Many tend to trust the Garmin brand when it comes to giving comprehensive, accurate fitness tracking. But the company has only made a relatively recent attempt at going truly head-to-head against the Apple Watch with the Venu series. It was 2021 that we saw the start of a long, slow drip feed with the Venu 2 and 2S. Early 2022 brought about the Venu 2 Plus - rather than for size, the "Plus" gave us voice assistant - while the back half of last year delivered the squared-off Venu Sq 2. Now, in 2023, we're awaiting a full-scale refresh. Here's what we know about the Venu 3 series and what we want to see.
Garmin Venu 3 release date
The Garmin Venu 3 could potentially be set for an IFA 2023 launch. It seems as though the product may be circulating down distribution channels after Flo of Fitness Tracker Test tweeted out a product listing for a Venu 3S on global import-export database, Volza. That said, the Berlin conference's organisers have not put Garmin down as an exhibitor this year and the company itself has had nothing to say about the Venu 3 as yet.
In addition, we can figure that the company will be focused on a Venu 3 and a smaller Venu 3S much like the original second-gen push with the Venu 2 and Venu 2S. We learned of the existence of both thanks to Gadgets and Wearables surfacing certifications from Malaysian regulator SIRIM.
There's also been no word on any potential pricing, unfortunately. Both the 45mm Venu 2 and the 40mm Venu 2S started at $399.99 - right up against the Apple Watch Series 8. Some rumours predict a price hike due to some of the improved features expected from the Venu 3 compared to the Venu 2 Plus. If so, it would be a tough tightrope to cross for Garmin since the Plus currently retails for $449.99 in the US. You may decide you're better off picking that watch up instead of waiting around.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus
The Venu 2 Plus can do EKGs, store downloaded music for playback, and tracks all of your exercise beautifully. All you need to do is swipe across that AMOLED screen.
Garmin Venu 3 design and display
Sadly, the intelligence gets thin from this point on. The closest thing to a hint on design aspects comes from the Venu 3S Volza listing, but it only tells us that the colours Soft Gold and Rose Dust are involved somehow. The Venu 2 had black and blue case colours while the Venu 2 Plus went with black, gray, and white. The casings featured a mix of urethane polymer and stainless steel made to withstand 5 ATM of pressure underwater, while the included bands were made of silicone. The Venu 2 generation brought 33mm AMOLED screens to the fore and we don't expect Garmin to shrink away from that technology for the Venu 3 series.
Garmin Venu 3 hardware and specs
Once again, all we have on this front is what was in the Volza listing. The Venu 3S will support Wi-Fi and GPS - two extremely basic radios that don't really tell us what we might otherwise be able to expect. Bluetooth is certainly a given and there's some hope that the Venu 2 Plus's cellular connectivity will be carried over to these releases as well. Voice assistant and call support on that device necessitated some sort of microphone setup, so that's also on the wishlist for the Venu 3 and 3S. We think it's also a safe bet that Garmin won't be tossing away monitor sensors for heart rate and blood oxygen, or any of the usual suspects like the barometer or altimeter.
If Garmin so happens to bring these and other Venu 2 Plus features to the table, we may expect a hit to overall battery life on the Venu 3 compared to the Venu 2.
Garmin Venu 3 features
We aren't sure if Garmin will announce improvements to its software ecosystem. Garmin Connect will almost certainly still be the centerpiece in terms of amassing and tracking your exercise data, in addition to plotting trends and a fitness regime. Body Battery will provide some insight into your restfulness if you're able to sleep with the watch on (design will be key in making this happen).
Garmin Pay will let you use NFC to make mobile payments. There should also be enough storage space to let you download and play back up to 650 songs from your favourite streaming service. The big stretch in this category, again, comes from the Venu 2 Plus and its ability to conduct an electrocardiogram. It's not the best data-gathering point with which to diagnose atrial fibulation, but it's one that Venu 3 owners would like. After all, you can do an EKG/ECG on an Apple Watch.
Garmin Venu 3 rumours: The story so far
Here's a timeline of stories about the Garmin Venu 3 that we've been tracking:
2 August 2023: Import-export database spotting
Flo of Fitness Tracker Test was able to spot the Venu 3 at import-export database Volza, signaling logistical moves for a wide release.
​​​​​
25 May 2023: Malaysian regulator signs off on Venu 3
Certifications from Malaysian tech governance agency SIRIM (via Gadgets and Wearables) notes the existence of two models.