Garmin Venu 3 vs Fenix 7: Stylish vs Sporty Smartwatch

By Naila Syifa
Updated Nov 2023

Garmin has been a popular GPS smartwatch brand for years, and the company's Venu and Fenix lines are among the most popular on the market. How does the newly-released stylish smartwatch Venu 3 compare to the more sporty and rugged Fenix 7? Let's find out.

Specs	Garmin Venu 3	Garmin Fenix 7
	Buy on Amazon	Buy on Amazon
Price	$449.99	$649.99
Dimensions	45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm	47 x 47 x 14.5 mm
Weight	47 g	79 g
Screen Resolution	454 x 454 pixels	260 x 260 pixels
Runtime	14 days	18 days
Memory/History	8 GB	16 GB
GPS	Yes	Yes
Built-in Speaker and Microphone	Yes	No
Built-in Maps	No	Yes
Body Battery	Yes	Yes
Advanced Sleep Monitoring	Yes, with Nap Detection	Yes
Meditation	Yes	No
Wheelchair Mode	Yes	No
Advanced Training Features	No	Yes
Multisport Activities	No	Yes

Key Takeaways

Both watches offer advanced sleep tracking, but the Venu 3 detects day naps while Fenix 7 only tracks night-time sleep. Fenix 7 boasts more advanced training and workout features, but Venu 3 supports workouts for wheelchair users. Fenix 7 has a longer battery life of 18 days compared to Venu 3 with 14 days of battery life. Fenix 7 has built-in maps, while Venu 3 has a built-in speaker and microphone.

On our list

#1 Price

#2 Design & Display

#3 Health & Fitness Features

#4 Smartwatch Features

#5 Battery & Power

Garmin Venu 3

Stylish for Lifestyle

GPS smartwatch for overall day-to-day health monitoring and fitness tracking with built-in microphone and speakers

Buy on Amazon Buy on Synced

Garmin Fenix 7

Sporty for Workouts

Multisport GPS smartwatch with advanced training features, advanced workout features, and built-in maps

Buy on Amazon Buy on Synced

#1 Price

Garmin Fenix 7

The Standard Edition of Fenix 7 is priced at US$649.99. The Solar Edition, which supports solar charging, will set you back a little more at $699.99. The Venu 3, on the other hand, is priced at US$449.99. This is definitely cheaper than the Fenix 7, but it is still a premium price for a smartwatch. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 can be as low as US$299.99, becoming an even more affordable option for a smartwatch.

#2 Design & Display

Garmin Venu 3

Fenix 7 looks more masculine with its silver bezel and graphite band, while the Venu 3 looks sleek with white and black color options. Fenix 7 is slightly larger with dimensions of 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm, while the Venu 3 measures 45 x 45 x 12 mm.

However, the Venu 3 has a larger display size of 1.4" compared to the Fenix 7's 1.3" display. Venu 3 also boasts a higher display resolution of 454 x 454 pixels, while Fenix 7 has a display resolution of only 260 x 260 pixels.

The display of Venu 3 is also more premium, featuring an AMOLED display with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens. This results in a more vivid and clearer display when compared to the Fenix 7's transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display with a Corning Gorilla Glass lens.

Garmin Venu 3

Stylish for Lifestyle

GPS smartwatch for overall day-to-day health monitoring and fitness tracking with built-in microphone and speakers

Buy on Amazon Buy on Synced

#3 Health & Fitness Features

Garmin Venu 3

Both GPS smartwatches offer a range of health and wellness features that allow you to monitor your physical activity, stress levels, and sleep patterns. Some of the key features found in both smartwatches include heart rate monitoring, oxygen saturation monitoring, Body Battery energy monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking, and advanced sleep tracking.

However, the Venu 3 has some advantages with its Nap Detection and Sleep Coach features, which allow you to track daytime naps and get personalized recommendations for improving your sleep quality. Venu 3 also supports meditation, so you can go beyond tracking your physical health and work on your mental wellbeing as well.

In terms of fitness and workout features, the Fenix 7 has more to offer. Both support a variety of sports modes such as running, cycling, swimming, and skiing, but the Fenix 7 has additional activity profiles like climbing, kayaking, fishing, hunting, badminton, basketball, and many more.

Garmin Fenix 7

Fenix 7 also offers more advanced training features, such as Training Readiness, Daily Suggested Workouts, PacePro, ClimbPro, Race Predictor, Training Status, Training Load, Race an Activity, and more. This makes the Fenix 7 a great choice for athletes or workout enthusiasts who want to track their progress and improve their performance over time.

However, it is important to note that the Venu 3 supports workouts for wheelchair users. It can track pushes and wheelchair activities, making it a more inclusive choice for people with disabilities who want to have a more active lifestyle.

Garmin Fenix 7

Sporty for Workouts

Multisport GPS smartwatch with advanced training features, advanced workout features, and built-in maps

Buy on Amazon Buy on Synced

#4 Smartwatch Features

Garmin Venu 3

Both the Venu 3 and Fenix 7 allow you to receive notifications, control music playback, check the calendar and weather, receive Morning Report, and more right from your wrist.

The Venu 3 even features a built-in speaker and microphone, so you can take and make calls, as well as make commands to your phone's voice assistant. This feature is not supported in the Fenix 7, but the Fenix 7 offers a Stocks Tracker for keeping tabs on your stocks and investments, which is not available on the Venu 3.

Garmin Fenix 7

In terms of navigation, both smartwatches offer GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite tracking. This multi-GNSS support is useful in navigating in more challenging environments than GPS alone.

However, the Fenix 7 has some advantages with its built-in maps, including Outdoor Maps+ for premium mapping content, NextFork Map Guide for exploring new trails, and MultiContent Topo Maps for more detailed topographic maps. The Fenix 7 even offers SkiView Maps and Golf Course Maps, providing access to more than 2,000 ski resorts and 42,000 golf courses worldwide.

#5 Battery & Power

Garmin Venu 3

Garmin Fenix 7 has a longer battery life of up to 18 days in smartwatch mode and up to 57 days in battery-saver mode. It also comes with a Power Manager feature, so you can see how various settings and sensors impact battery life and make adjustments accordingly.

The Venu 3, on the other hand, has a battery life of up to 14 days in smartwatch mode and up to 26 days in battery-saver mode. It is not as good as the Fenix 7, but still long enough to last you through two weeks on a single charge.