An important general question please. Do you still keep your phone on you while wearing the watch? If you do, I presume it is powered by a cellular lte signal, once the watch and phone are synced/connected. If not, then how else does it run...what is it powered by that lets you use the thing overall and all of its apps functions etc...gps?
Dude shame on you, you say you compared it to whoop etc and you don't show it. That's unethical censorship. What a junk video. Whatever dude you could have gained a subsriber if you had some ethics and backbone. Bye
Ditto. I liked the galaxy watch but the battery was abysmal even when barely doing anything. Love that garmin have introduced wheelchair tracking, don't think anyone else has done anything like it so far
Yep, I’ve had my Apple Watch for years and I just can’t deal with the poor battery life anymore. Also it just does not have that many features, like it has sleep tracking but it doesn’t work well at all (probably because the battery life isn’t really long enough to use to track sleep)
Most insightful review of the Venu 3 I’ve seen on UA-cam. Love that you explained the true value-add of a device like this-I.e. interpreting the data it has collected and telling you what behaviors you need to do more or less of to improve your overall health. Most of the other reviews only talked about “features”. You talked about the real “benefits” of the product and how it will improve your life. Good job!
Absolutely I will use this watch. It will actually be my next activity watch provided Samsung can’t get their accuracy down. The integration part is really huge, but I would rather have accuracy over Siri or Google Assistant. Good job on the video.
@@jcap8391 wow I’m actually surprised to hear that you would think the way that everyone acts Apple can’t do anything wrong lol. I have a iPhone as well, so it’s not a hate thing.
@@TerminatriX86 I originally skipped over Garmin, because of the integration but as time goes on, I realize I should’ve just stuck to my gut and got a Garmin.
@@corneliusjermainehightower7539 Tbh. If Apple Watch had a couple days of battery life preferably 3 days...It would be king. Don't see that happening anytime soon. Apple could have done it but they don't so they can make people buy their charging docks and magnetic batterys. They are money hungry fcks. I'm using an android as my work and fun phone and my iPhone as my personal only making calls phone. I still think iPhones have too notch security features.
I like my Venu 2 a lot and have used Garmin watches for decades. They have some Bluetooth trouble now and then, inspite it has improved the last years. What I don’t like: scratches! My venu’s screen got scratched heavily after only a few days. Garmin, give us a sapphire option on these watches!
@@danhall5761 well I started using Garmin watches about 15 years ago I think, like with the forerunner 210 or 310xt or so. Before that I used polar watches.
Congrats on your review. One of the best regarding Venu 3 that I've seen so far, based on a daily usage. I've had 2 Samsung watches, both of them died for no reason. After 2 months using Venu 3, I can assure it's more reliable (much more) and has better "coaching". I cannot even start to talk about battery life, my Samsungs wouldn't last a day and a half. My Venu 3 lasts from 9 to 11 days. Kudos from Brazil!
I don't need the additional mobile phone connectivity (I don't want a phone on my wrist) so the Venu 3 is perfect for me having also had a Vivoactive 3 & 4 plus a Fenix 5s prior to purchasing my Venu 3. The battery life with screen auto off is amazing.
I got the Venue 3s. Been waiting for the smaller variant with mic and voice assistant ever since Venu 2 Plus came out. Very disappointed at the voice assistant connectivity issue like you mentioned, basically make it not usable. Coming from galaxy watch 4 I'm still very impressed with the battery life (got 8~9 days even on the smaller variant) and fitness features, and I don't use other "smart watch features" at all even when I was using the galaxy watch, so still happy about the purchase. Hopefully Garmin will see this review and keep improving the voice assistant reliability.
TBH, it takes just as much time to take out your phone and activate the voice assistant so I don't think it's a deal breaker. It's just unfortunate that it's not faster than the phone. I guess the one advantage is if your phone is in your backpack or something
How were you getting so much battery on the galaxy watch :O that's the one I had, and even with most things turned off, low brightness, and barely doing anything it needed charging every day from new 😭
I've had Galaxy, Fitbit (pre Google) and Garmin. I've always returned to Garmin. Battery life has always been better and they've had the important smart watch features. I've found sleep tracking more reliable than Galaxy. Thanks for the review Mike.
Honestly I got my og Sense before google bought fitbit and i hate what theyve done so far- now that my sense is starting to go Im finally making the switch 🎉
Just picked this up today. Got the Instinct 2X recently for more rugged sports and the literally unlimited solar life. Garmin is just better at data. Period. I have a few Amazfits and an Apple Watch Ultra. The ultra holds a battery for a solid 10 minutes. The Amazfit Falcon was awesome for 6 months. Then, its sensors went batty. Unreliable heart and SPO2 monitoring in a very intense workout. I have to say, I loved your review and subscribed immediately. I love training watches, and these last two purchases really nailed it. This video really cogently summed up the Venu 3. I have had a 2 for a few years. Light years ahead of it. Keep up the great work!
Looking at the HR graphs of your interval run there, it looks like you've mixed up the coloring. The orange one seems much more realistic for intervals that are tracked accurately, while the purple one seems to be lagging behind, the way you'd expect from an optical sensor, and it also has the other expected artifacts of that type of sensor as well.
I bought this recently, and definitely something that's on my wrist almost all the time, except when showering.. it's so light and battery is great.. and the health features amazing, especially when using the Garmin website.. I own a Samsung Watch 5 Pro, and only use it as a smartwatch and ignoring all the health features... With the Garmin Venu 3, the health feature is front and center for me.. going to sell my Samsung Watch 5 Pro..
Thanks for the review. I suspect that Garmin realises that implementing more 'smart' functionalities, will not only eat into battery life, but shift the Venu to a different category, competing directly with Apple and Samsung smartwatches. That would not be a smart move, because you'll start from scratch. Improve what you're best at, don't give into feature-creep that'll dilute the brand's overall strong points. Casio has recently made that mistake with their new sports & health featured G-Shocks.
A huge part of it on the back end is balancing smart features and maximizing compatible smartphones. You're not wrong about how it would go though imo. Personally I wish they would actually tighten up their smartphone compatibility list in favor of more uniform flagship-level features and specs to integrate with. But I get why they lean the other way. Especially being an international brand.
