The Garmin Venu 3 is the successor to the Garmin Venu 2, which was also the first Garmin smartwatch with Bluetooth calling support. They also offer bright and colourful AMOLED displays with excellent health tracking capabilities.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into comparing these two smartwatches on pricing, design, display, health tracking, smartwatch features, and battery life to help you make an informed decision.
What’s New on the Garmin Venu 3:
The 45mm version’s battery life improved to 14 days.
Garmin added an ECG app to both models (41mm and 45mm).
Garmin added wheelchair mode.
Upgraded to the Garmin Elevate V5 sensor
Garmin Venu 3 upgraded from a 1.3-inch to a 1.4-inch screen size for the same 45mm model.
Garmin added a sleep coach.
Garmin added nap detection.
Garmin added a skin temperature sensor.
Garmin added a jet lag advisor.
Added more sports profiles
Added recovery time
Garmin Venu 3 will get updates until 2025.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Pricing
The Garmin Venu 2 comes in three models – 41mm, 42mm, and 45mm. The 40 mm and 45 mm models do not offer Bluetooth calling and retail for $399, while the 42mm model offers Bluetooth calling but costs an extra $50 for it. It comes in Powder Gray, Light Sand, Graphite, Mist Gray, White, Shadow Gray, Cool Mint, French Gray, Black, and Granite Blue.
The Garmin Venu 3, on the other hand, comes in two models – 41mm and 45mm, and both are priced at $399. It comes in Whitestone, Black, French Gray, Pebble Gray, Sage Gray, Dust Rose, and Ivory colorways.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Comparison
| Device name | Garmin Venu 2 | Garmin Venu 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Smartwatch | Smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Release date | April, 2021 | August, 2023 |
| Predecessor | Garmin Venu | Garmin Venu 2 |
| Versions | Standard edition | Standard edition |
| Body | ||
| Dimension | 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm | 45 x 45 x 12 mm |
| Weight | 49 grams | 47 grams |
| Shape | Round and Rectangle | Round |
| Case material | Fiber-reinforced polymer | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Strap material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Bezel material | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
| Strap size | 22 mm | 22 mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Water resistance | Yes, 5 ATM | Yes, 5 ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.3 inch | 1.4 inch |
| Display type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 416 x 416 pixels | 454 x 454 pixels |
| Pixel density | 453 ppi | 459 PPI |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | Touchscreen | Touchscreen |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth calling | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Garmin Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Memory | ||
| RAM | — | — |
| ROM | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| Cellular Connectivity | ||
| Technology | None | None |
| SIM type | None | None |
| Band | — | — |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | No | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse oximeter (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery capacity | — | — |
| Battery life | 11 days | 14 days |
| Charging type | Garmin proprietary plug charger | Garmin proprietary plug charger |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Design and Display
When it comes to design and build, both have the same round design and sporty look suitable for hardcore athletes and fitness enthusiasts. But the Forerunner Venu Sq 2 offers a rectangular design for those who don’t prefer a round shape.
Both smartwatches sport a stainless steel bezel, a fiber-reinforced polymer body, and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top. However, on the back, the Venu 3 offers 6 LEDs and 4 photodiodes, compared to only 2 LEDs on the Venu 2, providing more accurate and faster readings.
The Garmin Venu 2 measures 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm and weighs 49 grams, while the Garmin Venu 3 measures 45 x 45 x 12 mm and weighs 47 grams. Both come with a pin buckle and silicone band as standard.
If we talk about buttons, the Venu 2 offers two buttons on the right to start/stop, back, and press to hold access controls. In contrast, the Venu 3 offers three buttons on the right to pull up shortcuts, open the control menu, and turn on the device. Both have support for touch- screens.
In terms of display, the Garmin Venu 2 boasts a 1.1 (Venu 2s), 1.2 (Venu 2 Plus), and 1.3 (Venu 2) AMOLED display with a pixel density of 453 PPI. On the other hand, the Garmin Venu 3 boasts a 1.2 (Venu 3s) and 1.4 (Venu 3) AMOLED display with a pixel density of 459 PPI.
Both have a rating of 5 ATM for water resistance and can be submerged underwater for up to 50 metres.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Health and Fitness Tracking
When it comes to health and fitness tracking, both have various advanced features, but the Garmin Venu 3 shows significant improvements in this segment.
The Garmin Venu 2 features a Garmin Elevate V4 sensor, while the Venu 3 features the latest Elevate V5 sensor, providing faster readings with excellent accuracy.
Both track heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen), stress, sleep, hydration, and women’s health, but only the Venu 3 has an ECG (electrocardiogram). On top of that, they also have a body battery and health snapshot, which track multiple key metrics in a two minute interval.
But the Garmin Venu 3 has various new features, like the sleep coach, which provides advice on how much sleep a user needs based on their activity level, stress, recovery, and previous sleep patterns. Nap detection, which detects naps and provides insights to get the most out of them, Plus, it also has skin temperature monitoring and a jet lag advisor.
They also track usual activities like steps, distance travelled, floor climbed, and calories burned. Plus, the Venu 3 offers wheelchair mode, which helps make Garmin devices more accessible for people using wheelchairs and tracks movements as pushes instead of steps.
In terms of fitness tracking, both can track multiple sports, but the Venu 3 can track additional sports, including basketball, volleyball, football, rugby, and ring sports like boxing and mixed martial arts.
Both offer VO2 max tracking, downloadable training plans, respiration rate, and more. But the Venu 3 can track recovery time, providing insights on how long it will take you to recover and be ready for another workout.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Smartwatch Features
In terms of smartwatch features, both have smart notifications, calendars, weather forecasts, smartphone music control, find my phone, and find my watch. They also have a built-in speaker and a microphone for Bluetooth calling.
But in the Garmin Venu 2, only the Venu 2 Plus offers this feature, whereas in the Garmin Venu 3, both the 41mm and 45mm models offer Bluetooth calling support. It will be suitable for a wider audience as you can choose your desired size while getting the calling support. Plus, they also have Garmin Pay for contactless payments and 8GB of storage to store and download music for offline listening.
If we talk about connectivity, both have Bluetooth, ANT+, and Wi-Fi, and you can use these smartwatches with a wide range of Android and iOS devices.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Battery Life
Both smartwatches offer decent battery life, but the Garmin Venu 3 has improved significantly. The Venu 3 offers 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and 5 days in always-on display mode. In battery-saving smartwatch mode, it can last around 26 days. In GPS-only GNSS mode, it lasts for up to 26 hours, and with all-systems GNSS mode, it drops to 20 hours.
The Garmin Venu 2 lasts for around 11 days in smartwatch mode and drops down to only 2 days with the always-on display enabled. In battery-saving smartwatch mode, it lasts for up to 12 days, and with GPS tracking, it can survive for up to 22 hours and 8 hours with GPS + music.
Both come with a Garmin proprietary plug charger, which takes approximately 1.5–2 hours to fully charge the device.
Verdict
As you can see, the Garmin Venu 3 is winning in every aspect, whether it’s on-screen size, health and fitness, battery life, or pricing. So there’s no reason to go for the Garmin Venu 2 when you get the same feature.
The Venu 3 also offers improved health tracking capabilities and an ECG app to detect irregular heart rhythms. Plus, we added multiple new features, including wheelchair mode, meditation, nap detection, Bluetooth calling, Jet Lag Adviser recovery time, and more.