Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2 Plus: Garmin’s Venu series has been a game-changer in the world of smartwatches, blending style with functionality. The latest addition, the Garmin Venu 3, builds upon the success of its predecessor, the Venu 2 Plus, offering more features and improvements. But what exactly sets these two models apart, and is the Venu 3 worth the extra cost? Let’s dive into a detailed comparison to help you make an informed decision.
Table of Contents
Specifications
| Specification | Garmin Venu 3 | Garmin Venu 2 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Garmin | Garmin |
| $ | $399.99 | $349.99 |
| Display Size | 36 mm or 1.4″ | 1.3″ or 33 mm |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Resolution | 454 x 454 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels |
| LED Flashlight | No | No |
| Watch Size | 45 mm | 44 mm |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 12 mm | 43.6 x 43.6 x 12.6 mm |
| Thickness | 12 mm | 12.6 mm |
| Weight | 47 g | 51 g |
| Band Size | 22 mm | 20 mm |
| Waterproof | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Storage | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| NFC Payments | Garmin Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Connectivity | ANT+, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | ANT+, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Barometric Altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse Ox Sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Sensor | Yes | Yes |
| In-built Speaker | Yes | Yes |
| In-built Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Smartwatch Battery Life | Up to 14 days | Up to 9 days |
| Total battery life | Up to 26 days | Up to 10 days |
Who is the Garmin Venu for?
The Garmin Venu series caters to a wide audience. Whether you’re someone who wants to keep a close eye on your health and daily activities or a sports enthusiast looking for a stylish yet functional watch, the Venu series has something for everyone. It’s perfect for casual sports but doesn’t delve deep into advanced training metrics. If you’re looking for a watch with a focus on health and everyday activity tracking, the Venu series is an excellent choice.
Garmin Venu 3: Features at a Glance
The Venu 3 is not just a step up from its predecessor in terms of features but also in design and comfort. It comes in two sizes, the 41 mm Venu 3S for smaller wrists and the 45 mm Venu 3, suitable for larger wrists. The watch boasts an AMOLED touchscreen with vibrant colors and crisp animations, housed under durable Corning Gorilla Glass with a stainless steel bezel.
Key Features of Venu 3:
- Activity Tracking: Steps, distance, calories, sleep, floors climbed, and more.
- Health Monitoring: Heart rate, stress level, Body Battery, breathing rate, and detailed sleep tracking, including nap detection.
- Safety Features: Fall detection and incident assistance for certain sports.
- Connected Features: MP3 player, Garmin Pay, LiveTrack, weather forecasts, and voice assistant communication.
- Sports Functions: Around thirty sports profiles, including new functions for wheelchair users.
What’s New in the Garmin Venu 3
The Venu 3 builds upon the Venu 2 Plus with several enhancements:
- Price: It’s about $50 more expensive than the Venu 2 Plus.
- Design: Slightly larger case size and a wider, higher-definition screen.
- Heart Rate Sensor: Improved optical sensor for more accurate readings.
- GPS: New multi-GNSS chip for better location tracking.
- Battery Life: Slightly improved battery performance.
- Additional Features: Enhanced support for phone calls, new sports functions, nap detection, sleep coaching, and more.
Venu 2 Plus: Still a Strong Contender
The Venu 2 Plus, an intermediate model, already had a microphone and speaker for calls and voice assistant use. It offered a balanced mix of health, activity, and sports features, making it a versatile choice for many users. If you’re not keen on the latest features of the Venu 3, the Venu 2 Plus remains a strong contender, especially considering its lower price point.
Design
The Garmin Venu 3 stands out with its larger screen, offering sizes of 1.2 inches and 1.4 inches, compared to the 1.1 inches and 1.2 inches of its predecessor, the Venu 2. Despite this increase in screen size, the Venu 3’s case size remains almost the same – just 1 mm larger for the smaller model and unchanged for the larger one. This design change gives you a bigger display area, a thinner black border around the screen, and makes it easier to read.
