Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 2: Is It Worth Upgrading?
By Naila Syifa
Updated Nov 2023
Venu is a popular GPS smartwatch series by Garmin designed for people with active lifestyles who want to track their fitness and monitor their health. Garmin Venu 3 has recently been released, bringing some new features to the table. How does this new model compare to its predecessor Venu 2? Let's take a closer look.
| Specs | Garmin Venu 3 | Garmin Venu 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | |
| Price | $449.99 | $299.99 |
| Dimensions | 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm | 45 x 45 x 12 mm |
| Weight | 47 g | 49 g |
| Screen Resolution | 454 x 454 pixels | 416 x 416 pixels |
| Runtime | 14 days | 11 days |
| Memory/History | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in Speaker and Microphone | Yes | No |
| Body Battery | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Sleep Monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Nap Detection | Yes | No |
| Meditation | Yes | No |
| Wheelchair Mode | Yes | No |
Key Takeaways
Venu 3 is better than Venu 2 because it has a longer battery life, higher display resolution, and a built-in speaker and microphone. Health features also become more comprehensive with Nap Detection and Meditation, while Wheelchair Mode makes Venu 3 more inclusive for disabled users.
Garmin Venu 3
Upgraded Features
All the best things of the Venu 2 plus Nap Detection, Meditation, and Wheelchair Mode for a more comprehensive and inclusive health monitoring.
Garmin Venu 2
Mind & Body Connected
GPS smartwatch with advanced health monitoring, fitness tracking, and smartwatch features for people with active lifestyles.
#1 Price
Garmin Venu 2
As the newer model, the Venu 3 is more expensive at US$449.99. Garmin Venu 2, on the other hand, was priced at US$399.99 when it was first released in 2021. Currently, the price has dropped to around US$299.99.
#2 Design & Display
Garmin Venu 3
Similarities
A stylish design with a beautiful AMOLED touchscreen display is the common characteristic of Venu 3 and Venu 2. Both smartwatches feature a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens with a stainless steel bezel, a silicone strap, and a 45 mm lightweight case made of fiber-reinforced polymer. The display is clearly visible even under bright sunlight, and you can enable the Always-On Mode to keep the display visible at all times.
Differences
Venu 3 comes with a higher display resolution of 454 x 454 pixels compared to Venu 2 with a display resolution of 416 x 416 pixels. A higher resolution means sharper and more detailed images and text. In addition, the Venu 3 has a slightly bigger dimension, measuring 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm compared to Venu 2 which measures 45 x 45 x 12 mm.
#3 Health & Fitness Features
Garmin Venu 2
Similarities
A range of features for fitness tracking and health monitoring is available in both Venu 3 and Venu 2, such as activity tracker (step counter, floors climbed, distance traveled, calories burned), advanced sleep monitoring with sleep score and insights, stress tracker, hydration tracker, respiration tracker, blood oxygen saturation tracker, heart rate tracker, and more.
Another notable feature is Body Battery Energy Monitoring, which uses various data generated by a range of built-in sensors to measure your energy levels throughout the day, giving you insight into when you're ready to be active and when you might need to rest.
Women's Health Tracking is also especially useful for women, allowing them to log their menstrual cycle and pregnancy.
Differences
Garmin Venu 3
Both Venu 3 and Venu 2 offer built-in sports apps like running, cycling, cardio, yoga, tennis, hiking, skiing, and more. However, Venu 3 offers more with 30+ sports apps compared to Venu 2 with 25+ sports apps. Some new sports apps available in Venu 3 include Open Water Swimming, Rowing, eBiking, Handcycling, and Indoor Handcycling.
Venu 3 also supports workouts for wheelchair users, with features like a push tracker and weight shift alerts, which makes it a more inclusive and accessible smartwatch for people with disabilities.
The new Venu 3 also goes beyond physical wellness and includes features for mental wellness, such as Meditation Sessions and Mindful Breathing.
The sleep monitoring feature also becomes more advanced in that it now detects naps and comes with Sleep Coach which provides you with personalized coaching for how much sleep you need, how you can improve, and more.
Some other new features added to the Venu 3 include Workout Benefit, Interval Training, Recovery Time, HRV Status, and Smart Trainer Control.
#4 Smartwatch Features
Garmin Venu 2
Similarities
When connected to an iPhone or Android phone, both Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 2 allow you to receive emails, texts, and alerts right from your wrist. With an Android phone, you can even respond to texts with the on-watch keyboard.
Safety and Tracking feature is also available in both smartwatches. If you feel unsafe or if the smartwatch detects an incident during your pre-selected activities, it will send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to your emergency contacts.
Garmin Pay is also supported, allowing you to make contactless payments with your smartwatch connected to participating providers.
Differences
Garmin Venu 3
The Venu 3 has an advantage with its built-in speaker and microphone, which allows you to take and make calls from your wrist. You can also connect it to your smartphone's voice assistant to perform various tasks from answering questions, making calls, or even controlling your compatible smart home devices.
Both Venu 3 and Venu 2 offers a Music feature that allows you to listen to your favorite songs and playlist offline from your Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music accounts. However, one difference is that listening to music from Venu 2 requires a Bluetooth headphone, while Venu 3 allows you to listen to music directly from your smartwatch thanks to its built-in speaker.
Some other new features available in the new Venu 3 include Jet Lag Adviser, Morning Report, and the ability to view images from notifications on the watch for Android phones.
#5 Battery & Power
Garmin Venu 2
Venu 3 has a better battery life than Venu 2, with up to 14 days in smartwatch mode and up to 26 days in battery-saver smartwatch mode. On the other hand, Venu 2 can last up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 12 days in battery-saver smartwatch mode.
Garmin Venu 3 vs Garmin Venu 2
Final Thoughts
Garmin Venu 2
Venu 3 has a lot of new upgrades that make it a much better option than Venu 2. It has a higher display resolution, more battery life, and a wide range of new features including Wheelchair Mode, Meditation, Nap Detection, built-in speaker and microphone, Jet Lag Adviser, and more.
If you like to read more on Garmin smartwatches, check out our other relevant guides here:
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Garmin Forerunner 265 vs Garmin Forerunner 965
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Garmin Venu 3 vs Forerunner 955
Garmin Venu 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Garmin Venu 3 vs Fenix 7
Garmin Venu 3 vs Apple Watch Series 8
Garmin Vivoactive 5 vs Vivoactive 4
Garmin Vivoactive 5 vs Venu 3
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