For gym-goers
The Venu 3 strikes a fragile steadiness, giving mainstream watch followers the Bluetooth calling, ECG readings, sleep teaching, and exquisite AMOLED show they’ve come to anticipate, whereas additionally including instruments like run restoration time, Garmin Coach, Physique Battery, and animated exercises that solely a Garmin watch can ship.
For
- Thinner with bigger shows
- Chrome steel bezel
- ECG and pores and skin temp readings
- Mic & speaker for calling, assistant
- Wheelchair mode
Towards
- No coaching load or exercise strategies
- No dual-band GPS
- Fewer, much less ergonomic buttons
For severe runners
The Forerunner 265 is not all for steadiness; it provides you 90% of the working instruments that severe marathoners want (with a couple of options reserved for the 965). It lacks loads of the sensors and {hardware} that make the Venu 3 particular, but additionally runs rings round its sibling for coaching software program and pinpoint GPS accuracy. It will information you to your subsequent PR.
For
- Day by day exercise strategies
- Coaching load focus & impact
- Extra correct GPS monitoring
- Higher watch strap & buttons
- Observe working & multisport mode
Towards
- Smaller show
- Thicker all-plastic design
- No mic/speaker, fewer sensors
Garmin sells three watches at $450: the Garmin Venu 3, Forerunner 265, and Intuition 2X Photo voltaic. Placing apart the rugged battery behemoth, Garmin’s Venu flagship and second-tier Forerunner will attraction probably the most to “mainstream” Garmin followers or to severe runners, respectively.
As each value the identical, it is unsurprising that they share loads of options and qualities. They’re each long-lasting, correct, and provide you with helpful coaching information. However every has particular areas of energy that the opposite lacks, such because the Forerunner 265’s coaching load and readiness instruments, or the Venu 3’s mic, speaker, and further well being sensors.
The Venu 3 is the greatest health smartwatch accessible, whereas the Forerunner 265 is the greatest working watch accessible. They’re each nice, in different phrases, however you possibly can solely select one. Let’s evaluate the Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265.
Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265: Design and show
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| Class | Garmin Venu 3 / 3S | Garmin Forerunner 265 / 265S |
|---|---|---|
| Show | 1.4-inch (454×454) or 1.2-inch (390×390) AMOLED touchscreen | 1.3-inch (416×416) or 1.1-inch (360×360) AMOLED touchscreen |
| Materials | Fiber-reinforced polymer | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Bezel | Chrome steel | Polymer |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 12mm; 41 x 41 x 12mm | 46.1 x 46.1 x 12.9mm; 41.7 x 41.7 x 12.9mm |
| Weight | 47g; 40g | 47g; 39g |
| Fast launch bands | 22mm; 18mm | 22mm; 18mm |
| Safety | 5ATM; Gorilla Glass 3 | 5ATM; Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Colours | 3: Silver/ Whitestone; Slate/ Black; 3S: Slate/ Pebble Gray; Silver/ Sage Gray; Gentle Gold/ French Grey, Mud Rose, or Ivory. | 265: Black/ Whitestone & Tidal Blue; Black/ Black & Powder Gray; Black/ Aqua & Black; 265S: Black/ Black & Amp Yellow; Black/ Whitestone & Neo Tropic; Black/ Gentle Pink & Whitestone |
For those who’re involved about how trendy your health watch seems, the Garmin Venu 3 is the plain alternative, because of the stainless-steel bezel and the skinnier, extra tapered case design. The Garmin Forerunner 265, with its thicker, all-plastic look, is for runners who’re extra involved about what’s beneath the floor.
Each Garmin watches supply small “S” sizes, giving small-wristed athletes some flexibility. The distinction is that the Venu 3S, although 1g heavier than the 265S, provides you a extra useable 1.2-inch show — a extra palatable downgrade than 1.1 inches.
The 1.3-inch Forerunner 265 additionally has a bigger bezel, making the Venu 3’s 1.4-inch show look comparatively huge. On this case, although, a 1.3-inch show is pretty normal for any smartwatch, so you need to have loads of room for information and notifications.
Though each watches provide you with an AMOLED touchscreen, the Forerunner 265 is much less depending on it because of its five-button structure with devoted up/down buttons. They are not a lot to take a look at, however they provide you tangible buttons to press throughout a run as an alternative of counting on contact controls with sweaty fingertips.
The advantage of the Venu 3’s three-button design, apart from their extra trendy, refined look, is that it has a devoted center button for shortcuts that may pull up your favourite instruments. The draw back is that these buttons are tougher to truly press than the Forerunner 265 buttons; they take extra getting used to.