I Got the Venu 3 recently ( upgrades from original Venu) and it has been Amazing. The battery and GPS accuracy are great and it does have improved smart features. The calls function is really nice and the voice assistant works pretty well for me, especially if my phone isn't with me or in my backpack.
I got the 3s and the battery is waaaay less than advertised. It goes down 30-40% at night. I don't know if it's a bug or something. I already changed the watch once and still have the same battery drain problem.
Great review. I really appreciate you pointing out that unlike most other brands (including Apple and Samsung) Garmin activity tracking actually includes activity specific data rather than just the same metrics regardless of activity. So many reviewers simply say that like Apple/Samsung Garmin tracks lots of activities without noting that the way those activities are tracked is much better on Garmin. Also the battery life is such a huge issue if you are serious about health and wellness tracking. Your watch is no good to you for those purposes if it is often off your wrist (especially when sleeping) because you have to charge.
I bought a Venu 3 and it’s my go to watch at the moment. I still prefer the Garmin 265S for training, but I’m not currently training so the extra attention to sleep quality and health factors are welcome. My only disappointment is that I’m very dependent on the Garmin Pay feature and that’s not currently working with my WF Visa card. WF says they’ll fix it “soon” but I’m impatient. Other than that, this is a great watch.
@@5ervalkat192 Ah I see, are those things you think most people would use? I’m a runner and weight lifter, I do half and full marathons. Maybe the 265 would be better,
Agree wholeheartedly. My favourite watch by far as it strikes that balance between smart watch and fitness guide very well, and the battery life is second to no other brand. I also like how it integrates all fitness metrics into one app, whereas with Apple you need various third party apps to achieve the same. I also like how the Venu 3 can broadcast my heart rate to my bike computer, negating the need for an additional sensor (even though a strap is more accurate than the watch). Thanks for the video.
I’m going back to Garmin. Thought I’d give Samsung the benefit of the doubt. But between the short battery life and randomly notifying emergency contacts for no reason to notifications that are not consistent or reliable, I’m done with Samsung. The Venu 3 appears to address all the things I wanted from the Venu 1. As an aside, the new Vivo Active 5 is a similar watch, 1 smaller size and a $300 price. In a lot of ways it’s essentially an updated Venu 1, which is actually a good thing.
I think this makes the Venu 2 /2S a better value considering the heavy discounts. It's usually available at €300 these days, and it offers 80-90% of what the new generation offers.
I have Venu 2s and I absolutely love it! I miss swimming in open water, regeneration feature and morning raport. Those would be cool to have, I really dont care about calling feature.
I agree the app is very good and the price point together with that epic battery life is a definite advantage over other watches. Personally I use mine for the health and fitness data I wouldn’t use half of the functionality in category’5’ I have the Venue 2 and I bought it via a second hand site it’s never been a problem I found it intuitive as an older user and compared to the other watches it has everything I need at a much better price I highly recommend trying it if you don’t need the last section of features as much. Thanks for posting 👍
The Garmin app is as legit as it gets. I run consistently and love tracking all my activities. I ordered a Samsung watch on black Friday and think I'm going to return it and go back to my Garmin. I didn't realize how good I had it with Garmin until I tried switching. The Samsung app also eats way more of my cellphone battery than Garmin, which was a surprise issue I discovered after the fact.
I think a lot of it is the employees. I spent a little time doing some entry level stuff with the watches. The support, engineers, designers...they all live that stuff. It's a really impressive company tbh.
I switched from the Apple Watch to the Venu3s once my Apple Watch was dying. I LOVE IT. I didn’t want the smaller size but to get the more “feminine” colors I needed to get the s. Which I think is dumb, they should have those colors in the regular sizes as well. I train (marathons, 5Ks, and lifting primarily) a lot and it is amazing. I tried out the Coros Pace 2, returned it, tried the Garmin Forerunner 265 and loved it, but liked the looks and some extra functions of the Venu3 more so I returned the forerunner and switch to that one. It’s amazing and got even more accurate after the first couple weeks.
Garmin's product mix needs to be rationalized. Great new features on the Venu, but the new Vivoactive 5 has many of these. It would be great if Garmin merged these together at some hybrid price point. Need more convincing to decide that the Venu is worth $200 more.
If they continue with the way they're been doing it for a few generations, those two devices will keep running pretty parallel to each other with the display always being the main difference. It is a little clunky, but at least they do branch off with the Forerunners, Fenix, more activity-specific specialty devices, and such. I think their attempt at a new path was that Venu Sq. And...well.....I'm aiiiight LOL.
I originally had an Apple Watch but changed to Garmin nearly 18 months ago. I have the Venu 2S and absolutely love it. I wouldn’t go back to Apple Watch, the sleep tracking and battery life of superior is hands down superior
I had venu 2. I lost it, so I had to buy a new smart watch. I have the galaxy 6 classic, a Samsung flagship. I still grieve my venu 2. It had something I never felt with galaxy, the feeling of a friend, a companion, an assistant, reminding me to take care of my stress levels, inspiring me to move. It told me to breathe, and I loved the sleep summary on mornings. Body battery is awesome. I regret buying galaxy. I know at the time apple ultra whatever watch had a better sleep tracker. But now I realize all these competitors completely miss the point. The smartwatch is supposed to be a companion and not something you have to click your way through endless menus in order to understand and get to your data. To me, Garmin venu has a soul. "Hey, I am detecting high stress levels, how about a breather exercise?". It did feel like an actual friend. All the other watches are fancy-schmancy. Hey galaxy, you caught me walking for 10 mins and congratulated me? Oh c'mon. The pinnacle of technology. All you could do on your own us detect I cycled or walked but you were absent whenever I was experiencing high stress. The Samsung is bloated with useless multiple apps I have to "consent to", just to maybe colect some more data, and it puts me off. They collect your data in order to collect it. It doesn't act as a helper. I get the feeling apple ultra would be the same.
A friend of mine brought this video to my attention and it is exactly what I needed. No Uber and no Teams = deal-breakers as I look for my next smartwatch purchase. Thank you!
As a poor, I wish those titanium bands with the silicone interior would go on a little 90% off sale. I have Garmin watches less expensive than those things lol.
