Garmin Venu 3 is launching soon – and I'm excited

By Cat Ellis
published

Garmin's most stylish everyday smartwatch is getting an upgrade for 2023, with two sizes to choose from

Man and woman exercising wearing Garmin Venu 2 Plus watches
The new watch will be a follow-up to the Venu 2 Plus (Image credit: Garmin)

Garmin is preparing to release yet another GPS watch, according to recently discovered government listings. We've recently seen signs that the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix (Gen 2) Pro may be about to launch, and now it looks like they might be closely followed by the Garmin Venu 3.

The news comes via Ivan Jovin of Gadgets & Wearables, who spotted references to the new watch on the website of SIRIM – the Malaysian telecoms licensing organization, which tests and approves radio transmitting devices for sale in the country.

Details so far are scant, but we can see that the Venu 3 will be available in two sizes, making it a more practical choice for wearers with smaller wrists.

Brand new Venu

Personally, I'm excited. The Venu series has long been a testing ground for new technology, and I can't wait to see what the third iteration brings. The original Venu was the first Garmin watch with an OLED display, the Venu 2 kicked the brightness and resolution up a notch, and the Venu 2 Plus threw a microphone into the mix.

I've been a particularly big fan of the Garmin Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus since I tested them for Advnture's sister site TechRadar. Although pitched as everyday smartwatches, both also sport an impressive suite of fitness tracking tools, including some great extras like muscle maps and animated yoga flows that you don't get on the Fenix and Forerunner series.

The Venu 2 Plus was the first Garmin watch with  a mic that allows you to use your phone's voice assistant, and much like the flashlight introduced with the Fenix 7X and Enduro 2, it's one of those features that might sound unnecessary until you actually use it. Turns out, Google Assistant is a whole lot more convenient when it's migrated to your wrist,

At the time of writing, the Venu 2 Plus is also the only Garmin watch capable of taking an ECG reading. That might change in the near future with the apparent forthcoming release of the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix (Gen 2) Pro, both of which appear to have new biometric sensors, but I'd be extremely surprised if Garmin takes that feature away for the Venu 3.

I'll keep my ear to the ground for more news, and bring you further details as soon a I have them.

Cat Ellis
Cat Ellis
Editor

Cat is the editor of Advnture, She’s been a journalist for 15 years, and was fitness and wellbeing editor on TechRadar before joining the Advnture team in 2022. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better), usually wearing at least two sports watches.