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

I decided to ditch my FitBit5 and buy the Garmin for several reasons, It gives me what I need without paying for a subscription. It gives more data concerning heart health. It keeps a charge longer. More secure as I’m not linked to Google. (My opinion, not necessarily fact)

I love this watch so much. it did everything I wanted. Unfortunately for me, I am allergic to the band and have to return it. It was excellent with sleep tracking and heart rate, etc. Sad I can't keep it.

I previously owned a farming instinct but wanted something smaller. The Venu has all the features I used on my instinct in a much more comfortable package for someone with a smaller wrist.

The sale was an excellent value, this is a gift for my wife and the last one lasted 8 years, this one looks just as durable, has more features and is a lower profile which should keep it from getting banged around as much as her old one.

the battery lasted about 4 days with all the settings on continual for the health monitoring. what I did not like about it is I started it with an iPhone and then about 3 weeks later switched to an Android phone and there were features that did not work with the iPhone that does work with the Android. I did not like that the Apple system will stop the watch from alerting you for phone calls, text messages, notifications if the iPhone volumes are turned on. Even though it's a small thing to most people I did not like that any watch faces you changed to had to be off of one of the Garmin websites, you couldn't use facer and you had to pay for every face. I did return the watch and switch to a different manufacturer however I do still recommend this watch because it was very good and the battery life was excellent.

I am pretty sure i am underutilizing the features on this. i wanted something better than the Fitbit. Got this on sale and so far its been an adventure. i am not nearly advanced as this watch is likely designed for but it is motivating me to learn more about my fitness and exercise options. By purchasing this i likely bought way more watch than I needed as I am not a runner but a menopausal woman learning how to navigate in this season of mine. i bought this on sale but still pretty pricey but it looks great. Only complaint is the wristband definitely broke me out on my wrist.

The Venu3 is very complicated but has more features that I want compared to the fitbit, (like continuous overnight HRV, and pulse ox). Very hard to navigate and numerous notifications and pushes. Difficult to set up and even worse to keep set up the way I like it. It linked to my phone in order to use the app / see the data on my phone screen, but now it is buzzing and taking incoming calls and messages which I hate. It seems to change what is on my prioritized screen, and is very hard to change back to what I want. Not at all clear what you should do to dismiss things you didn't want to see, or get things back on your screen. Would give 2 stars but recognize that I am frustrated and am hoping to figure it out better over time.

Overall it’s a great watch. But if you need the functions of a smart watch, this isn’t the one. Yes I need a watch for my fitness needs also, but for my daily life, I need an Apple Watch. Battery life was absolutely amazing, I’ll give it that, but it’s not as user friendly as Apple. Great watch for people who need only fitness needs