Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Pros & Cons and Final Verdict 2024
About Garmin Venu Sq
The Garmin Venu Sq is a great value for those who want an inexpensive fitness tracker, complete with GPS and long battery life. Following the lead of Apple and Fitbit, Garmin is releasing its own square smartwatch, the Garmin Venu Sq. Focused on health and fitness, the Venu Sq has many of the features found in the $349 Venu—GPS, Pulse Ox, mobile payments and optional music storage—but at a much more attractive price of $199. The Garmin Venu Sq is a decent all-round performer, and we've not seen a Garmin watch with a color screen at this price point before.
The Garmin Venu Sq is packing all the core sensors of its round sibling, built-in GPS, a heart rate monitor and also includes the very on trend pulse ox sensor. There are dedicated modes for the likes of running, cycling and swimming to make it a solid sports tracking companion, though we found that picking up a GPS signal was a little on the sluggish side.
It doesn’t scrimp on smartwatch features either, with the music edition (which we tested here) offering a built-in music player and all versions offering contactless payments and access to Garmin’s Connect IQ store to download apps and watch faces. The Venu Sq promises to do a lot, which does cause some problems with the way you get around the watch and it takes some getting used to how things work and where things live.
What you really miss out from the main Venu is that more impressive AMOLED display, animated workouts to follow on the watch and an altimeter to track your elevation. If you can live without those features, then the Venu SQ should be a decent sporty smartwatch companion.
Pros & Cons
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Where to Buy Garmin?
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About Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit Versa 3 with a larger screen, integrated GPS, an SpO2 sensor, and support for the Active Zone Minutes metric Fitbit introduced in the Charge 4. The GPS lets you track your real-time pace and distance when you're working out without your phone, and the SpO2 sensor enables blood oxygen saturation readings while you sleep, a particularly useful metric during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also continues to offer the long battery life, robust fitness and sleep tracking abilities, and useful smartwatch features that have made the Versa line a favorite of ours.
In short, with integrated GPS and some design tweaks, the Fitbit Versa 3 is an excellent wearable. It is an attractive mid-range smartwatch with advanced fitness tracking and reliable battery life.
Fitbit Versa 3’s standout upgrade is on-board GPS. Now, even when you leave your phone at home, the Versa can (finally) track your location during outdoor exercise. A curvier, larger display is welcome, too.
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Where to Buy Fitbit?
You can purchase the Fitbit watches on Fitbit.com, and you can also purchase Fitbit watches from places like Bestbuy.com (0.5% super cashback), Amazon, Walmart (up to 4% super cashback), and Target.
About Apple Watch SE
The mid-range Apple Watch SE is a very good smartwatch. If you know you want a new Apple Watch, the Watch SE is the one to go for: with the exception of an always-on display and sensors for blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and electrocardiogram (ECG), it offers almost everything else you get in the Series 6, including a vast selection of downloadable apps, excellent calling and texting capabilities, and potentially lifesaving health features like fall detection, irregular heart rate and rhythm notifications, Emergency SOS, and international emergency calling. It also boasts a larger display, a faster processor, and more safety features than the Series 3. That makes the Watch SE an excellent, cost-effective option for kids, the elderly, or anyone who wants the apps, fitness, and safety features of the Series 6 without paying a premium for its always-on display and advanced health metrics.
The design of the Apple Watch SE is as familiar as you can get – the same curved edges, rounded aluminum chassis and Digital Crown on the side.
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Where to buy Apple watches?
①You can purchase the Apple watches on Bestbuy.com ((0.5% super cashback)), apple.com, Amazon, Walmart (up to 4% super cashback), and Target.
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Specs Comparison
| Garmin Venu Sq | Fitbit Versa 3 | Apple Watch SE | |
| Price | $199.99 | $174.95 | From $249 |
| Screen Size | 1.3" (33.1 mm) diagonal | 1.59 inches | 1.78 inches |
| Display Resolution | 240 x 240 pixels | 336x336 pixels | 448 x 368 pixels (~326 ppi density) |
| Weight | 37.6 g | 39.7 grams | 36.4 g (1.27 oz) |
| Dimension | 40.6 x 37.0 x 11.5 mm | 40.48mm x 40.48mm x 12.35mm | 44 x 38 x 10.4 mm (1.73 x 1.50 x 0.41 in) |
| Operating System | Garmin OS | Fitbit OS | watchoS 7 |
| Body Material | LENS MATERIAL: Corning | Aluminum and stainless steel | --- |
| Colours | Slate, Metallic Orchid, Light Gold, Rose Gold. | Midnight / Soft Gold Aluminium; Black/Black Aluminium; Pink Clay / Soft Gold Aluminium; Olive / Soft Gold Aluminum; Thistle / Soft Gold Aluminum. | Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. |
| Display Technology | AMOLED | AMOLED | OLED Retina |
| Battery Life | Smartwatch mode: Up to 6 days; GPS mode: Up to 14 hours; GPS mode without music: Up to 14 hours. | With 6+ day battery life, Versa 3 tracks your morning, night & everything in between without needing to stop for a charge. Varies with use and other factors; up to 12 hours with continuous GPS. | All-Day Battery Life. Up to 18 hours. Family Setup Battery Life. Up to 14 hours. |
| Compatibility | Apple iOS and Android. | Apple iOS and Android. | Apple iOS |
| Charging Time | Charging a fully depleted battery takes about 60 to 90 minutes. | Fast Charging. If you’re always on the move, fuel up with quick charging that gives your watch a full day’s charge in just 12 minutes. | No Fast Charging. About 2.5 hours to 100%. |
| Water Rating | 5 ATM | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Price
The Garmin Venu Sq costs $199; the Garmin Venu Sq Music, which lets you store tunes from Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music on the watch, costs $249.
