Garmin's Fenix alternative gets an AMOLED upgrade.
The Garmin Instinct 3 is a solid upgrade, offering an AMOLED display, improved GNSS, and better training features while maintaining rugged durability and long battery life. However, its lack of touchscreen, full mapping, and advanced smartwatch features may disappoint some users. A worthwhile upgrade, but not a game-changer.
Pros
- Keeps that playful, fun Instinct look
- Multi-Band GPS boosts tracking accuracy
- Battery life is good on the whole
Cons
- Baffling move not to include touchscreen support
- Still no full mapping support
- Keeping sub-display in UI seems odd
The Instinct 3 is Garmin’s latest watch to transition to an AMOLED display. Though it’s the brand’s most outdoorsy-looking device, it follows the Fenix 8 and current-gen Forerunner devices in offering this more colorful and vibrant screen type.
However, this doesn’t entirely spell the end of the more classic Instinct style. As with the latest Fenix, Garmin has kept the old-style solar-powered display option around for this generation. The Instinct E has also been introduced, providing an even cheaper route for those seeking the latest features.
Display types aside, Garmin has a few more notable upgrades through the Instinct 3. It’s gained improved GNSS and better training features, also ensuring the battery life remains long-lasting for those outdoor adventures.
Is it an upgrade that Instinct fans should be excited about? We’ve been wearing the Instinct 3 AMOLED to find out.
Price and competition
Pricing for the Instinct 3 is a complicated beast, thanks to Garmin’s decision to offer the Instinct 3 in different sizes (and a choice of two display designs).
If you prefer AMOLED, the 45mm Instinct 3 edition starts at $449.99, with the 50mm model costing an additional $50. Essentially, AMOLED is a $50 premium, and the 45mm Instinct 3 is the move if you want the cheapest model.
If you opt for the 45mm Instinct 3 Solar, it’ll set you back $399.99. Go for the larger 50mm Instinct 3 Solar, and the price jumps to $449.99.
If you’re considering it against Garmin’s other outdoor watch, the Fenix 8, you’ll likely already know there’s a huge price difference. The latest Fenix starts at $999, and even the Fenix E (a device we don’t tend to recommend) isn’t much cheaper at $799.99.
Outside of Garmin’s watches, other outdoor watches are in and around the Instinct 3’s price point. The key competitor is the Amazfit T-Rex 3. It’s cheaper ($279) and includes an AMOLED screen, full mapping support, and up to 27 days battery life.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra ($649), Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799), and Polar Grit X2 Pro ($750) are also options. However, these sit closer to the Fenix range than the Instinct 3 series.
Design and display
The Instinct series has been a welcome addition to the Garmin family, offering a distinctly different design to its siblings.
Like most other Garmin watches and previous Instinct generations, it’s still mainly constructed from polymer. The removable strap also still uses the brand’s fiddly QuickFit bands, which aren’t as quick to remove as Garmin’s other strap options.
There are two sizes again, too. This time, the Instinct 2 and 2X become the Instinct 3 in either 45mm or 50mm options. While the smaller version we had to test has a smaller, lower resolution AMOLED display than its twin, the case around it adds to its stature. It doesn’t live discreetly on the wrist.
The Instinct 3’s look won’t be for everyone, but we’re fans. And we think it looks especially good in the ‘Neotropic’ limited edition shown throughout this review, which channels the more eye-catching designs offered on the Instinct 2 surf edition.
The AMOLED screen is the big story here, though. It’s not the biggest or best color screen you can find on a Garmin watch, but it’s still excellent.
Surprisingly, however, it isn’t a touchscreen. Given the Instinct’s iconic sub-display has been replaced by a digital equivalent, this decision baffled us a bit. After all, every other AMOLED Garmin lets you tap and prod to navigate.
Presenting the sub-display within the user interface feels odd. It simply doesn’t add anything useful to the experience. Yet, all’s not lost if you crave this feature, since it’s still available via the Instinct 3 Solar.
One of the other key differences between the Instinct and Fenix lines is the level of ruggedness and protection.
On the plus side, the Instinct 3 is waterproof up to 100 meters. But, on the negative side, it doesn’t offer the best scratch protection, nor is it suitable to go diving with like the new Fenix. It does feel rugged enough to go on some adventures, isn’t too heavy to wear, and does give you a bright vibrant display.
We also have to mention the LED flashlight, which sits at the top of the watch case. It can be activated by double-tapping the ‘CTRL’ button and the light is surprisingly handy at night and when you would otherwise use your smartphone.
Battery life
AMOLED screens hit battery life harder than memory-in-pixel (MIP) displays, so you do have to accept the Instinct 3 Solar will last longer than the Instinct 3 AMOLED. If you’re comfortable with an outdoor smartwatch that can last a week and go longer if you’re more selective with the features you use, the Instinct 3 AMOLED should give you what you want.