I was using the Venu 2 Plus, put it away for a while because I get the Galaxy Watch 5 because of the LTE but I'm back to my Venu 2 Plus and waiting to get the Venu 3. For me the only thing is missing is the LTE connectivity.
I currently own a Venu 2S that i wear all days 24/24. I'm tempted by the Venu 3S but my fear is that the 3S would be less comfortable to wear than the 2S. Looking to the pictures here and there, I see that the new V5 elevate sensor is larger and higher than the V4 sensor. My fear is that on the long term, this new sensor hurts my arm/wrist preventing me to wear it every day of the week. Any feedback from people who already bought it would be welcomed.
Regardless about what people say it does protrude a lot more. I tried the venue 3 and 3s. The venue 3 actually protrudes less and wraps around my smaller wrist better. It seemed a bit slimmer even though the watch face is bigger. I was also confused. Maybe because they have less space to fit everything in smaller one so it's a bit thicker? Either way don't go for 3s go for the 3👍
I have the Garmin Venue in the black and gold color way, I'm very happy with it's battery life with 5-7 days and it's health tracking and other features. I was able to pick it up at sub $100 on prime day back in 2022. Using it as general time keeping piece with using the other functions moderately I'm curious if the upgrade is worth buying. If the Venue 3 came with the gold bezel I would probably upgrade but the current model I own is great.
I have a sort of a unique question, if anyone can clarify - So, I have a smartwatch like Venu 3 for example - I pair it to my personal phone (Android) and install their app, and just use the watch normal, let it track whatever. But while at work, I'd like to connect it to my work phone (iOS) to take calls or see notifications. When it's connected to my work phone, will the health tracking start all over again or will it continue as it is?
I prefer the health and fitness accuracy over the apps. There are few thing i need in watch: -health and fitness tracking accurately (the guidance option from this watch is also big bonus) -ability to customise the screen wallpaper so with few adjustment like strap change and the wallpaper it would look like diff watch every time for different occasions (as example my work requires to have certain looking watches, and i like to look at watches as bracelet as they can be nice addition to your styling, so you dont really wanna buy more then one smart watch just to be able to swtich around) -nfc for easy payments Have to say huaweii also makes some nice health functions on their watches wich is amazing and i believe that all smartwatches should actually focus on that instead on being 2nd "phone" Its an item that we wear most on our body so it's a great tool that could be utilized to track health, and perhaps even warn people about some health issues
Only issue with huawei is that if you live in the USA, it's banned. You can still use anything still here but a lot of features just don't work in the US.
Hello there. One question. If I have my Garmin Edge 530 and I want to upload the data from the sensors of my bike to my smartwatch can I do it with Garmin Venu 3? Garmin Edge 530 works with Garmin Connect app in my phone, so I guess that a Garmin smartwatch has to have this functionality as well? I mean I want to upload this data to Strava and also my smartwatch as well. Thank you so much
Hi! Great video, thx! 😃 I have a few questions about the Venu 3. Does it have a barometric altitude reader? Does it have an integrated compass? And do you need to be connected to your phone via bluetooth in order for these features to work properly? Also, are they easy to find? (i.e. I don't have to dig through lots of settings first..) Thanks!
Hi Sir. I'd like to get some advise from you. My height is 5 feet and 7 inches tall. Am planning to buy Venu 3 but the 45mm size looks small for me. What do you think?
Based on your review this is exactly what I'm looking for in a smartwatch. Your biggest drawback is of no concern to me as I don't care about messages, calls, music or any other phone-related type stuff on a watch. Thanks for a great review!
Excellent analysis! This watch hits a sweet spot for a large segment of the smartwatch market. For Garmin users, a great transition watch that opens the door to getting smarter 🙂in a very solid offering.
I got the Venue 3 , 2days ago. The buttons are clicky, but , not as well like by other Garmin watches. In example like the foreerunner 965. But my voice assistent works very well an quick. Iam very happy with the voice assistant.
I am pretty much sold on the Garmin ecosystem. My latest is the Epix Gen 2 and eventually when I upgrade it will be to the Epix pro series. My focus is really on the lifestyle /health tracking - don't really care for apps on my watch.
I'm currently on a galaxy watch and the number one feature keeping me from switching is the integration to my samsung phone. Otherwise the watch is somewhat slow and the battery life is just plain bad. I get one day of just sitting on my arm with one hour workout a day. 3 hours total on LTE without tracking anything.
Great video. What about the impacts and measurements in altitude? Does it still give conclusions or coaching if your exercising in nonstandard activities like my cardio using my Metaquest 3 virtual Reality device?
Venue 3 and vivoactive 5 does not show active calories during a workout on any data screen. Tried the connectiq data screens as well. The forerunner 265 and 965 has this option. Even the Apple Watch 7 had this option
I was considering Pixel watch 3 45mm but I am going for Garmin venu 3 because of battery. After some years the batter in Pixel watch will be not enough also because many charging cycles.
I was wating for this video! thank you mike its really helpfull! wating for your comparasion to vivoactive 5, its seems to be a grate budget option compare to the venu 3
My dream is Samsung smartwatch capabilities with Garmin's health components. Garmin has improved some of their smartwatch capabilities but they need to take that next step. Reply to messages independently would be huge. Getting closer. I do like this watch quite a bit.
Garmin was always for people who like sports and will be i belive so its not a normal smart wach but is more of a sport smartwatch witch is expected from garmin
Could it be a good option instead of the venu 3 to go for the vivoactive 5? What features would I be losing besides the altimeter (which doesn't affect me so much in my case)? I have the possibility of buying the vivoactive 5 for $250. I run 3/4 times a week and play soccer regularly. I am interested in all health and sleep tracking functions. What would you recommend?
Hey Mike, congrats on the great work! Would you recommend the Venu 3 over the Fenix 7 with which they are in a similar price category? Thanks in advance for your reply!
The thing is you don’t need to answer texts or make phone calls on a smart watch, and the app gives you data analytics that you have to pay for other devices.
Can it sync with my 3 Google Calendars over 3 Gmail accounts? Hopefully yes! My main reason for using Samsung watch is the synergy of it on my Samsung Phone
Nice review. I have had 2 generations of Samsung watch by now, and while it is a nice phone extension, workout tracking is so bad and so buggy, that I've given up on it long time ago (the new updates make it even worse). Also, about 1.5 years in, I now need to charge this watch two times a day. Seriously considering a Venu 3.