The Fitbit Versa 3 costs from $159.99 at walmart.com. As for colors, the Versa 3 comes in three finishes: black/black aluminum, pink clay/soft gold aluminum and midnight/soft gold aluminum. The Versa 3's band is interchangeable; other bands, including woven and leather, are available starting at around $30.
The Apple Watch SE starts at $249. If you want an LTE version, the LTE version is slightly more expensive.
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Design & Display
Comes in standard and music editions
1.3-inch colour display with always-on mode
Safe for pool and open water swimming
Interchangeable straps
The majority of Garmin’s wearables have had a traditional circular face, but for the Venu Sq, Garmin is aping the squircle design found on smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and Fitbit Versa 3. |
Garmin Venu Sq is larger at the bottom of the screen to accommodate Garmin’s logo. The Venu Sq is only offered in one size (40mm), which appeals to a wider audience. Its 1.3-inch LCD touchscreen is actually larger than the AMOLED screen on the circular Garmin Venu, but it has a much lower resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. |
| There’s two buttons on the right side of the Venu Sq. The top button opens your fitness activities, while the bottom button serves as a Back button and lets you access watch settings. |
40mm AMOLED display
Easy strap removal mechanism
Redesigned side button
The Fitbit Versa 3 sports a similar squircle shape, and has slightly softer edges and swaps out the physical button of the Fitbit Versa 2 for an indented touch area with haptic feedback on its left side. |
| Versa 3 with 336 x 336-pixel color touchscreen is a small improvement from the 300 x 300-pixel on the Versa 2. At 1.58 inches, it's also larger than the 1.39-inch screen on the Versa 2, and once again offers an always-on mode. |
Interchangeable bands
The Apple Watch SE's design is basically that of every other Apple Watch that came before. The Apple Watch SE will only be available with an aluminum case (the Apple Watch 6 is also available in stainless steel and titanium), but you will be able to choose between silver, gold, and space gray finishes. The Apple Watch SE’s screen was very responsive, coming to life with a simple flick of my wrist. |
| The 44mm model has a screen resolution of 368 x 448 pixels; the smaller 40mm model has a 324 x 394-pixel display. It’s good that Apple offers the SE in two sizes. |
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Smartwatch features
CONNECT IQ
(DOWNLOADABLE WATCH FACES, DATA FIELDS, WIDGETS AND APPS)
SMART NOTIFICATIONS
TEXT RESPONSE/REJECT PHONE CALL WITH TEXT (ANDROID
ONLY)
CALENDAR
WEATHER
CONTROLS SMARTPHONE MUSIC
PLAYS AND CONTROLS WATCH MUSIC
MUSIC STORAGE up to 500 songs
FIND MY PHONE
FIND MY WATCH
SMARTPHONE COMPATIBILITY iPhone
, Android
PAIRS WITH GARMIN CONNECT
MOBILE
GARMIN PAY
The biggest area where Garmin’s smartwatches lose ground to competing devices is with its app store. Outside a few recognizable names, such as Spotify, Amazon Music, the Garmin Connect IQ store is just a paltry collection of watchfaces. As thin as it is, Fitbit’s app store looks like Apple’s in comparison. |
More annoyingly, installing any of these requires you download the Garmin ConnectIQ app to your smartphone. But, if you want to check on your health and fitness stats, you have to use the separate Garmin Connect app. It’s been this way for a while now with Garmin’s smartwatches, and still doesn’t make any sense. |
| Other smartwatch features include mobile payments, calendar, find my watch/phone, and weather. You can also receive notifications, and if the Venu Sq is connected to an Android device, you can respond to text messages. |
Music Experience
Calls From Your Wrist
Call, Text & App Notifications
Voice Assistant
Fitbit Pay
Find My Phone App
Fitbit Pay
Apps on Your Wrist
Do Not Disturb Mode
As a smartwatch, the Versa 3 functions exactly the same as its predecessor. It’s still a pared-back, no-frills experience as compared to something like an Apple Watch, but there should still be enough apps to keep many users happy. For example, a Philips Hue app is available to control smart lights, and there's a map app as well. |
It's worth reiterating that many of the better Fitbit apps are paid, just as they are on Apple Watch or Android Wear OS devices, so you'll need to pony up if you want some of the expanded functionality they provide. |
As a smartwatch, the Versa 3 is capable, but not extraordinary. In addition to Alexa, the Versa 3 supports Google Assistant, making it the first smartwatch with access to both major voice assistants. One caveat is that you can only have one assistant active at a time, and most smart home devices have two. |
| The Fitbit Versa 3's built-in speaker and microphone also offer the ability to answer phone calls from your wrist. However, this feature is limited to those with Android phones. Obviously, Fitbit Pay, as well as the availability of third-party apps for Starbucks, Yelp, Walgreens, The New York Times and more. Fitbit’s app library is getting larger, but it still lacks compared to Apple’s watchOS App store. |
