As SELF’s health director, I’ve examined a lot of smartwatches and health trackers, so I do know there are a number of fundamental must-haves for me: The system must precisely measure distance, tempo, and coronary heart price throughout my exercises (no lagging GPS, please!); function intuitively out of the field; and sync seamlessly with my telephone with none troubleshooting.

However in the event you’ve perused a listing of the perfect health trackers on the market, you already know there are so many fashions with additional options that promise show you how to perceive your physique higher. The brand new Garmin Venu 3 smartwatch ($450, amazon.com) falls solidly in that camp: The model vows to “offer you a extra full image of your well being.” However does it ship on that bold, holistic pledge? I strapped on a pattern to search out out—learn on for my full evaluate.

How I examined

I based mostly my evaluate of the Garmin Venu 3 on standards really useful by SELF’s panel of specialists, which focuses on issues like ease of use, accuracy with distance and coronary heart price (amongst different metrics), battery life, and particular options. I wore the smartwatch for over a month, and took it off solely to cost it when obligatory—that means, I showered and slept with it secured to my wrist. I examined the Venu 3 throughout completely different sorts of exercises, together with out of doors and treadmill runs, energy coaching routines, indoor bike periods, and even a yoga class.

Ease of use

For me, a watch must be usable proper out of the field, no directions wanted. So I pay additional shut consideration to issues like intuitive setup and (lack of) studying curve.

First impressions

After I unboxed the Garmin Venu 3, I used to be pleasantly shocked by how fairly it was: I attempted it in French grey (a light-weight mushroom shade with gold accents) within the smaller, 41-mm case dimension (good for my small wrist), and thought it appeared rather more fashionable than among the different gadgets I’ve examined (together with one among my favorites, the Garmin Forerunner 265, which had a decidedly extra rugged look).

Like its predecessor, the Venu 2, the latest model is a combo of touchscreen and bodily buttons, which to me, is the perfect of each worlds. The display makes for simple scrolling, and the Venu 3 has three buttons that come in useful when your dexterity is compromised (say, like once you’re working within the chilly with gloves on and have to mark a lap interval.)

The watch face

You may both use preloaded watch faces or select your personal within the companion Garmin Join IQ app. I went with the latter and picked out an admittedly busy face that reveals me a ton of metrics, together with time of day (after all), date, battery, coronary heart price, and steps—and a enjoyable little bar chart that illustrates my steps for the final seven days.

One enormous plus for me with the Venu 3 is how intuitive all the things was from the get-go. Press the highest button, and also you go proper to the train menu. Swipe up or down and also you see the breakdown for all of your vitals. Along with the metrics I discussed above, my personalized lineup contains my complete runs per week, physique battery (Garmin’s calculation of how a lot power you’ve for the day), sleep rating, restoration, and telephone notifications. Contact any of those, and also you’re despatched to a separate display with extra deets—one thing I very a lot appreciated, since a lot of instances it’s worthwhile to go to the app to get that intel.