I have the Venu 2 and its a great fitness and health watch not so a good smartwatch.. Garmin watches are more accurate in gps and other sensor so the information is more reliable. But the app integration with phone sucks. I hate to so less apps available for the watch and the store sucks. The battery is awesome. The improvements with this Venu 3 foe me are marginal so i will wait for the 4 in the future but if you still haven't try a Garmin watch this is a great choice for a normal user.
Love my Venu 2: good balance of health and smart features, and infinitely better battery than all the other smart watches. Good for the hacker who is both geek and biohacker. 🙂
My battery doesn't last but 2days and it's around 45% left, I don't like it to get to low so I have it for my next workout. I have had problems with my watch disconnecting with my phone. It happens at least once a week. They also need more watch band choices that you can order. I'm not as happy with the watch as I thought I would be.
I just got the Venu 3. I want it for both running and biking. I want to view my heart rate on the app (on my phone) using my chest strap. But, the garmin app won't show real time data - hr and timer. The garmin support said the app won't show the data except after the ride. I don't want to look at my watch while riding. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you mike! You answered all my questions, i was having a hard time deciding between getting an Ultrahuman and the garmin but since my main focus is on fitness and health tracking and j was looking into getting a watch anyway you helped me make up my mind. I will definitely check you out in the future! :)
This thing is tiny, i have an Enduro 2. Wish the Garmin 965 has these smart features. Garmin needs to create an Epix pro full phone integration for android 😍. Thanks again
Great watch i love mine and came from samsung galaxy watch 4 which has bad calories steps snd sport tracking i really hate that fact and i am happy with the good tracking of my venu 3 ❤ hrv status showed me i am getting sick by going down night by night this is such an awesome Feature which you can use for taking care of you falling not into overtraining, e.g. or if it goes down you might be getting sick and maybe do an extra day of recover! All the informations in the app are great ❤
I never answer on my watch. I will just grab my phone if i see its important. Never use voice assistant. So other than these its very cool? Right? Do u use any screen protector or is it a badass one?
I really don’t know what else it needs to be like the top Samsung, apple, google. I get a smart watch for being more accurate on fitness. That’s the core selling point on almost every smart watch. Garmin excels in that in almost every way just like its insane battery life. The only thing that is missing is talking and texting with its own sim instead of using the phone though Bluetooth. Still better than Apple Watch and cheaper than the ultra.
I just upgraded from original Samsung Galaxy watch 42mm to the Samsung Galaxy watch 6 classic 43mm back in August. I'm very pleased with the new watch 6 classic! The rotating bezel for ease of use and to protect the glass screen is very important to me. I had my first galaxy watch for 5 years and it still had no scratches on the screen and would still hold a charge for 1.5 days with AOD off (never changed the battery). I gave it to a family member who loves it. The mature and seamless integration with my Samsung smartphone is so good. Exercise tracking is sufficient for me, I especially like the automatic detection of workouts. Samsung health app is decent for looking back and seeing what I did. The variety of watch faces and apps for the watch is really good. I don't want to wear a watch while sleeping. Charger is on my bedside table, so daily charging is not a problem for me.
Order A Garmin From BestBuy 👉 mikeobrienmedia.com/GarminVenu3
This video was sponsored by BestBuy
Done !
Waterproof?
An important general question please.
Do you still keep your phone on you while wearing the watch? If you do, I presume it is powered by a cellular lte signal, once the watch and phone are synced/connected. If not, then how else does it run...what is it powered by that lets you use the thing overall and all of its apps functions etc...gps?
Dude shame on you, you say you compared it to whoop etc and you don't show it. That's unethical censorship. What a junk video. Whatever dude you could have gained a subsriber if you had some ethics and backbone. Bye
@@VirtousStoic Check his other video, man
Battery time is enough for me to change from Samsung/ Apple.
For me too that is the reason I will by Garmin Venue 3 ⌚️🤩😁😍
After 3 Years my samsung galaxy watch active 2 breakes down 😒😟
Agreed. That is the sole reason I chose the Venu 3. I almost went with a Fenix Solar, but not enough smart watchy stuff. Lol. Is that a word?
Ditto. I liked the galaxy watch but the battery was abysmal even when barely doing anything. Love that garmin have introduced wheelchair tracking, don't think anyone else has done anything like it so far
Completely agree. About to sell my Galaxy Watch 6 LTE for this
Yep, I’ve had my Apple Watch for years and I just can’t deal with the poor battery life anymore. Also it just does not have that many features, like it has sleep tracking but it doesn’t work well at all (probably because the battery life isn’t really long enough to use to track sleep)
Appreciate the timer during the sponsor ad
Most insightful review of the Venu 3 I’ve seen on UA-cam. Love that you explained the true value-add of a device like this-I.e. interpreting the data it has collected and telling you what behaviors you need to do more or less of to improve your overall health. Most of the other reviews only talked about “features”. You talked about the real “benefits” of the product and how it will improve your life. Good job!
Absolutely I will use this watch. It will actually be my next activity watch provided Samsung can’t get their accuracy down. The integration part is really huge, but I would rather have accuracy over Siri or Google Assistant. Good job on the video.
Me too. I'm coming from crappy apple watch that constantly dies. Horrendous battery life
Same and i lohe my venu 3 ❤ the steps calories tracking and heartrate sensors and hrv measures are awesome
@@jcap8391 wow I’m actually surprised to hear that you would think the way that everyone acts Apple can’t do anything wrong lol. I have a iPhone as well, so it’s not a hate thing.
@@TerminatriX86 I originally skipped over Garmin, because of the integration but as time goes on, I realize I should’ve just stuck to my gut and got a Garmin.
@@corneliusjermainehightower7539 Tbh. If Apple Watch had a couple days of battery life preferably 3 days...It would be king. Don't see that happening anytime soon. Apple could have done it but they don't so they can make people buy their charging docks and magnetic batterys. They are money hungry fcks. I'm using an android as my work and fun phone and my iPhone as my personal only making calls phone. I still think iPhones have too notch security features.
I like my Venu 2 a lot and have used Garmin watches for decades. They have some Bluetooth trouble now and then, inspite it has improved the last years. What I don’t like: scratches! My venu’s screen got scratched heavily after only a few days. Garmin, give us a sapphire option on these watches!
