Garmin Venu 3 Review

Performance Comparison

Smart Function

The Garmin Venu 3 didn't score as well as the top models from Apple, Samsung, or Google, in our most important test metric smart function. However, it proved it is a competent watch, with enough functions, features, and apps to be a useful tool on your wrist that adds convenience to everyday tasks.

The Garmin Venu 3 has basic, but intuitive proprietary apps under the monicker Garmin IQ, and include weather, music, and navigation. Fortunately, Garmin's ecosystem of apps in an app store called Connect IQ is a quite comprehensive and offers a wide range of downloadable apps, widgets, data fields, music streaming services, additional features , and a huge number of fitness specific watch faces to choose from.

Phone call quality on the Garmin Venu 3 is fairly average when compared to the rest of the test group. Our biggest issue involved call quality on received calls. When receiving calls our testers experienced some cutting out, which meant we'd miss a word here and there. It is worth saying that it was more of an annoyance and not something detrimental to the user experience, voices on calls are impressively clear, and the on-watch dialing is smooth and accurate.

Texting is severely limited on the Garmin Venu 3 when tethered to an iPhone, as you can only preview messages on the watch, and once closed, you can no longer access a message. It is only when tethered to an Android that you can take advantage of a T9 keyboard, create custom messages within the Connect App, and send one of those messages as a reply.

Concerning GPS, this model surprised us with a lack of native mapping features. It is actually a bit shocking considering it is manufactured by a company that essentially built its brand specializing in GPS systems. A possible, but mediocre workaround is that you can get map notifications that give you directions.

Overall, the Garmin Venu 3 is a good smartwatch, but lacks the robust calling and texting functions that we see from more capable smartwatches from Apple, Samsung, and Google. It also doesn't have the same scale of available apps from a more mature app ecosystem like the Apple App Store or Google Play, and native GPS mapping could be a lot better. Caveats aside, it's smart functions are heavily tailored toward fitness, and for those features and functions, it is exceptional.

Health

The Garmin Venu 3 provides the most cutting-edge fitness metrics of any smartwatch we tested. You would have to move away from a smartwatch and focus on true fitness-tracking wearables to do a better job, and many of those models would still pale in comparison. The Venu 3 boasts a huge range of activity-specific modes, that seamlessly track data within the Garmin Connect app.

The Garmin Venu 3 doesn't just monitor heart rate and step counting with basic reporting but takes more than sixty workout types to a level of fitness tracking that is unrivaled by some of the most capable smartwatches. Using either the Garmin Connect app or the web-based interface, allows you to analyze and edit all of your workout stats, unlike any other smartphone.

The Garmin Venu 3 also has a unique feature to Garmin, called LiveTrack. LiveTrack uses GPS to create a real-time view of your location during workouts and activities, that you can share with friends and family.

While it is pretty exceptional when it comes to fitness tracking, the Garmin Venu 3 isn't perfect. Our test team observed some discrepancies in treadmill workout detection and accuracy, which is common amongst fitness trackers, and some minor inaccuracies in step counting, but overall our gripes are minor and it is hard to be critical about this watch with regard to health and fitness.

Battery Life

In our third test metric, weighted to twenty percent of each model's overall score, our team measured battery life. The Garmin Venu 3 proved to be rather incredible across our runtime and recharging tests.

With the GPS enabled, the Garmin Venu 3 operates for twenty hours, and with the GPS disabled, you can get over one hundred and forty-two hours of battery life out of the Venu 3. For comparison, the most premium Apple watch model our team tested will operate for one hundred hours with the GPS disabled. In other words, you get a forty-two almost forty-three percent increase in battery life over the top Apple watch.

The Garmin Venu 3 also boasts one of the better recharging rates and charging times of the watches we tested. The battery will achieve a fifty percent charge in a little over thirty minutes, before slowing the charge rate down slightly and achieving a complete charge in eighty-three minutes.

Display

Our final test metric measured the display quality and brightness of the Garmin Venu 3 and weighted the results at ten percent of each model's final score. The Garmin Venu 3 did well with a bright 1.4 inch display, even against the stiff competition from a number of exceptional Apple, Samsung, and Google offerings.

We measured the brightness of every model in nits, and evaluated the ease of seeing the display in a bright environment. The Garmin Venu 3 uses an AMOLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. While our meter measured a meager 48 nits, the number doesn't do justice to the whole picture. The AMOLED display produces a very nice outdoor viewing experience with great contrast and minimal glare.

Should you buy the Garmin Venu 3?

Among the smartwatches our team tested, the Garmin Venu 3 stood out as the best choice for health monitoring and fitness tracking. It offers a large number of workouts with the most advanced level of fitness metrics available. Whether you are interested in metrics for climbing, stand-up paddleboarding, snowshoeing, or pickleball you'll find detailed not only the workout type to match your fitness routine but also an excellent depth of data. Of course, if you don't need the smart functions of a watch, that add conveniences to life like making phone calls or texting, then you could consider a dedicated fitness tracking wearable, but if you prefer to keep those smart functions, then you'll be pleased with the balance of smart functions and fitness-tracking abilities of this model.

What other Smartwatches should you consider?

The Garmin Venu 3 earned high scores and high praise from our team for its exceptional health monitoring and fitness tracking, but other watches we tested offered greater smart functions and features, a greater app experience and ecosystems, as well as more vibrant displays. The most exceptional watch we tested, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, you get all those things, with a slight step back in fitness tracking data, but it can only be attained for an exceptionally premium price. At a cheaper price point than the Garmin Venu 3, the Apple Watch Series 9 also boasts a great display and decent health and fitness tracking but also puts you into the Apple ecosystem and experience. For those of you more interested in a top-tier Android-compatible smartwatch, you'll need to take a good look at the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. It is an incredible watch, and Samsung Galaxy phone users will also be able to take advantage of Samsung-specific features in addition to the standard functionality.