Each have the identical Gorilla Glass 3 safety, which is not as superior because the sapphire glass you usually get on this value vary. You aren’t getting the Gorilla Glass DX normal, both, which has a greater anti-reflective coating; you may want the costly Forerunner 965 for that.
Every works with Fast Launch 22mm or 18mm bands, so you possibly can swap them out very simply. Of the 2, the Forerunner 265 silicone band is sportier and much more snug than the Venu 3’s, which does not have as a lot breathability and feels extra inflexible.
Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265: {Hardware} and battery
| Class | Garmin Venu 3 | Garmin Forerunner 265 |
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Elevate 5 HRM with ECG and pores and skin temperature; Pulse Ox (SpO2); accelerometer; ambient mild sensor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope | Elevate v4 HRM; Pulse Ox, accelerometer; ambient mild sensor; barometric altimeter; compass; gyroscope |
| GNSS | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO |
| Accuracy modes | All-Programs GNSS solely | All-Programs GNSS; dual-band GPS; SatIQ mode |
| Connectivity | Garmin Pay (NFC), Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Garmin Pay (NFC), Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi |
| Music storage | 8GB | 8GB |
| Mic & speaker | Sure | No |
| Battery (Smartwatch) | 3: 14 days; 3S: 10 days | 265: 13 days; 265S: 15 days |
| Battery (GPS solely) | 3: 26 hours; 3S: 21 hours | 265: 20 hours; 265S: 24 hours |
| Battery (Highest accuracy) | 3: 20 hours; 3S: 15 hours | 265: 14 hours; 265S: 15 hours |
Garmin does not promote what CPUs or reminiscence goes into its watches. We are able to assume, nonetheless, that they are comparable right here: each are 2023 watches, and the December Forerunner replace added software program UI updates lifted instantly from the Venu 3. Pace-wise, you need to get a comparable expertise.
In addition they share many of the identical key sensors. You get an accelerometer and gyroscope for monitoring wrist actions for working dynamics and train recognition; an altimeter to evaluate effort at elevation; a compass for higher train information; an ambient mild sensor to alter the show brightness in dim settings; and Pulse Ox blood oxygen information.
The place the Venu 3 pulls forward is its Elevate v5 coronary heart price sensor. We do not understand how far more correct the Fifth-generation mannequin is for coronary heart price information — it did pretty effectively in opposition to the COROS Coronary heart Price Monitor in our overview check — however we do comprehend it helps guide ECG readings in the course of the day and passive pores and skin temperature readings at night time.
If it’s essential to recurrently verify your AFib readings, the Venu 3 provides you that choice with its handy ECG app. However you might also need a watch that passively measures AFib too, and Garmin does not supply that but.
As for pores and skin temperature readings, Garmin will decide your typical temperature baseline over 20 days after which assist sign any potential indicators of sickness. Since this function simply launched this month, we won’t say for sure how correct or helpful the software is; in case you’re somebody who cares deeply about sleep monitoring for Physique Battery information, the Venu 3 would possibly attraction extra, each for Sleep Teaching and its skinnier design.
The place the Forerunner 265 pulls forward is in GPS accuracy. The Venu 3 is healthier than your common watch because of its all-systems GNSS monitoring, which basically makes use of each GPS and one other system like GLONASS or GALILEO to pinpoint your place and keep away from system errors.
In our overview, nonetheless, it fell barely quick in comparison with a dual-band GPS Forerunner watch. The Forerunner 265, for example, makes use of a number of GNSSs directly and each the L1 and L5 GPS frequencies, which provide you with a number of angles in your location and updates in near-real time. For the very best outcomes with no room for doubt, you may need a Forerunner.
The Venu 3 lasts 20 hours in All-Programs mode, whereas the Forerunner 265 solely lasts 14 in dual-band mode. That ought to nonetheless be a lot for many runners, however you could need to use SatIQ mode as an alternative. Unique to the Forerunner 265, it defaults to GPS solely however prompts extra satellite tv for pc techniques each time the watch detects sign blockage; it boosts your battery life to 18 hours, whereas nonetheless providing you with higher accuracy than All-Programs alone.
Additionally, in case you’re leaning in the direction of a smaller watch, understand that the Venu 3S is the shortest-lived watch of the 4 for total longevity, whereas the Forerunner 265S is (mockingly) longer-lived than the bigger 265.
Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265: Options and software program
| Class | Software program |
|---|---|
| Out there on Forerunner 265 and Venu 3 | Enhanced physique battery, Morning Report, Sleep Rating and insights, nap detection, Purple Shift mode, Depth Minutes, Health Age, HRV standing, stress monitoring, girls’s well being monitoring, Well being Snapshot, restoration time, animated exercises, Garmin Coach, wrist-based working dynamics & energy, Livetrack |
| Solely accessible on Forerunner 265 | Day by day instructed exercises, race-adaptive coaching plans, race predictor, coaching standing/ impact/ load/ readiness, acute load, downloadable programs, Efficiency Situation, Pacepro, Observe Working, Multisport mode |
| Solely accessible on Venu 3 | Sleep Coach, ECG readings, pores and skin temperature, passthrough voice assistant, Bluetooth calling, Jet Lag advisor, Meditation, wheelchair mode |
Garmin watches have so many options packed into them that working by every function would take extra time than you need to spend studying this text. So we tried to focus on the entire main options that you would be able to anticipate from both watch, in addition to these unique to every.
To nobody’s shock, the Forerunner 265 clearly wins for runners. Even when some instruments like Efficiency Situation aren’t as helpful as they could possibly be, runners will need to know the post-run coaching load for an exercise and whether or not it was cardio or anaerobic. Particular instruments just like the Outside Observe Working exercise and multisport mode are arduous to lose, too.
Day by day exercise strategies that information you on what sort of run to do, coaching load focus graphs on whether or not you are behind on sure sorts of runs, and the acute load graph to indicate whether or not your weekly load falls throughout the optimum vary to enhance your VO2 Max are all important instruments that assist our Wearables Editor enhance on daily basis.
For context, the Venu 3 does provide you with helpful working instruments like a post-run restoration time estimate and a obscure “exercise profit” abstract. It simply does not go into sufficient element; it is higher suited to informal runners who spend extra time doing different actions like fitness center or HIIT exercises.
That stated, the specialised Forerunner 265 misses out on loads of mainstream instruments that you simply usually get in an costly health watch. Firstly, the Venu 3 has its mic and speaker for Bluetooth calls. Our reviewer discovered that the speaker high quality is not nearly as good because it could possibly be, but it surely nonetheless works in a pinch.
We have already mentioned the ECG and pores and skin temp readings, however you additionally get Garmin’s new Sleep Coach widget that quantifies how effectively you slept primarily based on information like sleep zones and stress information, pushing you in the direction of higher habits. Plus, you may recognize the Meditation app to combine in with your entire workout routines.
Regardless that the Forerunner collection caters to runners, I do hope it will get the Venu 3’s glorious wheelchair mode, which we have examined and cherished; it handles exercise monitoring a lot better than your typical Apple or Samsung watch. And since you may usually see wheelchair divisions throughout marathons, it is clear that there’s a area of interest marketplace for athletes who need coaching load information and push rely as an alternative of step rely.
Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265: Which do you have to purchase?
The Garmin Venu 3 vs. Forerunner 265 battle has a transparent winner..however the reply relies upon by yourself standards for what you want in a smartwatch.
The Garmin Venu 3 is thinner, extra trendy, and higher at monitoring your private well being and sleep habits. The show is bigger in each sizes, and it has many of the Garmin coaching necessities you possibly can need, plus the choice to reply cellphone calls out of your related cellphone. As an all-around well being and health tracker, it is a greater choice.
That stated, the Forerunner 265 provides you in-depth metrics for out of doors exercises like working, swimming, and biking that Venu 3 homeowners would in all probability recognize. Particularly for runners, it will be very arduous to cross up coaching load and impact information, to not point out dual-band GPS. And due to the Forerunner collection’ change from MIP to AMOLED, it is not practically as a lot of a design downgrade as previous Garmin working watches.
Fortunately, whichever Garmin watch you select, you are getting a high quality expertise. Solely you possibly can resolve which is healthier for your wants, nonetheless!
For gym-goers
Select the Garmin Venu 3 for Bluetooth calling and voice assistant instructions, a extra svelte design with a bigger show, and well being information not discovered on some other sub-$500 Garmin watch. Do not select it in case you’re a severe runner and don’t love contact controls throughout exercises.
For severe runners
Select the Garmin Forerunner 265 in case you’re a self-guided runner who wants assist deciding what sort of runs to finish to enhance your health, or prefer to race in opposition to previous instances on the monitor or path. Do not select it if you’d like AFib detection, a non-plastic look, or a wheelchair mode.