Decades?
@@danhall5761 well I started using Garmin watches about 15 years ago I think, like with the forerunner 210 or 310xt or so. Before that I used polar watches.
Use a screen protector
Congrats on your review. One of the best regarding Venu 3 that I've seen so far, based on a daily usage. I've had 2 Samsung watches, both of them died for no reason.
After 2 months using Venu 3, I can assure it's more reliable (much more) and has better "coaching". I cannot even start to talk about battery life, my Samsungs wouldn't last a day and a half. My Venu 3 lasts from 9 to 11 days.
Kudos from Brazil!
Makes me wonder how they can squeeze out so much battery life when the Apple, Google, and, Samsung watches of the world can barely last a day.
Wear OS and IOS are battery hungry platforms. They also focus more on smartwatch features.
I don't need the additional mobile phone connectivity (I don't want a phone on my wrist) so the Venu 3 is perfect for me having also had a Vivoactive 3 & 4 plus a Fenix 5s prior to purchasing my Venu 3. The battery life with screen auto off is amazing.
the battery life was the reason I picked this watch. super happy with my choice. Not having to think about yet another gadget to charge is great.
I got the Venue 3s. Been waiting for the smaller variant with mic and voice assistant ever since Venu 2 Plus came out. Very disappointed at the voice assistant connectivity issue like you mentioned, basically make it not usable. Coming from galaxy watch 4 I'm still very impressed with the battery life (got 8~9 days even on the smaller variant) and fitness features, and I don't use other "smart watch features" at all even when I was using the galaxy watch, so still happy about the purchase. Hopefully Garmin will see this review and keep improving the voice assistant reliability.
TBH, it takes just as much time to take out your phone and activate the voice assistant so I don't think it's a deal breaker. It's just unfortunate that it's not faster than the phone. I guess the one advantage is if your phone is in your backpack or something
How were you getting so much battery on the galaxy watch :O that's the one I had, and even with most things turned off, low brightness, and barely doing anything it needed charging every day from new 😭
@@CakeandCosplay oh the battery life I mentioned was meant for Venu 3s. Sorry for the confusion.
I've had Galaxy, Fitbit (pre Google) and Garmin. I've always returned to Garmin. Battery life has always been better and they've had the important smart watch features. I've found sleep tracking more reliable than Galaxy. Thanks for the review Mike.
Honestly I got my og Sense before google bought fitbit and i hate what theyve done so far- now that my sense is starting to go Im finally making the switch 🎉
Just picked this up today. Got the Instinct 2X recently for more rugged sports and the literally unlimited solar life. Garmin is just better at data. Period. I have a few Amazfits and an Apple Watch Ultra. The ultra holds a battery for a solid 10 minutes. The Amazfit Falcon was awesome for 6 months. Then, its sensors went batty. Unreliable heart and SPO2 monitoring in a very intense workout. I have to say, I loved your review and subscribed immediately. I love training watches, and these last two purchases really nailed it. This video really cogently summed up the Venu 3. I have had a 2 for a few years. Light years ahead of it. Keep up the great work!
Looking at the HR graphs of your interval run there, it looks like you've mixed up the coloring. The orange one seems much more realistic for intervals that are tracked accurately, while the purple one seems to be lagging behind, the way you'd expect from an optical sensor, and it also has the other expected artifacts of that type of sensor as well.
I bought this recently, and definitely something that's on my wrist almost all the time, except when showering.. it's so light and battery is great.. and the health features amazing, especially when using the Garmin website..
I own a Samsung Watch 5 Pro, and only use it as a smartwatch and ignoring all the health features... With the Garmin Venu 3, the health feature is front and center for me.. going to sell my Samsung Watch 5 Pro..
I need Some help! Do you hace iOS? If you do, is it true you cant do ANY texting or calling from it?!
Thanks for the review.
I suspect that Garmin realises that implementing more 'smart' functionalities, will not only eat into battery life, but shift the Venu to a different category, competing directly with Apple and Samsung smartwatches. That would not be a smart move, because you'll start from scratch. Improve what you're best at, don't give into feature-creep that'll dilute the brand's overall strong points. Casio has recently made that mistake with their new sports & health featured G-Shocks.
A huge part of it on the back end is balancing smart features and maximizing compatible smartphones. You're not wrong about how it would go though imo. Personally I wish they would actually tighten up their smartphone compatibility list in favor of more uniform flagship-level features and specs to integrate with. But I get why they lean the other way. Especially being an international brand.
I Got the Venu 3 recently ( upgrades from original Venu) and it has been Amazing. The battery and GPS accuracy are great and it does have improved smart features. The calls function is really nice and the voice assistant works pretty well for me, especially if my phone isn't with me or in my backpack.
Hello, how do you find Heart rate tracking, is it correct?
@@KairiKatarina , Yes. I have found it to be spot-on.
Android or iphone?
I got the 3s and the battery is waaaay less than advertised. It goes down 30-40% at night. I don't know if it's a bug or something. I already changed the watch once and still have the same battery drain problem.
@@mrp_27mine hasn't done that so far, what features do you have on? 🤔
Great review. I really appreciate you pointing out that unlike most other brands (including Apple and Samsung) Garmin activity tracking actually includes activity specific data rather than just the same metrics regardless of activity. So many reviewers simply say that like Apple/Samsung Garmin tracks lots of activities without noting that the way those activities are tracked is much better on Garmin. Also the battery life is such a huge issue if you are serious about health and wellness tracking. Your watch is no good to you for those purposes if it is often off your wrist (especially when sleeping) because you have to charge.
Amazing comment
I bought a Venu 3 and it’s my go to watch at the moment. I still prefer the Garmin 265S for training, but I’m not currently training so the extra attention to sleep quality and health factors are welcome. My only disappointment is that I’m very dependent on the Garmin Pay feature and that’s not currently working with my WF Visa card. WF says they’ll fix it “soon” but I’m impatient. Other than that, this is a great watch.
What makes the forerunner 265 better for workouts?
@@Ennis09 The Forerunner 265 and 265S have 2 metrics not found on the Venu3: Training Readiness and Trsining Load.
