Garmin Venu 3S

Garmin Venu 3S — A Garmin With an AMOLED Screen That Doesn't Sacrifice Battery Life

The Venu 3S is Garmin's smaller-wristed AMOLED smartwatch — 41mm case (the Venu 3 is 45mm) — with a display that finally matches Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch in brightness and color. Garmin's advantage remains battery life: 10 days in smartwatch mode versus 18 hours for an Apple Watch. At $400-450, it sits in the premium fitness watch category, competing with the Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra on features but in a slimmer, lighter package.

Battery Life Is the Differentiator

10 days with the always-on display off, 5 days with it on. Either scenario means charging once a week instead of every night. With GPS active during workouts, battery drops to about 21 hours of continuous tracking — still enough for an ultramarathon. The smaller 41mm case means a slightly smaller battery than the 45mm Venu 3, which gets 14 days.

The AMOLED display is 390x390 pixels, sharp and colorful. Outdoor readability is strong — usable in direct sunlight without cupping your hand around it. Touch response is smooth, and the interface is easy to navigate. Two physical buttons on the right handle back/select functions.

Health and Fitness Tracking

Garmin's health metrics are comprehensive: heart rate (wrist-based optical), SpO2, stress level (based on HRV), Body Battery (energy level estimation), sleep tracking with sleep stages, respiration rate, and menstrual cycle tracking. The Body Battery feature — which estimates your energy reserves based on sleep quality, stress, and activity — is surprisingly useful for deciding whether to push through a hard workout or take a rest day.

Workout modes cover 30+ activities including running, cycling, swimming (5 ATM water resistance), strength training, yoga, HIIT, and indoor climbing. GPS accuracy for outdoor runs is reliable — tracks within 1-2% of measured courses. The running dynamics (cadence, stride length, ground contact time) require a chest strap or Running Dynamics Pod for full data.

New on the Venu 3 series: a built-in speaker and microphone for Bluetooth calls and voice assistant access. Garmin Connect IQ app store offers additional watch faces and data fields, though the selection is smaller than Apple Watch or Wear OS.

What Works and What Doesn't

• 10-day battery life with AMOLED — charges once a week instead of every night.
• Comprehensive health metrics including Body Battery, HRV-based stress, and sleep staging.
• Accurate GPS tracking for outdoor workouts.
• 41mm case size fits smaller wrists comfortably — lighter than Apple Watch Ultra.
• Garmin Connect ecosystem provides deep data analysis and long-term trend tracking.

• $400-450 is expensive for a watch without Apple/Google app ecosystems.
• Limited third-party app selection compared to Apple Watch or Wear OS.
• No cellular option — requires phone nearby for calls, messages, and music streaming.
• Music storage (up to 8GB) works but requires pre-downloading playlists from Spotify/Amazon Music.
• Garmin's touch interface, while improved, isn't as fluid as Apple Watch or Samsung.

The Verdict

The Venu 3S is for people who prioritize health tracking and battery life over app ecosystems. If you want a smartwatch that tracks workouts accurately, monitors health metrics comprehensively, and lasts a week without charging, nothing else matches it. The Apple Watch Series 10 ($400) has a better app ecosystem and cellular option but needs nightly charging. The Samsung Galaxy Watch7 ($300) runs Wear OS with more apps but lasts 1-2 days. Choose your priority: battery life and fitness depth (Garmin) or app ecosystem and connectivity (Apple/Samsung).