Garmin Venu 3 vs Venu 4: Key Upgrades Revealed

The Garmin Venu 4is a significant improvement over theGarmin Venu 3, launching a variety of new software features along with a major design improvement due to its all-metal casing and integrated flashlight.

Although the Venu 3 is a highly effective athletic smartwatch on its own and is less expensive than the Venu 4, if you are considering bothGarmin watchesthen it’s beneficial to be aware of all the additional features included with the Venu 4.

Garmin Venu 3 compared to Garmin Venu 4: cost

The Garmin Venu 4 is available in two sizes — 41mm and 45mm — with each model priced at $549, though selecting one with a more luxurious leather band increases the cost to $599. This represents a $100 increase compared to the Garmin Venu 3, which was priced at $449 for both the standard Venu 3 (45mm) and the Venu 3S (41mm).

That’s the case if you’re required to pay the full cost for the Venu 3, which is frequently available on sale as a previous generation model. It has gone as low as $349 on Amazon before, and if it reaches that price again during the upcoming Black Friday sale, you could save $200 by choosing the Venu 3 instead of the Venu 4.

Garmin Venu 3 compared to Garmin Venu 4: features

Garmin Venu 3 versus Garmin Venu 4: appearance and screen

The primary difference in the Venu 4’s design is the use of a steel case and bezel, unlike the Venu 3, which had a steel bezel but a plastic case. Although both watches are the same size, the Venu 4 is slightly heavier — the 45mm model weighs 56g with its silicone band, compared to 46g for the Venu 3 45mm with a similar band.

Garmin has increased the brightness of the AMOLED screen in the newer watch, although the display size stays unchanged at 1.2 inches for the smaller model and 1.4 inches for the larger one.

Another significant improvement on the Venu 4 is the integrated LED flashlight, a feature that is now available for the first time in the Venu series. I have previously appreciated the flashlight found on the Fenix and Forerunner models, and it’s convenient to have this functionality on the Venu 4.

Many of the sensors in the watches are similar, including the Elevate Gen 5 heart rate sensor that enables ECG measurements, but the Venu 4 provides multi-band GPS tracking, which is the most precise option from Garmin. The Venu 3’s most accurate mode is full-systems GPS tracking.

Garmin Venu 3 compared to Garmin Venu 4: fitness monitoring

To set the Venu watch series apart from the more athletic Forerunner line, Garmin has typically omitted essential sports features from the Venu. This has changed with the Venu 4, which now offers the same extensive range of sports tracking and training analysis capabilities as theGarmin Forerunner 570.

Important enhancements not found on the Venu 3 are Training Readiness, which evaluates your capacity to train on a given day using elements such as previous exercises, sleep quality, and stress levels, along with Garmin’s full range of Training Load analysis features.

The Venu 4 will also assess your adaptation to heat and altitude, and offer daily recommended workouts for triathletes as well as runners. It also features automatic track detection and access to Garmin Coach’s triathlon training programs.

Although the Venu 3 is a strong athletic timepiece, the improvements in the Venu 4 ensure you don’t lose out on anything when choosing it over the Forerunner 570, except for the additional buttons found on the Forerunner 570.

Garmin Venu 3 versus Garmin Venu 4: tracking of activities and sleep

The Venu 4 brings several new health features to the Garmin lineup, includingLifestyle Logging, which allows you to monitor your daily actions and identify patterns that may be influencing your sleep and stress levels.

You can utilize Lifestyle Logging with any Garmin device through the Connect app, but the Venu 4 includes a widget that can be used directly on the watch. It also features Garmin’s latest Health Status summary of your key health metrics on the watch, whereas other Garmin users can only view this information within the app.

New sleep features involve examining the regularity of your sleep, along with Sleep Alignment, which monitors how effectively your body is synchronized with your sleep cycle according to circadian rhythms.

Garmin Venu 3 compared to Garmin Venu 4: battery duration

The smaller versions of the Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 4 provide identical battery performance, with a maximum of 10 days in standard watch mode, which decreases to three days when the screen remains on constantly. Each also delivers 13 hours of GPS tracking when using the full-systems GPS setting.

With the bigger 45mm watches, the Venu 3 provides a bit longer battery life. It can last up to 14 days in watch mode (five days with always-on), whereas the Venu 4 lasts 13 days (four days with always-on). The Venu 3 delivers 20 hours of full-system GPS tracking, compared to 19 hours on the Venu 4 in the same setting.

Garmin Venu 3 versus Garmin Venu 4: is it worth upgrading?

The Garmin Venu 4 is a more aesthetically pleasing watch that includes a variety of new sports and health tracking features not found on the Venu 3, as well as a very useful built-in flashlight.

In my view, it’s worth spending the additional money, but if you don’t believe you’ll require the sports features specifically, choosing the Venu 3 will help you save a significant amount of money, and you’ll also receive a bit longer battery life on the 45mm version as an added benefit.

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