Garmin Venu 3S, French Gray

For years and years I opted for Garmin's slim fitness trackers over their smart watches because of the form factor: I preferred an unobtrusive band over the bulkier wrist watch style. After losing my fitness tracker (it popped out of a replacement band), I faced the choice of replacing it or upgrading to a smart watch like the Venu 3s. I am so glad that I chose the latter, because the extra features are absolutely worth the extra cost. With the fitness tracker, I was limited to a handful of built-in fitness apps, while the Venu seems to have every sport and fitness activity one could imagine. And I was able to customize which apps display in the primary menu while still having easy access to all of the others. The color display is beautiful and very easy to read. The built-in GPS works more accurately than my old fitness tracker's dependence on my phone GPS. The sleep quality information is important to me, and it works extremely well. The three-button menu system is very easy to use, compared to the old fitness tracker's menu. The Venu has additional features that may prove useful but I have not tried yet, including the ability to take phone calls and respond to text messages while connected to my phone, and to store music or use phone-connected music apps for listening while engaging in activities. While the built-in speaker is adequate, connect Bluetooth earbuds provide a much better quality sound. Finally, after a week or so, I adapted to the larger size of the watch, and it does not seem at all bulky to me. I am completely satisfied with the Venu 3s.

I got this hoping to help myself monitor my own vitals and overall health and once I was able to turn off the notifications from my phone this has became my favorite watch! I've worn this every day since December (it is now May) and I think I have charged this thing like maybe 1-3 times a month depending on if I turn my phone notifications on or not. LOVE IT