When it comes to weight, the Venu 3 is incredibly light, almost to the point where you won’t even notice it on your wrist. The smaller model of the Venu 3 has gained a slight 2 grams, but the larger model has actually become lighter, shedding 3 grams. This makes the Venu 3 not just visually appealing, but also comfortable to wear all day.
Sensors
The Garmin Venu 3 comes packed with advanced sensors. It features a new and more accurate optical heart rate monitor. This monitor includes an electrical sensor, which improves the precision of heart rate variability measurements. While it has the capability to display an electrocardiogram (ECG), this function isn’t active yet.
Another upgrade is the multi-GNSS GPS chip. This new chip can connect to multiple satellite systems at the same time, enhancing the GPS accuracy. However, it’s important to note that this GPS isn’t a multiband type.
One thing the Venu 3 doesn’t have is a thermometer. So, it can’t monitor your skin temperature.
To sum up, the Venu 3 boasts a latest-generation optical heart rate device with an electrical ECG sensor. But as of now, the ECG feature isn’t being used.
Sports Features
The Garmin Venu series, including the latest Venu 3, is great for casual and leisure sports activities, but it might not meet the needs of serious training. If you’re comparing it with sports-focused models like the Forerunner 255 or 265, which are similarly priced, you’ll find that the Venu 3 lacks many of their advanced features. For a more detailed comparison, you can check out our Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 255 and 265 comparison.
However, the Venu 3 does offer some improved functions over its predecessors, the Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus. These enhancements include the ability to program interval training, monitor heart rate variability (which is really handy for training), and a new profile for open water swimming. The Venu 3 also gives audio instructions during sports activities, so you can know your pace or when you’ve completed another kilometer without having to look at your watch. Plus, it provides information about your recovery and the benefits you gain from your training sessions.
The outdoor and GPS navigation functions remain unchanged. This model still does not allow you to follow a route or retrace steps.
Health and activity tracking
The Garmin Venu series, known for its solid daily activity and health tracking features, steps up its game with the new model. This latest version improves sleep monitoring by including nap times and providing a sleep coach that gives recommendations based on the quality of your sleep. It’s also more inclusive, offering a special profile and functions for wheelchair users. These features include counting the number of pushes, detecting motion, and providing dedicated workouts tailored for wheelchair use. This makes the Venu not just a fitness tracker, but a comprehensive health companion for a wide range of users.
Smart functions
The Garmin Venu 3 is stepping up its game with enhanced smart and connected features. Like the Venu 2 Plus, it has a microphone and speaker. These let you answer phone calls directly from your watch, so you don’t have to pull out your phone. You can also talk to your voice assistant through the watch.
A cool new feature is that the watch can now show images that you receive in smartphone notifications. Every morning, it gives you a “morning report,” which is a summary of your important health data. If you have a home trainer, you can control it with the Venu 3. Plus, you can visit the IQ online store right from your watch to download extra functions.
Another handy feature is the automatic synchronization of settings between the watch and its app. This means if you switch to a different Garmin model, you can easily transfer your settings from one watch to another. This makes it super convenient, especially if you like to upgrade your gadgets often.
Battery Life
The Garmin Venu 3 has a slightly larger screen, but it still manages to give you more battery life. When you use it every day, you can go for about 10 to 14 days without needing to recharge the watch, depending on which model you have. Even if you’re doing sports for 3-4 hours a week, you’ll only need to charge it every 8 to 10 days. This means less time worrying about battery life and more time enjoying your activities!
Differences: Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2 Plus
1. Size and Build
The Venu 3 is slightly larger in diameter (45 mm vs. 43.6 mm) but thinner (12 mm vs. 12.6 mm) compared to the Venu 2 Plus. It’s a subtle change in dimensions, but it makes a noticeable difference in how the watch feels on your wrist.
2. Display Size
Garmin has increased the display size from 1.3 inches to 1.4 inches in the Venu 3. This means you get more screen real estate, which is always a plus.
3. Material Changes
The Venu 3 has replaced the stainless steel back found in the Venu 2 Plus with a fiber-reinforced polymer. While this might be a cost-saving measure, it’s a bit disappointing for those who prefer premium materials.
