything is customizable on the watch and in the Garmin app; there is even a feature to design your own watch face with a photo background of your choice and the placement of the watch elements and complications where you choose them. You can put what is important to you front and center and you can ignore anything you don't care about. Both the watch and the app require a bit of messing around to get things looking the way you would like, but it's easy and I had fun poking at the watch for hours making everything perfect. There are a LOT of pre made watch faces included with assorted complications, some of them configurable and some not. The one pictured is not configurable but it displays exactly the stats I want and looks good. There are several included faces that look great so you aren't forced into their store right away. It is ironic that there is a working YouTube Music app for Garmin watches but not for the top of the line fitbits. I have loaded my likes playlist to the watch, which loaded almost 300 songs in the same order they are in on the YM app. This took a while and I left the watch plugged in while it downloaded over wifi. Connecting headphones was really easy and I set the "shortcut" swipe from left side to open the music player. I have used the watch to listen to music instead of my phone on some walks and it's a great experience. I am very fond of this. It's an upgrade in every way from a Fitbit Sense. It's the Samsung phone of fitness trackers with all of the bells, whistles and options you could ask for and some you didn't know you wanted before you got the watch. Worth the 600 bucks.

Amazing battery life. 7 day with one charge. Looks better than apple

Me decidí por el Garmin Venu 3 porque Garmin es, en mi opinión, una de las mejores marcas en relojes enfocados al deporte, destacando especialmente por la cantidad y calidad de métricas que ofrece. A nivel deportivo, el reloj es muy completo. Permite obtener datos como pulsaciones medias, velocidad, calorías, cadencia en carrera y, algo que considero especialmente importante, el tiempo de recuperación tras la actividad, una métrica clave para evitar el sobreentrenamiento. En el apartado de salud, ofrece información muy útil como la calidad del sueño (diferenciando sueño ligero, profundo y REM), el nivel de estrés, el Body Battery (una estimación del nivel de energía del cuerpo a lo largo del día en función del descanso y la actividad) y la VFC (Variabilidad de la Frecuencia Cardíaca), que aporta datos sobre el estado de recuperación y el equilibrio del sistema nervioso. Además, el reloj es capaz de realizar pequeños electrocardiogramas, algo muy destacable en este segmento. Aunque hoy en día muchos relojes pueden montar buenos sensores, en mi experiencia eso no es suficiente. Lo realmente importante es que esos datos estén bien interpretados. Sin una marca con años de desarrollo, investigación y mejora continua del firmware y de la aplicación, los datos que proporcionan los sensores pueden ser confusos o poco fiables. En este aspecto, Garmin marca una clara diferencia, ya que su aplicación móvil transforma toda esa información en datos claros, coherentes y realmente útiles, algo que no todas las marcas consiguen. En cuanto a funciones “smart”, el Venu 3 cuenta con micrófono y altavoz, lo que permite contestar llamadas si el teléfono está dentro del alcance del Bluetooth, además de recibir mensajes y notificaciones. Otro punto clave es la autonomía. La batería dura en torno a dos semanas, algo fundamental para mí, ya que llevo el reloj puesto las 24 horas del día. Tener que cargarlo a diario un dispositivo de este tipo, para mi sería sencillamente, inaceptable. Conclusión: Es un smartwatch muy completo, con excelentes sensores, una aplicación sobresaliente y una autonomía que marca la diferencia. No le encuentro puntos negativos y es una compra de la que estoy muy satisfecho, por lo que lo recomiendo sin dudar.