The new Garmin Venu 3 might just be the perfect fitness tracker - here's why

The Garmin Venu 3S is one of the latest devices to join the brand's line-up, purpose-built to help you meet your health and fitness goals while also acting as a sleek smartwatch that will fit seamlessly into your day.  

If you’re shopping for one of the best fitness trackers to support you on your journey to becoming the healthiest you, then it’s worth checking out Garmin’s new Venu device. Meet The Garmin Venu 3S - a stylish tracker with smartwatch features that will track your activity, sleep, and recovery, offering a wider picture of your overall health. 

This device is an impressive smartwatch and fitness tracker hybrid, but with its full-price tag almost matching that of the Apple Watch, is it worth it if you can't find a deal in the Garmin sale? As woman&home's primary fitness tracker reviewer, I've tried and tested many of the brand's devices, so I feel fit to judge this one. I put it to the test for a few weeks to see how it fared, while also comparing it to some of the other top trackers out there.

Garmin Venu 3S review

Garmin Venu 3S: Specifications

• RRP: £449.99 (£399.99 from Amazon or John Lewis)
• Size: 41 x 41 x 12 mm
• Weight: 40g
• Material: Stainless steel & silicone
• In-built GPS: Yes
• Battery life: Up to 10 days
• Waterproof: Yes

Garmin Venu 3S: Overview

An upgrade of the Garmin Venu Sq2, the Venu 3 is one of the brand’s newest fitness watches. It’s a premium tracker with all the capabilities of a smartwatch, tracking fitness, sleep and health stats, providing a wider picture of your overall health. It also offers unique features like on-screen workouts, connectivity with top music subscriptions, contactless payment options, and the ability to send and receive text messages and make calls. It comes with an expensive price tag of £450 at RRP outside of the sale deal, but it's worth it for a fitness tracker like this one. 

Design of the Garmin Venu 3S

This sleek smartwatch features a circular watch face, a welcome break from the popular square-faced devices that Garmin and many brands promote, with a silicone wristband. I tested the Garmin Venu 3S - the only difference between the 'S' model and standard Venu 3 is the screen size. The 'S' stands for 'small' (41mm), while the standard is the larger option (45mm). I found this was the perfect size for my wrist but if you have a larger wrist, or plan to utilise the on-screen workout demonstrations, it may be worth sizing up to the standard. 

The Garmin Venu 3 is available in various colourways that will fit seamlessly with your wardrobe and don't look garish when worn in regular life, unlike some of the more ruggedly designed Garmin watches. But, if the current colourways don’t appeal, you can create a custom watch on the Garmin website by choosing the face and band combination.

The Venu 3 is a touchscreen with three hardware buttons on the side of the screen to help navigate through basic functions. I found it very simple to use, especially on the move or between sets at the gym. 

My favourite thing about the Garmin Venu 3 is how easily I can track my stats on the watch screen as I was working out. Previously, when I compared the Oura Ring to the Garmin Venu 3S, I found the screen-free Oura Ring more appealing as it ensured I wasn’t constantly checking my stats throughout the day or distracted by notifications. However, I enjoyed accessing the data on the watch face in real-time when I wanted to monitor metrics during my workout. I found it easy to monitor my heart rate and work out when to switch between zone 2 training, heavier work, and rest periods, which is essential for building fitness. 

The Oura Ring and other faceless trackers, like the WHOOP 4.0 don't offer this. What’s more, I wasn't distracted by text or call notifications - which you can receive on your wrist with the Garmin Venu 3 - because I turned them off with the touch of a button. Simple. 

Fitness tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

The Garmin excels at fitness tracking generally and the Venu 3 is no exception. Like with most Garmin watches, the Venu 3 is best for those who are already very active and work out frequently or anyone who wants to improve their fitness while monitoring their activity and overall health stats. However, if you are a beginner then you'll have all you need to make big changes to your fitness routine and lifestyle. 

It tracks the usual activity metrics - including steps, heart rate, and calories burned - through the heart rate sensor. It auto-detects activity, such as walking or running, but also has 30 preloaded GPS and indoor sports to choose from, such as cardio workouts, indoor rowing, and Pilates. Post-workout, Garmin delivered key insights to my watch face, such as workout duration, average heart rate and calories burned. However, like all Garmin devices, I read the full low-down in the Garmin Connect App, which you must download onto your smartphone to make the most of the watch.

If you're doing an indoor HIIT workout, the Garmin Venu 3 will track all the essential metrics while determining your Intensity Minutes. Health organisations like the WHO recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. So, by tracking Intensity Zone minutes, based on your heart rate as you exercise, Garmin can help you easily meet basic workout goals.