4. Strap Size
The Venu 3 comes with a 22 mm band, which is wider than the 20 mm band of the Venu 2 Plus. The new straps are also thinner and more flexible, enhancing comfort.
5. Heart Rate Sensor
The Venu 3 boasts a new heart rate sensor with a different arrangement, mirroring the design of Garmin’s high-end models.
6. Battery Life
The Venu 3’s battery can last up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, a significant improvement over the Venu 2 Plus’s 9-day battery life.
7. HRV Measurement
A much-requested feature, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) measurement, is now available in the Venu 3, though it’s limited to overnight tracking.
8. Additional Shortcut
The Venu 3 introduces an extra shortcut – swipe right from the watch face to access a customizable option.
9. Workout Benefits
This new feature in the Venu 3 tells you how your workout affected your body, along with a recovery time status.
10. Sleep Tracking Enhancements
The Venu 3 not only tracks your sleep but also provides a 7-day average chart and a new Sleep Coach feature.
11. Nap Tracking
For the first time in Garmin watches, the Venu 3 can track your naps, adding to its sleep analysis capabilities.
12. Body Battery Factors
The Venu 3 shows how different activities affect your body’s energy levels, a feature not present in the Venu 2 Plus.
13. UI Changes
The Venu 3 separates the activity and apps menu, a welcome change for better navigation.
14. Sleep Schedule
You can now set a sleep schedule for each day of the week on the Venu 3, a feature missing in the Venu 2 Plus.
15. Morning Report
The Venu 3 offers a Morning Report, summarizing your essential health data.
16. Picture Display in Messages
If you’re an Android user, the Venu 3 can display images in your messages, a feature not available on the Venu 2 Plus.
17. Font Size Adjustment
The Venu 3 allows you to change the font size, enhancing readability.
18. New Sport Profiles
Open Water Swimming and Guided Meditation are new additions to the Venu 3’s sport profiles.
19. Wheelchair Mode
The Venu 3 introduces a wheelchair mode, tracking pushes instead of steps and offering dedicated workouts.
20. Audio Prompts
This new feature in the Venu 3 provides audio updates about your performance metrics during activities.
21. Jet Lag Advisor
Travelers will appreciate the Venu 3’s Jet Lag Advisor, a feature missing in the Venu 2 Plus.
22. Other Small Changes
There are also minor updates like new watch faces and UI tweaks in the Venu 3.
Conclusion!
The Garmin Venu is a stylish watch that’s perfect for everyday wear, whether you’re in the city, at work, or heading out for the evening. Its elegant leather straps make it easy to match with any outfit. This watch isn’t just about looks, though; it’s packed with features to keep track of your health and activity. You can monitor how many calories you burn while shopping or gardening, count your steps for the day, and even see how many floors you’ve climbed.
One of the great things about the Venu is that it offers simple yet sufficient features for leisure sports and training, like interval training. You don’t always need a bunch of complex tools. The Venu lets you record your route to view later on a map, provides essential data like distance, average speed, heart rate, and calories, and gives some altitude information during your activities. It also offers insights into your performance and recovery, all without overwhelming you with complicated functions.
The Venu 3 doesn’t make huge changes from the older models, but it does add some new features. These include functions for wheelchair users, accounting for naps (which is great for people who work night shifts), and some extra sports functions. It also inherits the microphone and speaker from the Venu 2 Plus. Plus, it has new, more accurate sensors (for GPS and heart rate) and a larger screen that’s easier to read.
If you already have a Venu 2 or Venu 2 Plus, upgrading to the new model might not be necessary unless you want more precise measurements, a bigger screen, or the new features for naps and wheelchair users. If the budget isn’t an issue, the Venu 3 is a great choice. But with the Venu 3’s release, the Venu 2 becomes a more attractive option due to its likely price drop.
If you’re still unsure about getting a Garmin Venu because you need slightly more advanced tools for sports, there are other options. The Garmin Forerunner 255 or Forerunner 265, both with AMOLED screens, are excellent alternatives that offer functions similar to the Venu.