@@5ervalkat192 Ah I see, are those things you think most people would use? I’m a runner and weight lifter, I do half and full marathons. Maybe the 265 would be better,
Agree wholeheartedly. My favourite watch by far as it strikes that balance between smart watch and fitness guide very well, and the battery life is second to no other brand. I also like how it integrates all fitness metrics into one app, whereas with Apple you need various third party apps to achieve the same. I also like how the Venu 3 can broadcast my heart rate to my bike computer, negating the need for an additional sensor (even though a strap is more accurate than the watch). Thanks for the video.
I’m going back to Garmin. Thought I’d give Samsung the benefit of the doubt. But between the short battery life and randomly notifying emergency contacts for no reason to notifications that are not consistent or reliable, I’m done with Samsung. The Venu 3 appears to address all the things I wanted from the Venu 1. As an aside, the new Vivo Active 5 is a similar watch, 1 smaller size and a $300 price. In a lot of ways it’s essentially an updated Venu 1, which is actually a good thing.
I think this makes the Venu 2 /2S a better value considering the heavy discounts. It's usually available at €300 these days, and it offers 80-90% of what the new generation offers.
Yes, can't find a good reason to upgrade from my Venu 2 that I use in combination with the Edge 530.
I have Venu 2s and I absolutely love it! I miss swimming in open water, regeneration feature and morning raport. Those would be cool to have, I really dont care about calling feature.
Garmin is now the only smartwatch brand I consider buying
The focus on health is noticeable while not really missing on other features
I agree the app is very good and the price point together with that epic battery life is a definite advantage over other watches. Personally I use mine for the health and fitness data I wouldn’t use half of the functionality in category’5’ I have the Venue 2 and I bought it via a second hand site it’s never been a problem I found it intuitive as an older user and compared to the other watches it has everything I need at a much better price I highly recommend trying it if you don’t need the last section of features as much. Thanks for posting 👍
Thanks!
The Garmin app is as legit as it gets. I run consistently and love tracking all my activities. I ordered a Samsung watch on black Friday and think I'm going to return it and go back to my Garmin. I didn't realize how good I had it with Garmin until I tried switching. The Samsung app also eats way more of my cellphone battery than Garmin, which was a surprise issue I discovered after the fact.
I think a lot of it is the employees. I spent a little time doing some entry level stuff with the watches. The support, engineers, designers...they all live that stuff. It's a really impressive company tbh.
I switched from the Apple Watch to the Venu3s once my Apple Watch was dying. I LOVE IT. I didn’t want the smaller size but to get the more “feminine” colors I needed to get the s. Which I think is dumb, they should have those colors in the regular sizes as well. I train (marathons, 5Ks, and lifting primarily) a lot and it is amazing. I tried out the Coros Pace 2, returned it, tried the Garmin Forerunner 265 and loved it, but liked the looks and some extra functions of the Venu3 more so I returned the forerunner and switch to that one. It’s amazing and got even more accurate after the first couple weeks.
Garmin's product mix needs to be rationalized. Great new features on the Venu, but the new Vivoactive 5 has many of these. It would be great if Garmin merged these together at some hybrid price point. Need more convincing to decide that the Venu is worth $200 more.
If they continue with the way they're been doing it for a few generations, those two devices will keep running pretty parallel to each other with the display always being the main difference. It is a little clunky, but at least they do branch off with the Forerunners, Fenix, more activity-specific specialty devices, and such. I think their attempt at a new path was that Venu Sq. And...well.....I'm aiiiight LOL.
I originally had an Apple Watch but changed to Garmin nearly 18 months ago. I have the Venu 2S and absolutely love it. I wouldn’t go back to Apple Watch, the sleep tracking and battery life of superior is hands down superior
I had venu 2. I lost it, so I had to buy a new smart watch. I have the galaxy 6 classic, a Samsung flagship. I still grieve my venu 2. It had something I never felt with galaxy, the feeling of a friend, a companion, an assistant, reminding me to take care of my stress levels, inspiring me to move. It told me to breathe, and I loved the sleep summary on mornings. Body battery is awesome. I regret buying galaxy. I know at the time apple ultra whatever watch had a better sleep tracker. But now I realize all these competitors completely miss the point. The smartwatch is supposed to be a companion and not something you have to click your way through endless menus in order to understand and get to your data. To me, Garmin venu has a soul. "Hey, I am detecting high stress levels, how about a breather exercise?". It did feel like an actual friend.
All the other watches are fancy-schmancy. Hey galaxy, you caught me walking for 10 mins and congratulated me? Oh c'mon. The pinnacle of technology. All you could do on your own us detect I cycled or walked but you were absent whenever I was experiencing high stress. The Samsung is bloated with useless multiple apps I have to "consent to", just to maybe colect some more data, and it puts me off. They collect your data in order to collect it. It doesn't act as a helper. I get the feeling apple ultra would be the same.
I have used Garmin Vivoactive hr, Vivoactive, Venu and now Fenix 7, i have allways been very happy with my Garmin watches.
A friend of mine brought this video to my attention and it is exactly what I needed. No Uber and no Teams = deal-breakers as I look for my next smartwatch purchase. Thank you!
What do you mean no uber and no teams?
you use microsoft teams on a smartwatch?
I feel Garmin needs to add the wireless charging and for $450 the case should be all metal even if it’s just aluminum.
As someone who's allergic to metal, I appreciate that Garmin has a case that's non metal.
As a poor, I wish those titanium bands with the silicone interior would go on a little 90% off sale. I have Garmin watches less expensive than those things lol.
Cant wait for a comparison between google pixel watch 2, samsung galaxy 6 classic and garmin venu 3
I was using the Venu 2 Plus, put it away for a while because I get the Galaxy Watch 5 because of the LTE but I'm back to my Venu 2 Plus and waiting to get the Venu 3. For me the only thing is missing is the LTE connectivity.
Hello Mike, I'm trying to contact you by Telegram but for any reason I can't, there's any other way that I can contact you? @mikeobrien
I currently own a Venu 2S that i wear all days 24/24. I'm tempted by the Venu 3S but my fear is that the 3S would be less comfortable to wear than the 2S. Looking to the pictures here and there, I see that the new V5 elevate sensor is larger and higher than the V4 sensor. My fear is that on the long term, this new sensor hurts my arm/wrist preventing me to wear it every day of the week. Any feedback from people who already bought it would be welcomed.