As noted, the Garmin Venu 3 has animated on-screen workouts you can follow along with, replacing the need for many popular workout apps and making this watch a great option for those new to working out in the gym or at home. These cover key fitness areas such as strength, HIIT, yoga, and stretching. 

You can also create step-by-step workouts for yourself in the app and send them directly to your watch, with an impressive 1,600 exercises to choose from. For those looking to do strength training at home, for example, or explore other types of strength training, I found this to be an excellent feature.

If you’re someone who wants to increase their activity, the Garmin challenges can keep you motivated. In the app, you can join monthly challenges, whether that’s a walking, running or swimming target, or you can create your personal challenge. 

When I was working out on the Hydrow rowing machine, I appreciated that I was also able to connect my smartwatch to the Garmin HRM-Fit, a heart rate monitor created specifically for those who wear sports bras. This meant I could access real-time insights on the Hydrow as I exercised and then collect the data in my Garmin app and on my watch post-workout.  

Any runners will find the wrist-based running power and dynamics testing features a huge bonus on the Venu 3, putting it in contention with other running-specific models from Garmin, like the Forerunner range. Same for cyclists - when paired with indoor cycling equipment, cyclists can see their power output on the watch. 

Sleep tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

The Garmin Venu 3S fares well when compared to the best sleep trackers on the market, such as the Oura Ring. Offering detailed insights into everything from sleep duration to sleep stages, HRV and respiration rate, it gave an overall sleep score with an accurate indication of how well I slept.

One of my favourite sleep features from Garmin is the Sleep Coach. Using sleep data from the night before, it predicts how much sleep you’ll need the following night to ensure you’re well-rested and recovered. Over the weeks that I tested out the Venu 3, I found myself feeling tired when I woke up and throughout the day. It was interesting to discover that the Sleep Coach often predicted I needed an extra 30 minutes compared to my baseline to recover from the previous day’s activities. A great excuse for a lie-in! 

If you struggle to fall asleep or want to learn how to sleep better, Garmin’s in-app library of meditation and breathwork classes will help you switch off at the end of the day and may help you nod off quicker too. 

Health tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

Like most fitness trackers these days, including the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4, The Garmin Venu 3S gives a picture of overall health as well as insights into fitness. This includes stress tracking, menstrual cycling tracking, blood oxygen saturation data, HRV and skin temperature changes. 

One of my favourite insights in any fitness tracker is the data it can provide around recovery, which is called the Body Battery in Garmin's case. Combining data from your physical activity, stress levels and sleep, it monitors your energy resources to ultimately help you make smarter decisions around activity and recovery, so you can build healthier habits. Typically, your body battery is full when you wake up (if you’ve had a good night’s rest) and will drain as you go about your day, before recharging overnight once again when you’re asleep. 

Of course, you know your body best and if you’re feeling tired but your watch is suggesting you're ready for a day of activity, you should always listen to your body and rest. 

Another highlight for me was the Workout Benefits feature, which showed how each workout affected my overall health and was used to determine how much recovery time I needed. There are lots of different Workout Benefits within this feature, ranging from Recovery (which Garmin defines as low-intensity activities that help to recover and relieve stress) to High Exertion (demanding workouts that should only be done occasionally and may also require more recovery time). This prompted me to be more mindful of my workouts and reconsider my weekly schedule, so I could ensure I had both high-intensity activities planned, as well as those focused more on recovery. 

Is the Garmin Venu 3S worth it?

While the Garmin comes with an expensive price tag, if you’re already very active or on a fitness journey, and have the budget to spend, it’s worth it. Not only will it provide detailed fitness insights and motivate you with challenges and on-screen workouts, but it also offers health data that will allow you to gain a better overall picture of your health and fitness, while tracking sleep and recovery, too. 

What’s more, Garmin’s Venu 3 comes with all the bells and whistles, displaying smartphone notifications, on-wrist texting and phone calls for Android devices, safety tracking features, Spotify compatibility and contactless payments. If you're considering another advanced smartwatch with fitness-tracking features, like the Apple Watch Series 9, then it's certainly worth weighing this one up too. 

However, it's important to note that Android phone users will benefit from the Venu 3 more than iPhone users. Naturally, as Apple has the Apple Watch Series 9, there is limited connectivity available between Garmin and the iPhone. For example, you can only send and receive text messages and calls if you have a connected Android device.

Also, if you’re new to the world of fitness wearables and just want a device that will monitor your workouts and help you become more active, it may be worth checking out the best Fitbits instead. The Fitbit Charge 6, for example, isn't as premium as the Venu 3S and lacks the more advanced features like on-screen workouts and Workout Benefits, but you'll find many of the fitness tracking features to be the same and if you pay for Premium, you'll have access to a Body Battery-esk feature.