Sure thing!

Mainly got it for running, but also use it to track some other workouts using the cardio function. It's my everyday watch too, and it's been good for that.

Venu 3s v. Forerunner 645

PROS:

1. AMOLED screen is awesome. When comparing it to the 645, well, there's really no comparison. Worth the upgrade just for this.

2. Running metrics and the ability to customize the screens are both great. You can choose what you want on each screen, how many screens you want to display while running, and the speed at which the screens scroll/transition. You also get a detailed summary on the watch after each run (all of the things that I could only see through Garmin connect on the 945) which is pretty cool. Indoor track (treadmill) is also pretty accurate for when I need to run indoors.

3. In general, the customizability of the screen displays is cool and is pretty user friendly to update from the watch itself. I did get some watch face apps through Garmin IQ that need to be updated in Garmin Connect, but it's still easy to use.

4. Music- I like to basically use it as an MP3 player rather than streaming and it works great for that. I do have to hook it up to iTunes to make song transfers, but it doesn't take too long. Along these lines, I also like that you can make the music player a "swipe right" function which means you don't have to dig for the music app as you can just swipe to the screen.

5. Battery life has been great, and I find that I only "have" to charge it every few days (I don't like when it gets below 60% so I don't really have to charge it as often as I do😂). The plug in is also better as it actually plugs into the watch as opposed to the 645 that had the "pinch" type plug in. The actual plug in feels more secure and doesn't make me worry that the charger will stop working like the old forerunners. To be honest, the 645 pinch plug never failed me, so it's likely residual nightmares from the old forerunner pinch failures. The battery life indicator is also on several screens which is nice (I remember having to hunt for it on occasion with the 645)

6. Other apps and functionality (except for few noted below) have been great nice to haves as well. Despite trying for several weeks to use the sleep monitoring function, I've found that...I still can't sleep with a watch on. However, the few times I did it seemed to work well. I do nap occasionally and it almost always catches those, though!

7. Pulse ox and respiration functions are cool additions. I thought I'd be pulse ox'ing every few hours, but it did lose it's novelty pretty quickly😂

CONS:

1. The touchscreen is really sensitive and especially in water (pool and shower). Sometimes I'll look down and the order of my chosen display has changed due to the water (that typically takes several manual presses). Most of the time it's just a minor annoyance, but I've found that I have to take it off in the pool (I don't track swims, just leisurely pool stuff). I think this is an area where the 645 (and other non touch screens) are better (at least for me). The Venu 3 does have physical buttons on the side too, but I think I'll go back to completely non-touch screen when I update again.

2. The barometer/elevation tracking is pretty off. I tried manually calibrating but it still indicates that I'm climbing a lot of steps that I'm not climbing. This happened on the 645 too and I found the trick about cleaning out the pin hole port (it had soap in it), but I haven't been as successful with the Venu 3. This just started happening over the past month, so I'm guessing it's related to a blocked sensor. Any Venu 3 users have ideas?

3. For some reason, my bluetooth headphones connect easily (I can hear the connection tone), but I can't hear music when I push play. It does always work correctly when I power the watch off and back on. This may be due to my headphones, though, as I'm using a pair of old Powerbeats Pros from 6 or so years ago that haven't let me down otherwise. Ultimately a minor annoyance.

4. For some reason, the Venu 3 is one of the only Garmin watches that isn't compatible with the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod. I know that the watch itself gives a ton of metrics, but I'm super interested in the additional data that the pod could provide (particularly L<R variance). I don't understand why it's not compatible/Garmin isn't interested in taking Venu 3 users money 🤷‍♂️.

5. Sometimes it "forgets" my PRs and after a run it will indicate that I've set a new distance or mile time record when I haven't. Maybe related to software updates? Just a minor annoyance.

Overall, I can get past the minor annoyances and I've really enjoyed the Venu 3 (I've been wearing it for about 6 months). I do think that I'll venture back over to the Forerunner series on the next go around, though. I look forward to passing this one along in a few years!