Garmin has just announced the Instinct 3 series, as well as the Instinct E and new HRM-200. The Instinct 3 takes the existing Instinct 2 lineup and increases it to both an AMOLED & MIP based display option. That should be no surprise given they did precisely that with the Fenix 8 this past summer. And likewise with the Fenix E, the Instinct E aims to be the more budget friendly offering.
The biggest ticket item on the Instinct 3 is of course the AMOLED display option, letting you choose which display type you like while still retaining the rugged look. However, Garmin has also expanded the LED flashlight to both the small and larger case sizes, whereas previously the larger Instinct 2X only had the flashlight. Beyond that, they added a bunch of minor features that were previously Solar/Tactical-only, such as Garmin Pay.
Now note that this isn’t a full in-depth review. I simply haven’t had the units long enough to say whether they are good or bad. Nor has anyone else outside of Garmin. Thus, wait for my full in-depth review after I do some of my trademark stupid-epic sports/adventure testing, to see whether this watch is worth your money.
With that, let’s dive into it.
What’s New:
Below is a list of all of the differences between the Instinct 3 and the Instinct 2 series. Keeping in mind the Instinct 2X was launched a year after the Instinct 2, and kinda served as an Instinct 2.5, adding in some features that the Instinct 2 didn’t have. I’ll try and clarify which are which below. Also expect this list to grow with the more time I spend with the devices.
– Added AMOLED display option
– Increased solar charging power by 5x compared to Instinct 2 Solar
– Added flashlight to both sizes (45mm and 50mm)
– Increased display sizes for AMOLED units (Solar is same)
– Ditched secondary display window on AMOLED, but kept it on Solar
– Increased contrast by 2x on Solar editions (versus Instinct 2)
– AMOLED Display Sizes: 45mm is 1.2” display, 50mm is 1.3” display
– Solar Display Sizes: 45mm is 0.9” display, 50m is 1.1” display
– Added metal ring into bezel as “reinforcement”
– Added multiband/dual-frequency GNSS/GPS to all units (Instinct 2X had it)
– Added Garmin’s SatIQ feature to all units (a big deal for battery)
– Added Hill Score
– Added Endurance Score
– Added Training Load Focus
– Added Training Load Ratio
– Added Multisprot/Triathlon Auto Transition
– Added Nap Detection
– Added Sleep Coach
– Added Muscle Map for Strength Workouts (AMOLED only)
– Added Strength Workout Animations (AMOLED only)
– Added Garmin Share
– Added Garmin Messenger compatibility
– Added Garmin Pay as standard on all units
– Added large font mode (introduced on other Garmin units recently)
– Added new color options (see below)
From a pricing standpoint, it’s:
– AMOLED: $449 for the 45mm and $499 for the 50mm
– SOLAR: $399 for the 45mm and $449 for the 50mm
– Instinct E: $299 for the 40mm and $299 for the 45mm
And here’s the colors for each:
For battery life, it’s claimed as follows:
Still, there are two massive/obvious gaps that I see with the Instinct 3 lineup:
1) No Garmin Elevate V5 optical HR sensor: At a time when every other watch on the market has this, Garmin introducing $500 GPS watches without it is just flat-out bizarre. But then again, the $3,200 MARQ® AdventurerDamascus Steel Edition doesn’t have it either, soo…yeah.
2) No Maps: While the watch of course does routing/navigatiojn, there’s actually no maps. I fail to understand how all of Garmin’s competitors can deliver that in the $200-$350 price range, yet Garmin can’t. Be it Apple, Google, COROS, AmazFit, Suunto, Polar, or others. The device itself has 3.7GB of storage, of which 2.7GB is used already by the OS and other features. Thus, this doesn’t seem hopeful unless Garmin takes the approach like AmazFit or COROS of allowing very small map downloads.
3) Lack of touchscreen: This is honestly the biggest surprise, especially on the AMOLED edition. As Garmin crams in more information and details into the AMOLED version from a display UI standpoint, this omission is awkward.
