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Multiple leaks have occurred in recent weeks for the Garmin Venu 3, and a launch is expected imminently.
IFA 2023 Announcement – Likely Thursday 31st of August
It is no coincidence that IFA 2023 officially starts on the 1st of September, but you usually get a lot of press announcements the day before on the Thursday.
Last year, Garmin announced the Venu Sq 2 on Thursday, 1st of September, the day before the event started. Therefore, I would expect a repeat of last year with an announcement date of the 31st of August, 2023.
The original Garmin Venu was also launched at IFA.
What we know so far
Similar to the previous launch, the new Venu 3 will come in two sizes, with the 3S being a smaller model.
- The Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 3S will feature 22mm and 18mm watch bands, respectively.
- The Venu 3 series smartwatches will be water resistant up to 50 meters.
- The Garmin Venu 3 will be 45mm
- Colour options include Slate and Passivated (brushed steel/silver, I am not sure if that’s a translation issue by Mysmartprice)
- Black band and white band for the two colours respectively.
- The Garmin Venu 3S will be 41mm
- Soft Gold, French Gold, Slate, and Passivated colour options
- Soft Gold colour variant will be paired with Ivory and French Grey straps.
- French Gold colour variant will come with Pink Dawn Strap.
- Passivated colour will have a Sage Gray strap
- Slate colour variant will have a Pebble Gray colour option.
The Garmin Venu 3 and Venu 3S will feature three buttons along the right edge. Then, on the left edge is a speaker grill, which was introduced with the Venu 2 Plus.
Leaked Photos
Mysmartprice has managed to get hold of the official renders of the new watch. This happens a lot with consumer electronics, but it appears to always happen with Garmin launches right before the official announcement.
Expected Features
Garmin will almost certainly integrate much of the new technology we have seen in their recent launches, including the flagship Garmin Epix 2, Fenix 7 Pro and Forerunner 965.
Larger Display
It is likely that the display size will be fractionally larger in relation to the chassis size.
ECG
ECG was introduced with the Venu 2 Plus, so it seems very likely that this feature will be kept for the Venu 3.
Multiband GNSS & SatIQ
You should have a more accurate GPS thanks to the multiband GNSS that has been used on all the recent watches.
With this, you can run your watch in GPS-only mode for improved battery or all systems mode, which will give you access to GPS+GLONASS+Galileo+Beidou.
Multiband then allows the watch to receive two bands from the same satellite. This allows the watch to improve positioning when using the device in challenging environments. This is because built-up areas can cause interference, and receiving two bands allows it to filter out inaccurate signals reflecting off of buildings, trees, or mountains.
SatIQ is a technology that allows Garmin watches to dynamically adjust the GPS settings based on the environment. For example, if you are running in the middle of a built-up city and a forest, it will enable Multiband GNSS, but in open areas, it will switch to the lower powered single band GPS-only mode.
Garmin Gen 5 Elevate Optical Heart Rate Sensor
It is inevitable that the new Venu 3 will use the latest Gen 5 Elevate sensor, which uses more LEDs and has a larger sensor area.
This new sensor should allow some advanced features that may or may not feature on this watch. This includes ECG, sleep coaching and wrist temperature.
Garmin Sleep Coaching
Images of the watch UI indicate that sleep coaching will be present, which is a new big feature that will launch with the Venu 3 but should roll out to other Gen 5 Elevate-equipped watches, such as the Epix 2 and Fenix 7.
This requires data from your wrist temperature and will look at HRV’s impact on your sleep quality.
Advice for optimising your sleep patterns would be generated from an array of metrics, such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and your overall activity levels. This guidance aims to assist you in maintaining a consistent sleep routine.
Muscle Heatmap
The leaked UI images also confirm a new total body muscle heatmap, which will give superior feedback for your strength training exercises.
Rotating Bezel
Some sites, including Mysmartprice, have reported it will have a rotating bezel, but they also stated that this was on the Venu 2, which would be incorrect. I think this feature is based on a guess due to the textured bezel, which the Venu 2 also had.
Expected Price
The Garmin Venu had an RRP of £299.99 when it was released back in 2019. The Venu 2 then launched for £349.99, and the 2 Plus was again £50 more at £399.99.
A higher price seems inevitable, but Garmin is already skirting very close to the Apple Watch Series 8 £419 price. I appreciate that they are two quite different products, but pricing the Venu 3 higher than the Apple Watch seems like it would be a bad idea.
Sources:
mysmartprice – Gadgets & Wearables – the5krunner
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
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not sure that garmin is at ifa 2023:
https://www.ifa-berlin.com/exhibitors?&azletter=G&searchgroup=00000001-exhibitors