Garmin Lily 2 Active vs. Garmin Venu 3: What's Your Priority?
Naila Syifa
Updated October 2024
For active women looking for a stylish smartwatch with fitness tracking capabilities, Garmin Lily 2 Active and Garmin Venu 3 are some options to consider.
Both have a stylish design with robust fitness and health tracking features, but priced at around 50% more expensive than the Lily 2 Active, what extra features does the Garmin Venu 3 offer to justify the higher price tag?
Key Takeaways
Venu 3 supports more activity profiles, has more advanced sports features, and has a speaker and microphone for voice-based communication, but the Lily 2 Active offers a more fashionable patterned lens and a hidden display design. Go with the Lily 2 Active if you prioritize a stylish look, but choose the Venu 3 if you need more advanced fitness and smart features.
Garmin Lily 2 Active | Garmin Venu 3 | |
---|---|---|
Case Size | 38 mm | 41 mm, 45 mm |
Display | Liquid Crystal | AMOLED |
Water Rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
GPS | ✅ | ✅ |
Activity Profile | 30 | 54 |
Meditation | ✅ | ✅ |
Dance Fitness | ✅ | ❌ |
Wheelchair Mode | ❌ | ✅ |
ECG | ❌ | ✅ |
Speaker & Microphone | ❌ | ✅ |
Music Storage | ❌ | ✅ |
Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+ | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ANT+ |
Runtime (GPS) | 9 Hours | 21-26 Hours |
Garmin Lily 2 Active
Small & Stylish Smartwatch
✓ Hidden Display & Patterned Lens
✓ Built-In GPS
✓ Dance Fitness Activity
✓ Meditation & Breathwork
Garmin Venu 3
Lifestyle & Fitness Smartwatch
✓ AMOLED Touchscreen
✓ Built-In GPS
✓ Built-In Speaker & Microphone
✓ Wheelchair Mode
Design & Display
Garmin Lily 2 Active
Garmin Lily 2 Active and Garmin Venu 3 are more on the stylish side compared to the typical sporty Garmin watches. They have a round watch case, a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens, and a 5 ATM water rating, but they differ in their overall design and display.
At 38 mm case size, the Lily 2 Active is a small smartwatch. Garmin Venu 3 offers two size variants, the 35 mm Venu 3 and 41 mm Venu 3S – which usually is the recommended option for women.
What's unique about the Lily 2 Active is the liquid crystal display, which invisibly blends into the background until we tap to reveal it. The lens is also patterned, adding a stylish touch to the watch's design.
The Lily 2 Active's LCD is non-color with just 16-level grayscale, which some people may find limiting compared to the vibrant AMOLED display of the Garmin Venu 3, but I think this is part of the aesthetic. Venu 3's AMOLED is colored, brighter, and has a higher resolution, but it looks just like a typical smartwatch display with nothing special.
One thing that AMOLED screen has an advantage though is that it supports red shift mode. When enabled, red shift mode turns the entire watch face to shades of red, green, or orange, which can be easier on the eyes in low-light conditions.
Health & Fitness Features
Garmin Venu 3
Garmin Venu 3 and Lily 2 Active track fitness, heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep and naps, and stress. Both watches also feature meditation and breathwork, taking a more comprehensive approach to health and wellness.
One potential drawback of the Lily 2 Active is that it can only measure blood oxygen levels during sleep and spot check, while the Garmin Venu 3 can measure blood oxygen levels all day.
The Venu 3 also supports a wider range of sports than the Lily 2 Active. The Garmin website listed 54 activity profiles for the Venu 3 and 30 activity profiles for the Lily 2 Active, so the gap can be quite significant. Some activities offered only by the Venu 3 include hiking, open water swimming, badminton, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, boxing, and MMA.
Garmin Lily 2 Active
Despite losing out in the number of activities supported, the Lily 2 Active offers one exclusive activity profile that the Venu 3 lacks – Dance Fitness. That means, if you are into Zumba, hip-hop dancing, or any other dance-based fitness routines, the Lily 2 Active is the better choice that allows you to track those activities.
The other more basic sports and activities, including strength, HIIT, cardio, walking, pilates, yoga, running, treadmill running, biking, tennis, pool swimming, skiing, snowboarding, and rowing, are available on both the Garmin Lily 2 Active and Garmin Venu 3.
Note that the Venu 3 is still better equipped for more serious athletes or sports enthusiasts. For example, Venu 3 measures running dynamics and running power for running activity, and it also offers Garmin AutoShot and Garmin Golf app features for golf. Those are more advanced sports-specific features that the Lily 2 Active does not have.
On top of that, the Venu 3 offers ECG, skin temperature measurement, jet lag advisor, and wheelchair mode to track pushes and unlock wheelchair-specific workouts to accommodate users with disabilities.
Smart Features
Garmin Lily 2 Active
When it comes to smart features that can add convenience to daily life, the Venu 3 is better equipped. It has a built-in speaker and microphone, so it supports calling and voice messaging other than just texting and receiving notifications as in the Lily 2 Active.
Garmin Venu 3 is also compatible with the Garmin Messenger app, while the Lily 2 Active is not. Garmin Messenger app is different from the regular text reply feature in that we can compose the message with the on-screen keyboard, while the text reply feature on the Lily 2 Active is limited to pre-written quick replies. Text reply is also supported only on Android phones.
Another app that the Venu 3 exclusively supports is Connect IQ, which is available on-wrist and on-phone. It allows us to customize the watch face and download additional apps or widgets.
Garmin Connect app, meanwhile, is supported by both the Venu 3 and Lily Active 2. It allows us to view our health and fitness data and customize settings.
The rest of the smart features are shared between the two watches, including Garmin Pay, weather forecasts, incident detection and assistance, live track, and music playback. Venu 3 can store music on-watch, so phone-free listening is possible.
Battery Life
Garmin Venu 3
Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 3S offer a different battery life. The Venu 3 lasts longer at 26 hours in GPS mode while the Venu 3S lasts up to 21 hours in GPS mode.
However, the Lily 2 Active has an even surprisingly shorter battery life of up to 9 hours in GPS mode. That makes the Lily 2 Active less suitable for longer outdoor activities compared to the Garmin Venu 3.
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs. Garmin Venu 3
Final Thoughts
Garmin Lily 2 Active
Garmin Lily 2 Active offers a more stylish and discreet design, with its unique liquid crystal display and patterned lens, making it a great option for those who value fashion over more advanced fitness tracking.
On the other hand, the Garmin Venu 3 provides a wider range of sports and activity profiles, as well as more comprehensive health and wellness features, making it a better choice for serious athletes or those who prioritize comprehensive fitness tracking. Additionally, the Venu 3's longer battery life and support for more smart features, such as voice calling and the Garmin Messenger app, may be appealing to some users. Ultimately, the decision will depend on the individual's lifestyle, fitness goals, and design preferences.
If you like to read more on smartwatches, check out our other relevant guides here:
Garmin Lily 2 vs Lily 2 Active
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Vivoactive 5
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Vivomove Sport
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Forerunner 165
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Fitbit Luxe
Garmin Lily 2 Active vs Fitbit Sense 2
Author
Naila Syifa
Content Manager at Synced. She crafts insightful content on the latest trends in technology, consumer electronics, and smart home gadgets.
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