Where the Apple Watch SE — and all Apple Watches — excels is with smartwatch features. Apple has by far the largest app library of any smartwatch, which makes the SE a true extension of your phone on your wrist. From the SE, you can control your smart home devices, make and receive phone calls, look up directions, play music, and much more. |
However, if you have a lot of apps installed on the Apple Watch, it takes more time than it should to find the app you want from the main app screen. While you can move the app icons around and group them together, you can’t organize them any other way. |
| The Apple Watch has a plethora of customizable watchfaces, NFC for mobile payments, and, if you purchase the LTE model, you can use it independently of your phone. Apple’s new Family Setup also lets you set up and manage an Apple Watch for your child. You can use the watch to set fitness goals, send them allowance money, and limit features when they’re in school. Provided the watch has LTE, you can monitor where they are, too. It’s a very pricey GPS tracker for kids, but one that’s more full-featured. |
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Health Features
| Garmin Venu Sq | Fitbit Versa 3 | Apple Watch SE |
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Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Fitness Tracking
| Garmin Venu Sq | Fitbit Versa 3 |
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①Move. Exercise. Stand. Track all the ways you’re active.
Activity rings show your daily activity. Make it your goal to close them every day. To keep you motivated there are awards, personalized coaching, and Activity competitions.
②A healthy number of workouts.
From strength training and HIIT to Pilates and yoga, Apple Watch tracks all your favorite ways to work out — with the metrics you most want to see.
③Go all out with the enhanced Workout app.
Train in new ways with advanced metrics like Heart Rate Zones, Power, and Elevation. Keep an eye on your pace. And automatically transition between workouts with Multisport.
④Race Route. Repeat it and beat it.
If it’s an Outdoor Run or Outdoor Cycle workout you do often, you can choose to race against your last or best result and receive in-the-moment updates to help you get there.
⑤Make a splash with your watch.
Apple Watch is rated water resistant 50 meters.1 Perfect for swimming, surfing, or water balloon fights. Quick, duck!
⑥Fitness+
Choose from 11 different workout types, as well as audio-guided walks and runs. Make every workout yours with modifications. And work out anywhere, anytime, from 5 to 45 minutes — with dozens of new additions every week. Get three months free when you buy an Apple Watch.
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Battery Life
Smartwatch mode: Up to 6 days;
GPS mode: Up to 14 hours;
It says you can expect to get up to six days in smartwatch mode, six hours in GPS mode with music streaming and up to 14 hours using GPS only. That’s four hours less of GPS battery life than the round Venu. |
There’s no low power modes or battery saving options, though you can disable features like continuous heart rate monitoring and choose not to use the always-on display mode to push the battery further. |
| With the always-on display mode, it’s more like three days, maybe four depending on what you’re using daily. That is still a good showing, but does mean you’ll be charging it a bit more regularly. |
Up to 6 days of battery
2-day battery with always-on display
Charges quickly
The Versa 3 charges surprisingly quickly. After popping it on its magnetic USB charger for the first time, it took less than an hour to get to 100 percent. The watch features a new fast charging feature that Fitbit says will give you 24 hours of battery life in less than 12 minutes. |
| Fully charged, it promises more than six days of battery life. Your battery life results will obviously vary depending on your usage and settings, like whether you have the always-on display enabled, which drains battery life quicker. After 24 hours of testing the Versa 3 with the always-on display enabled, it still had 79 percent battery life. After two days of heavy use, it still had more than 50 percent. |
All-Day Battery Life. Up to 18 hours.
Family Setup Battery Life. Up to 14 hours.
| The Apple Watch SE has about an 18-hour battery life. And the Apple Watch SE needs 2.5 hours for the Apple Watch SE to reach a full charge. |
Garmin Venu Sq vs. Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Apple Watch SE: Verdict
If you’re looking for an affordable yet full-featured smartwatch, Fitbit Versa 3 is best for you;
Buy it if you want a fitness-focused smartwatch for the money, the Garmin Venu Sq gives you all the key tools to make it a solid, affordable option to track runs, rides and offer a good fitness tracking experience too.
Or if you want an Apple Watch. The Watch SE is not bad. The Watch SE has a lower price, but you still get a lot of the high-end features of the Watch 6.
In addition, the Watch SE is definitely more features than the Versa 3 and Venu Sq. If you have more expectations for smart sports watches, then The Watch SE is undoubtedly the most suitable.
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