But more on those in my full in-depth review. Speaking of which, in terms of ordering, you can pre-order starting on January 10th. However, certainly don’t expect my review by then. As always, I try and push these watches to their limits (much to my legs dismay), rather than just run around the block once for 30 minutes and calling it done. Choose your reviewers wisely…
AMOLED vs MIP Side-by-Side:
Ok, so let’s just look at some quick things side-by-side here, so you can get a feel for the two units and how the displays differ. Because ultimately, that’s probably the biggest decision you’d need to make. However, before we do that, a quick glance at how it compares to the Instinct 2X externally, notably the metal bezel ‘reinforcement’ as Garmin calls it:
Above/below at left, the Instinct 2X, and at right, the Instinct 3 AMOLED. Note that metal bezel ’strap’ wrapping round above the buttons.
Meanwhile, on the back is the old Gen4 optical HR sensor:
Ok, so let’s compare side-by-side between Instinct 3 AMOLED and Instinct 3 SOLAR. So above we’ve scrolled down from the watch faces into the widgets. You’ll see the Solar intensity on the Solar/MIP editions (alll MIP editions are Solar, and there’s no Solar on the Instinct 3 AMOLED). You’l notice how there’s still the cut-out window in the MIP/SOLAR unit for ancillary information. In the case of the Instinct 3 AMOLED, they kinda do that in certain areas, but not everything (for example, in a workout you get the full screen).
Here’s the weather side-by-side, again, noticing how they leverage the mini-screen for the current weather on Solar, but on AMOLED they skip that for more brilliance.
Next, details like Training Readiness. Here we see the colors used, but also mimicking that mini-display on the AMOLED edition. Note that the Instinct 2 didn’t initially launch with Training Readiness, but eventually gained it in a feature update.
Whereas features like Training Load Focus are indeed new to the Instinct 3, after being launched on various Forerunner and Fenix watches over the last year or so.
Switching into the sports menu, all the sports are the same as the Instinct 2X, though here Garmin splits the icons to different places depending on which model you have.
When it comes to the flashlight, both the 45mm and 50mm variants of the Instinct 3 have it (the Instinct E does not). You can double-tap the upper left button to activate it, which also shows you a control along the left edge. There are four levels of white brightness, and 1 red color.
Here’s the flashlight on the front of the unit:
Meanwhile, within the settings you’ll see not only the new multiband/dual-frequency options, but also the SatIQ option. SatIQ is arguably one of Garmin’s best features, in that it dynamically changes which satellite types are used based on the conditions in realtime (e.g. in an open field it’ll reduce the GPS type since it’s not needed, but will ramp it back up again in the mountains). It’s incredibly cool, and glad to see it arrive here on the Instinct 3. In the menus though, this feature is known as ‘Auto Select’.
Now as I noted above, the biggest disappointment is the lack of mapping. Still, oddly, in the menus there is a ‘Map’ toggle along with (for more interestingly) a sub-toggle for ‘Cities’. Perhaps this is just leftover from the Fenix codebase and not yet removed. As noted, there simply isn’t much space on the device for maps, unless Garmin fundamentally shifts/changes how they do maps.
Last but not least, the Instinct 3 now has the Large Font option, for those young at heart, but with older eyes. Or, just eyes that were never super amazeballs to begin with.
Again, more details down the road in my review.
Wrap-Up:
Of course, the Instinct 3 coming was no surprise. Garmin.com themselves leaked it back in November, and then a retailer doubled-down on that over the past weekend. None of which were all that far from reality. Likewise, Garmin is a fairly predictable company when it comes to mid-range and lower devices, like the Instinct. They take features from higher-end devices, and a year or so later, pass them down to mid-range devices. Rinse and repeat to lower-end devices.
Therefore, everything we’ve seen on the Instinct 3 has largely come from either the Fenix/Forerunner units (e.g. shift to AMOLED) or the Venu 3 series (e.g. various wellness features). And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. After all, bringing down those features to lower priced devices is what everyone wants.
I’ll be keen to see how well the new solar charging capability works, and whether it lives up to its claims. In my Fenix 8 SOLAR and Enduro 3 testing this summer, while the numbers were still very impressive, both actually fell short of Garmin’s claims. Inversely, their AMOLED watches (including the Fenix 8 AMOLED) continue exceed their claims. Fear not, I’ve got some ideas in mind for side-by-side testing.
With that – thanks for reading, and feel free to drop any questions down below.
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