Regardless about what people say it does protrude a lot more. I tried the venue 3 and 3s. The venue 3 actually protrudes less and wraps around my smaller wrist better. It seemed a bit slimmer even though the watch face is bigger. I was also confused. Maybe because they have less space to fit everything in smaller one so it's a bit thicker? Either way don't go for 3s go for the 3👍
Own the 2s and 3s, can't say I've noticed a difference and I also wear mine 24/7 and quite tight for better accuracy.
I have the Garmin Venue in the black and gold color way, I'm very happy with it's battery life with 5-7 days and it's health tracking and other features. I was able to pick it up at sub $100 on prime day back in 2022. Using it as general time keeping piece with using the other functions moderately I'm curious if the upgrade is worth buying. If the Venue 3 came with the gold bezel I would probably upgrade but the current model I own is great.
I have a sort of a unique question, if anyone can clarify -
So, I have a smartwatch like Venu 3 for example - I pair it to my personal phone (Android) and install their app, and just use the watch normal, let it track whatever. But while at work, I'd like to connect it to my work phone (iOS) to take calls or see notifications. When it's connected to my work phone, will the health tracking start all over again or will it continue as it is?
I prefer the health and fitness accuracy over the apps. There are few thing i need in watch:
-health and fitness tracking accurately (the guidance option from this watch is also big bonus)
-ability to customise the screen wallpaper so with few adjustment like strap change and the wallpaper it would look like diff watch every time for different occasions (as example my work requires to have certain looking watches, and i like to look at watches as bracelet as they can be nice addition to your styling, so you dont really wanna buy more then one smart watch just to be able to swtich around)
-nfc for easy payments
Have to say huaweii also makes some nice health functions on their watches wich is amazing and i believe that all smartwatches should actually focus on that instead on being 2nd "phone"
Its an item that we wear most on our body so it's a great tool that could be utilized to track health, and perhaps even warn people about some health issues
Only issue with huawei is that if you live in the USA, it's banned. You can still use anything still here but a lot of features just don't work in the US.
Garmin has been my go to for years. It would be really amazing if they added some wearos compatability but that's a pipe dream
Hello there. One question. If I have my Garmin Edge 530 and I want to upload the data from the sensors of my bike to my smartwatch can I do it with Garmin Venu 3? Garmin Edge 530 works with Garmin Connect app in my phone, so I guess that a Garmin smartwatch has to have this functionality as well? I mean I want to upload this data to Strava and also my smartwatch as well. Thank you so much
Hi!
Great video, thx! 😃
I have a few questions about the Venu 3.
Does it have a barometric altitude reader?
Does it have an integrated compass?
And do you need to be connected to your phone via bluetooth in order for these features to work properly?
Also, are they easy to find? (i.e. I don't have to dig through lots of settings first..)
Thanks!
Hi Sir. I'd like to get some advise from you. My height is 5 feet and 7 inches tall. Am planning to buy Venu 3 but the 45mm size looks small for me. What do you think?
Based on your review this is exactly what I'm looking for in a smartwatch. Your biggest drawback is of no concern to me as I don't care about messages, calls, music or any other phone-related type stuff on a watch. Thanks for a great review!
Excellent analysis! This watch hits a sweet spot for a large segment of the smartwatch market. For Garmin users, a great transition watch that opens the door to getting smarter 🙂in a very solid offering.
great video thank you can you use the watch features without connecting to phone or app?
I got the Venue 3 , 2days ago. The buttons are clicky, but , not as well like by other Garmin watches.
In example like the foreerunner 965.
But my voice assistent works very well an quick. Iam very happy with the voice assistant.
I am pretty much sold on the Garmin ecosystem. My latest is the Epix Gen 2 and eventually when I upgrade it will be to the Epix pro series. My focus is really on the lifestyle /health tracking - don't really care for apps on my watch.
Im just waiting for this thing to go on sale eventually and then I’ll grab it!!
If you got the watch, need Some help! Do you hace iOS? If you do, is it true you cant do ANY texting or calling from it?!
I'm currently on a galaxy watch and the number one feature keeping me from switching is the integration to my samsung phone. Otherwise the watch is somewhat slow and the battery life is just plain bad. I get one day of just sitting on my arm with one hour workout a day. 3 hours total on LTE without tracking anything.
Great video. What about the impacts and measurements in altitude? Does it still give conclusions or coaching if your exercising in nonstandard activities like my cardio using my Metaquest 3 virtual Reality device?
Venue 3 and vivoactive 5 does not show active calories during a workout on any data screen. Tried the connectiq data screens as well. The forerunner 265 and 965 has this option. Even the Apple Watch 7 had this option
I was considering Pixel watch 3 45mm but I am going for Garmin venu 3 because of battery. After some years the batter in Pixel watch will be not enough also because many charging cycles.
I was wating for this video! thank you mike its really helpfull!
wating for your comparasion to vivoactive 5, its seems to be a grate budget option compare to the venu 3
Hi , thanks for the review. What mobile device did you use in this video?
Oh okay, Google pixel
My dream is Samsung smartwatch capabilities with Garmin's health components. Garmin has improved some of their smartwatch capabilities but they need to take that next step. Reply to messages independently would be huge. Getting closer. I do like this watch quite a bit.
Garmin was always for people who like sports and will be i belive so its not a normal smart wach but is more of a sport smartwatch witch is expected from garmin
I just really don't like how fast notifications disappear on the watch. I bought the Venu 3 but exchanged it for a Samsung galaxy watch 6.
Could it be a good option instead of the venu 3 to go for the vivoactive 5? What features would I be losing besides the altimeter (which doesn't affect me so much in my case)? I have the possibility of buying the vivoactive 5 for $250. I run 3/4 times a week and play soccer regularly. I am interested in all health and sleep tracking functions. What would you recommend?
One of the big features is the speaker and microphone which allows you to take / make calls when your phone isn't in reach.
Can I see WhatsApp notifications on Venu 3 connected to iPhone?
