Smartwatches and fitness trackers beta · Garmin
Owners keep the Venu 3 as an all-day health and fitness tracker that goes a week or more between charges, and those who caught it on sale are happy with the value.
Battery life gets clear praise. Owners say it easily lasts more than a week whatever they do with it, and owners who later moved to other watches still single out the battery as something they liked.
Owners are divided on the app and software. Some find the Garmin app straightforward and useful, but others say it holds back things they want. One example: walks don't show calorie or other stats unless you start a walk activity on purpose.
The Garmin Venu 3 is a round smartwatch for everyday health and fitness tracking. It comes in two sizes, the Venu 3 and the smaller Venu 3S. It suits people who want to track sleep, stress, energy levels and workouts without buying a sport-specific watch.
| Display | AMOLED, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (two case sizes) |
|---|---|
| Battery life | Up to 14 days in smartwatch mode (Venu 3S: up to 10 days); up to 26 days with battery saver |
| Water resistance | Swim, 5 ATM (50 m) |
| GPS | |
| Health sensors | Wrist heart rate |
| Works with | |
| Weight | |
| Warranty |
From the maker's spec page, checked October 8, 2026. A blank row means the maker does not state it.
You can wear it for about two weeks between charges in normal use. That drops to about 10 days for the smaller 3S, and turning on battery saver gets you longer. The 5 ATM rating means it's fine for swimming laps and showering, but not for diving. The Gorilla Glass 3 screen is a bright AMOLED panel that stands up to everyday scratches.
Newer model
Garmin Venu 4 replaces this one. The Venu 4 has a metal case and a built-in LED flashlight on both sizes. The Venu 3 has a plastic case with a steel bezel. The Venu 4 adds health status, lifestyle logging and sleep alignment, plus training features like training load, race predictor, PacePro pacing and Fitness Coach. Garmin lists its battery at up to 12 days for the larger size, a little less than the Venu 3's 14 days.
Pick up to three. You get a page with just those, side by side, on the subjects owners raised.
Once the novelty wears off, the metrics are what keep people wearing it. Former Fitbit users say they get far more data than before. One owner with an autoimmune condition uses the readings to see flare-ups as real numbers. Another found out through the watch that they needed a CPAP machine. Workout recording also gets praise: it picks up dips and pull-ups well. Some owners wear it all the time, and one says a sporty watch looks normal almost everywhere these days.
Owners are divided on sleep tracking. Some say it reliably catches short naps, sleep times and stress, and they find the HRV readings precise. Another thinks their old Fitbit was more accurate for sleep, though they still call the Garmin okay. The main adjustment is learning what your model actually supports. Owners advise checking Garmin's feature lists before buying, because some features (power meter support, for example) vary from model to model. ECG is only available in certain regions, and one owner never got it to switch on at all.
What keeps working is the battery. Owners say they charge about once a week, and one passes on the habit of keeping the charge between 20 and 80 percent. One owner who has worn a Venu 3 for years, and has since moved to the Fenix 8, says sleep detection works just as well on both. Another notes that used and refurbished Garmin watches tend to hold their value.
There is very little here about long-term wear. None of these accounts describes hardware breaking, a failing screen, worn straps or a repair, and only one owner mentions using it for years. Treat this as an early picture, not a long-term durability record.
From 6 owner accounts that said how long they have had it. Own one? Add how long yours has lasted.
Nothing has a clear majority against it yet. Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
27 more subjects came up from fewer than 4 owners each, which is not enough for a fair reading. To see how it stacks up, compare it with another machine.
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Two questions: how long you have had it, and anything you would like to say about it. Then we ask again as it ages. This helps our mission.
More in smartwatches and fitness trackers: Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch 5, Fitbit Versa 4.
Among the 6 owner accounts here that gave a duration, 2 described a failure. Parts named most: charging contacts, phone call and assistant function.
Before you buy one used, ask the seller: how old it is, whether it was ever repaired and by whom, and whether any of the parts above have been replaced. Ask to see it run. A receipt tells you the warranty start date; most makers honour the term only for the first owner.
Public discussions we read and summarised in our own words. Nothing here was submitted to Still Kicks.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
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