Garmin Venu 3 vs Apple Watch Series 10: Which one should you go for? – Ultra-Sim

• Both come in a small and larger size versions
• Both have OLED screens
• Round design on Venu 3, while Apple Watch is rectangle 
• Both have single-band GPS
• Support for SpO2, ECG, Skin temp on both (Garmin need an update to enable some of these)
• Garmin has roughly 5-day battery life with screen on, Apple Watch only lasts one day to day and a half
• Similar price, the Garmin is slightly more expensive

Design & Sizes

Are you a round watch or a square watch person?

The Garmin has a round body, the Apple Watch is a rectangle (Image by PhoneArena)

Bands

Spring bars on the Garmin, Apple’s own system on the Apple Watch

Apple Watch on top, Garmin on the bottom (Image by PhoneArena)

The Venu 3 uses regular spring bar bands in a size of 22mm (for the Venu 3) and 18mm (for the Venu 3S). The Series 10, on the other hand, uses Apple’s proprietary band swap system, where you press a button and slide the band sideways to change it.

It’s definitely a bit easier to swap bands on the Apple Watch, but the good old system that Garmin uses is also not too bad.

As for the default bands, the Garmin arrives with a sport band with easy of adjustment and one that feels soft and comfortable for prolonged wear. On the Apple Watch, you can choose a band when purchasing, so you are not limited to just one. The sport loop band is also very soft and comfy, but we find adjustments a bit more difficult.

Software & Features

Apple is light years ahead with software!

The Apple Watch is easier to operate and has prettier graphics (Image by PhoneArena)

Let’s start with this: the Apple Watch interface and software feels much, much more refined and capable than the Garmin one. There is no contest!

The Apple Watch looks next-level in terms of graphics and refinement, and it is also perfectly smooth, while on the Garmin you do notice a bit of a stutter every once in a while.

Heart Rate Accuracy

Both have accurate heart rate sensing, but the Apple Watch is a bit ahead (Image by PhoneArena)

The Venu 3 has Garmin’s lastest Elevate Gen 5 sensor, the same one as on the premium Fenix 8 series, but is it as good as the Apple Watch?

In my testing, the two were really close most of the time, with some slight differences visible with more vigorous activities, like outdoor bike riding, which is a challenge for watches as the watch moves around quickly and unpredictably.

Sleep Tracking Accuracy

Both the Garmin and the Apple Watch keep track of when you fell asleep, when you woke up, and how much time you spent in each of the sleep stages: deep sleep, light / core sleep, and REM sleep.

The Garmin app, however, gives a bit more context, telling you how your sleep stages compare to recommendations, while you don’t get that piece of information on the Apple Watch.

Scientific measurements from various testers show that the Apple Watch has more accurate sleep tracking estimations, while Garmin watches are not quite as good, but still pretty close. To be more specific, when measuring REM sleep, the Garmin is a bit less precise. But in the few nights where we wore both the Venu 3 and Apple Watch Series 10 to bed the results were very close.

In our real-world testing, with one workout a day and the always-on function enabled, the Venu 3S we had lasted around 5 days between charges, while on the Apple Watch we had to recharge every single day, way more annoying.

This alone is a big reason why Garmin is still so popular, many people just don’t want to worry about charging yet another device.

But the Series 10 remedies this a little bit with a much faster charging experience, as you can now get a day’s worth of charge in just 30 mintues. The Garmin charges quite quickly as well, but just not as fast.

Also, the Venu 3 uses its own proprietary cable, so it is a wired connection that you have to plug in, while the Apple Watch uses a magnetic charger, which is an easier process.

As for prices, you will find them right below:

Of course, you have had this functionality on the Apple Watch for years.

As for haptics, though, the vibration motor on the Apple Watch feels more refined and sharper.

Specs

Below, you can see a brief overview of the Garmin Venu 3 vs Apple Watch Series 10 specs:

Specs	Garmin Venu 3	Apple Watch Series 10
Models (Size, Weight, Prices)	Venu 3: 45mm, 1.4-inch screen, 30g weight Venu 3S: 41mm, 1.2-inch screen, 27g Gorilla Glass 3 – Metal bezel, plastic body 12mm thickness on both	46mm, 36.4g aluminum, 41.7g titanium 42mm, 30g aluminum, 34.4g titanium Ion-X glass (aluminum) Sapphire (stainless steel) Metal and glass body 9.7mm thickness
Water resistance	5 ATM	5 ATM
Processor, RAM, Storage	Unknown 8GB storage	Apple S10 SiP 64GB storage
Software	Garmin proprietary OS	watchOS 11
Battery and Charging	14 days in smartwatch mode – Venu 3 10 days in smartwatch mode – Venu 3S Proprietary Garmin cable	18-hour battery life for both models 327 mAh for 46mm Unknonw for 42mm
Sensors	Garmin Elevate V5 (Gen5)	Apple Watch sensor
New features	Nap detection Improved GPS accuracy Wheelchair mode Guided Meditation	Double Tap Brighter screen, better viewing angles

Summary

If you are into sports and value battery life, the Garmin is still the way to go, but for everything else the Apple Watch feels superior (Image by PhoneArena)

With the Garmin Venu 3 you can forget about the nuisance of daily charging and with moderate use, you can expect to charge it about once a week. And you get that amazing battery life with a vibrant OLED screen on board too. There is a bit less refinement though: watchfaces are not as pretty, the performance is just a beat slower and so on.

However, if you want a true smartwatch with watchfaces that offer complications, a fast and beautiful user interface, perfect integration with iPhones, and various apps, the Apple Watch Series 10 certainly has the upper hand.

So, pick what you value more and get the watch that excels in that area. So… which team are you on, team Garmin or team Apple?