Interested to see how the Pixel Watch 2 might impact your feelings 🙂
I can't wait to test it! Hope the leaks are right
can you add photos from your phone to the watch? I don't mean the watch face, but if I can add many pictures and have a gallery on the watch
Hey Mike, congrats on the great work! Would you recommend the Venu 3 over the Fenix 7 with which they are in a similar price category? Thanks in advance for your reply!
The thing is you don’t need to answer texts or make phone calls on a smart watch, and the app gives you data analytics that you have to pay for other devices.
I really want the galaxy watch 6 classic but the battery life is a deal breaker
Can it sync with my 3 Google Calendars over 3 Gmail accounts? Hopefully yes! My main reason for using Samsung watch is the synergy of it on my Samsung Phone
Nice review. I have had 2 generations of Samsung watch by now, and while it is a nice phone extension, workout tracking is so bad and so buggy, that I've given up on it long time ago (the new updates make it even worse). Also, about 1.5 years in, I now need to charge this watch two times a day. Seriously considering a Venu 3.
I have the Venu 2 and its a great fitness and health watch not so a good smartwatch.. Garmin watches are more accurate in gps and other sensor so the information is more reliable. But the app integration with phone sucks. I hate to so less apps available for the watch and the store sucks. The battery is awesome. The improvements with this Venu 3 foe me are marginal so i will wait for the 4 in the future but if you still haven't try a Garmin watch this is a great choice for a normal user.
This is perfect for me. I won't have to wear a smart watch with my Garmin. Time to upgrade! Thamks for the review.
how many days does it last with always on display?
4-5 days
looking for my next watch after my apple
watch 7... this seems perfect. thanks for the review!
Is it really worth the upgrade if u don’t do much stuff going up hill etc
Garmin and Samsung should collaborate together to bring together a great smartwatch with lots of fitness and health functionality!
That would be epic!
I've been trying to decide between this and the Pixel watch 2, and your video really was informative. Great job!
What did you end up getting? I'm in a similar situation lol
@@Caspian_77 I ended up going with the Garmin Venu 2, and was able to get it for a great price since the Venu 3 just released.
@@Caspian_77I ended up going with the Garmin Venu 2, and it's been fantastic!
Love my Venu 2: good balance of health and smart features, and infinitely better battery than all the other smart watches. Good for the hacker who is both geek and biohacker. 🙂
My battery doesn't last but 2days and it's around 45% left, I don't like it to get to low so I have it for my next workout. I have had problems with my watch disconnecting with my phone. It happens at least once a week. They also need more watch band choices that you can order. I'm not as happy with the watch as I thought I would be.
Is there a reason you don't review any Huawei watches? My choice stands between this and the Huawei GT3 Pro. Do you have any inputs on this?:)
I just got the Venu 3. I want it for both running and biking. I want to view my heart rate on the app (on my phone) using my chest strap. But, the garmin app won't show real time data - hr and timer. The garmin support said the app won't show the data except after the ride. I don't want to look at my watch while riding. Do you have any suggestions?
only way is to get a Garmin edge for biking
@@_paddy Thanks. Actually, I found a garmin attachment, on Amazon, for the handlebars and simply put my watch around it and it works well.
Seriously considering this watch. Are your feelings still the same, 3 months later?
I just bought the venu 3 did u use any screen protector?
I hope you will do a review to the new Vivoactive 5
Would be amazing, bc this review was really good 🙌🏼
Can you tell me what phone that is? Thanks, 🙏
Thank you mike! You answered all my questions, i was having a hard time deciding between getting an Ultrahuman and the garmin but since my main focus is on fitness and health tracking and j was looking into getting a watch anyway you helped me make up my mind. I will definitely check you out in the future! :)
can it have access to Google calendar and show upcoming events?
This thing is tiny, i have an Enduro 2. Wish the Garmin 965 has these smart features. Garmin needs to create an Epix pro full phone integration for android 😍. Thanks again
Any idea when the next model should come out?
Does the Venu 3 receive notifications from Telegram messaging app when paired to iPhone or Android?
yes
Been a Garmin man for ages and whilst this is a excellent watch the Amazfit Balance matches and beats the Venu 3 and way cheaper.
Does it work for golf players?
Great watch i love mine and came from samsung galaxy watch 4 which has bad calories steps snd sport tracking i really hate that fact and i am happy with the good tracking of my venu 3 ❤ hrv status showed me i am getting sick by going down night by night this is such an awesome Feature which you can use for taking care of you falling not into overtraining, e.g. or if it goes down you might be getting sick and maybe do an extra day of recover! All the informations in the app are great ❤
I have venue 3 and I cant answer phone calls directly from the watch. Is there anything in the settings i need to do?
I never answer on my watch. I will just grab my phone if i see its important. Never use voice assistant. So other than these its very cool? Right? Do u use any screen protector or is it a badass one?
Very interesting watch... but for price and don't needing to talk to a watch I'll go for the Venu 2 at great price now. 😉
I really don’t know what else it needs to be like the top Samsung, apple, google. I get a smart watch for being more accurate on fitness. That’s the core selling point on almost every smart watch. Garmin excels in that in almost every way just like its insane battery life. The only thing that is missing is talking and texting with its own sim instead of using the phone though Bluetooth. Still better than Apple Watch and cheaper than the ultra.
I just upgraded from original Samsung Galaxy watch 42mm to the Samsung Galaxy watch 6 classic 43mm back in August. I'm very pleased with the new watch 6 classic!
The rotating bezel for ease of use and to protect the glass screen is very important to me. I had my first galaxy watch for 5 years and it still had no scratches on the screen and would still hold a charge for 1.5 days with AOD off (never changed the battery). I gave it to a family member who loves it. The mature and seamless integration with my Samsung smartphone is so good. Exercise tracking is sufficient for me, I especially like the automatic detection of workouts. Samsung health app is decent for looking back and seeing what I did. The variety of watch faces and apps for the watch is really good.
I don't want to wear a watch while sleeping. Charger is on my bedside table, so daily charging is not a problem for me.
Hi, would you be able to do a comparison review between the Venu 3 and the Amazfit Balance?
Love my Venu 2 Plus. Battery life is amazing.
Does this watch look for things like irregular heart rhythms?
Thanks, one of the best reviews, I like your points.
As a Venu wearer, I'm glad to see this opinion
Venu wearers are rare in a sea of apple watch users