Garmin unveils a bigger, lighter, and more powerful Venu 3 to take on the Apple Watch Series 9
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By no means the world's most successful smartwatch vendor, Garmin is pretty much unrivaled when it comes to the diversity and sheer size of its wearable device portfolio, covering every little section and category of the continuously growing industry with multiple products.
In addition to setting trends for the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra to follow with rugged Fenix powerhouses and constantly carving out new niches with Instinct-branded battery life champions, the incredibly prolific US-based company is also no stranger to fighting the "mainstream" smartwatch fight with the Venu family.
Inaugurated back in 2019, the style and function-blending AMOLED device lineup is today gaining a new, highly anticipated, and thoroughly leaked member designed to go directly up against Samsung's recently released Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and the fast-approaching Apple Watch Series 9.
Two sizes, a lot of screen real estate, and A LOT of sensors
Technically, Garmin is taking the wraps off two new devices at the IFA 2023 trade show in Berlin, but apart from their case size, the Venu 3 and Venu 3S are almost identical, as is the case for the 2021-released Venu 2 and Venu 2S.
Compared to their forerunners, these bad boys are somehow both overall lighter and larger as far as their usable screen size is concerned. The 45mm Venu 3, for instance, tips the scales at only 30 grams (47 with its included band factored in) while sporting a 1.4-inch AMOLED display with a knockout resolution of 454 x 454 pixels.
In contrast, the 45mm Venu 2 settles for a slightly lower-res 1.3-inch touchscreen while weighing in at 49 grams. As for the 41mm Venu 3S, its 1.2-inch AMOLED display is perhaps understandably upgraded from the 1.1-inch touchscreen of the 40mm Venu 2S.
In terms of build quality and overall design language, Garmin doesn't appear to have made a lot of radical changes here, retaining the stainless steel bezel, fiber-reinforced polymer case, Gorilla Glass 3 lens, silicone strap, and the stylish yet robust vibe of the Venu 2 roster for the hot new Venu 3 duo.
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As always, what's inside is likely to matter way more for a lot more prospective buyers than what's on the surface of Garmin's latest smartwatches. Weirdly enough, the company makes no mention of the ECG technology it recently added to the Venu 2 Plus as far as the Venu 3 series is concerned, trying to make up for that major "omission" with things like personalized sleep coaching, nap detection, Body Battery improvements, and perhaps most remarkably, a Wheelchair mode that sounds like it could come in handy for a previously overlooked portion of users.
Although Garmin is also not ready to add optional cellular connectivity to its top Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch alternatives, the Venu 3 and Venu 3S do at least come with a built-in speaker and microphone allowing you to make and receive calls on your wrist with an iPhone or Android handset nearby.
You can even send text messages from your new smartwatch and view photos on your wrist, but only if you use Garmin's latest wearables in tandem with an Android smartphone.
Upgraded battery life, upgraded pricing
Remember when the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro wowed us last year with a battery endurance of around two days on a single charge? Well, the Garmin Venu 3S can keep the lights on for up to 10 days between charges in "smartwatch mode", while the Venu 3 bumps that battery life rating all the way up to 14 days. How do you like them apples, Apple?
Granted, you will have to sacrifice a few things and features to squeeze the last drop of battery life out of the Venu 3 series, but even with GPS connectivity enabled at all times, you can expect to go two or three days of "normal" use before hugging a wall.
That should make all-day health monitoring and all-night sleep tracking a breeze, impressively improving on the already remarkable battery life promises of the Venu 2 and Venu 2S. Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly), that (along with the upgraded health sensors and the built-in microphone and speaker) is also adding to the retail pricing.
That's right, the Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 3S, which are already up for grabs in the US, are slightly more expensive than the Venu 2 and Venu 2S, at $449.99 a pop instead of $399.99. That's even costlier than the Apple Watch Series 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic (at least in their entry-level variants), which might make these new challengers to the title of best smartwatch in the world a little less appealing to the masses than initially believed.
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