Garmin Venu 3 Slate Stainless Steel Bezel 1.4-Inch AMOLED Touchscreen Display Smart Watch with 45mm Black Case and Silicone Band 45 MM Black

For my wife! From the sleek, stylish design to the incredible functionality, this smartwatch ticks every box for fitness tracking and everyday use. The display is vibrant and easy to read, even in direct sunlight, which is a huge plus for me. Fitness tracking is spot-on — whether I’m running, biking, or swimming, the watch delivers accurate data and seamless GPS tracking. The heart rate monitor is super precise, and I love how it automatically tracks my workouts without me having to press a button. The built-in maps and route navigation are fantastic for outdoor activities, too! The health monitoring features are a game-changer. The body battery feature is my favorite, helping me understand my energy levels throughout the day, and the sleep and stress tracking are invaluable for overall well-being. It’s like having a personal coach and wellness tracker right on my wrist. The battery life is amazing—I can go days without needing a charge, even with heavy use. It’s lightweight and comfortable to wear all day, making it perfect for both workouts and daily wear. Plus, it looks stylish enough to pair with any outfit. In summary, the Garmin Venu 3S is an all-around winner! If you want a fitness watch that combines accuracy, style, and amazing health features, look no further. Highly recommend!

Had the vivoactive 4s and this is a quite big step up. The screen is obvs better but there are also more options - like choosing what data fields you want to display during your workout. I also paired it with my Stages power meter so I get a bit more (but not all!) data. The battery life is at least double the vivoactive but uses the same charger shape. Also uses 18mm straps. I don’t use sleep or female tracking options so I can’t comment on those. I’m pleased with it. Shame garmin pay isn’t supported by many banks.

I love this watch! The design is stunning, not only for working out, but for daily work outfits. I purchased the French Gray case & band. I’m familiar with the technology in smart watches but this goes above and beyond when it comes to tracking body health, working out, connection to your phone and all its notifications, etc. As I’m learning how to use it, I’m not disappointed in the slightest. Nobody mentioned it has a flash light??? So neat. Coming from an avid Apple Watch user, I would fully recommend trying it out! (I’m not going back)

This fits my wrist perfectly. I love the color options. I chose the ivory and love it. I can wear it with almost every outfit and not worry about it standing out. It’s very light and not heavy feeling on your wrist. This is the first watch I’ve had with sleep tracking and I love it. It seems to be pretty accurate, I’m up feeding my baby during the night and it shows I’m up at those times, so it is tracking correctly. I’ve used it to run on the treadmill and I like how I can adjust the mileage at the end of my run/walk to match the treadmill for more accurate tracking.

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 this, 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 green 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 - mostly 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 related YouTube videos for help, if needed). The Sleep Coach points out whether I am hitting my sleep/rest goal for the day and offers a few “tips” along the way. I’ve used this lightweight Garmin Venu 3s for over a month 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 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 software - not constant background updates. 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. I’m very happy with this watch. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 One star removed 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. I hope all of this helps with your own purchase decision!