Garmin quotes up to 18 days of battery life in smartwatch mode for the Instinct 3 AMOLED, with this dropping to seven days if the screen is kept on at all times. When you do the latter, we found the battery lasted five days before being prompted to move to the more basic battery-saver mode. Could you get over two weeks of battery life? Possibly, if you weren’t tracking everything available and used the most battery-friendly GPS modes.
In general, GPS battery life performed well. Garmin’s Multi-Band GNSS mode inevitably has a bigger impact on the battery than using its All Systems GPS or dropping down to the max battery or expedition modes. Over an hour of Multi-Band with the AOD enabled saw battery drop by 6-7%, which works out to about 17 hours of battery life. Garmin says that top GPS accuracy should get up to 23 hours.
We didn’t feel massively shortchanged on battery. It’s just not going to last longer than most Fenix 8 AMOLED models in similar testing scenarios. If you want something that can get through a few days when you don’t have access to a plug or a charging outlet, Instinct 3 isn’t going to let you down. It also offers lots of options to keep things running longer when the battery starts getting low.
Training features
Everything we get on the training and analysis front in the Instinct 2 is here again. That includes downloadable training plans, recovery time advice, and classic Garmin insights like Training Load, Training Readiness, and HRV Status.
The new features it gains include Garmin’s more advanced interval training mode and the ability to display metrics like Training Load Focus and Load Ratio. Garmin also adds muscle maps and workout animations to give the Instinct 3 added appeal for the gym and strength training.
Compared to the Fenix 8, the more outdoor-centric stats Endurance Score and Hill Score are scarce. Those glanceable stats will likely be missed by those turning to the Instinct for event training, but less so for those who just want something to take out on hikes and adventures.
The Instinct 3 is still perfectly capable of guiding you through a race plan, though. It can deliver useful metrics, gauge training volume, and advise when to rest and recover. There’s also a host of metrics that, in true Garmin fashion, you’ll probably never look at or need to delve into.
Mapping and navigation
Garmin has again opted not to include the ability to view maps on the Instinct, which is disappointing on two fronts.
It was generally assumed that Instinct 2’s secondary display was the main obstacle to making full maps easily viewable. Yet, though this has now gone (at least on the AMOLED version), full mapping still hasn’t been included.
The fact that cheaper outdoor smartwatches have full mapping support makes this even more disappointing. Granted, they might not match Garmin’s level of customization and settings offers with its mapping support, but you can still get it for less.
Still, the point-to-point navigation and breadcrumb trails offer a strong experience and can generate elevation profiles, provide storm alerts, and feature intuitive back-to-start and trackback modes. Additional outdoor data from the altimeter, barometer, and compass is always a button press away, too.
The Instinct 3’s lack of full maps doesn’t make it entirely useless from a navigation point of view. It just feels that now would’ve been a good time to offer this level of mapping support with the AMOLED screen now in play.
GPS and heart rate accuracy
Garmin has upgraded the Instinct 3 with its Multi-Band GNSS, which grants the users access to its most accurate GPS tracking. The brand’s SatIQ technology also allows the watch to automatically select the GPS mode best suited to the environment.
The optical sensor used to track heart rate and metrics like blood oxygen levels is Garmin’s older Gen 4 sensor, which means you miss out on the new ECG features (and slightly more accurate tracking) offered on watches with the newer Elevate sensor.
On the whole, GPS performance has been solid. We’ve not had to wait achingly long to lock onto a signal in a range of environments, and using it alongside another Garmin with Multi-Band, the GPS tracks are very close to each other.
Dig a little deeper and there are some slightly more wobbly moments, with distance recorded typically a touch longer on the Instinct 3. Metrics like average pace and splits told a similar story.
The heart rate sensor falls into the good category of optical sensors. It handles steady-paced and stationary workouts reasonably well, and data didn’t ever feel wildly out compared to a heart rate monitor chest strap. Unsurprisingly, it suffered more problems in higher-intensity work, but it was never a disaster.
Like many other Garmin watches, continuous monitoring felt perfectly in tune with other watches we’d used to track heart rate. Like Instinct 2, you can also still pair up an external heart rate monitor—and you should do that if you’re following a heart rate-based training plan.
Smartwatch features
If you want top Garmin smartwatch features, the Instinct 3 probably isn’t the watch for you. It still doesn’t have a music player, nor is the microphone/speaker featured on the Fenix 8.
What you get in upgrades compared to Instinct 2 is a boost in overall storage (32GB), and the ability to access the Connect IQ Store from the watch. Adding in the AMOLED makes doing things like reading notifications, scrolling through screens, and widgets a little nicer, but the lack of touchscreen support – again – is a puzzling move.
We’ve been using it with an iPhone and a Samsung Android phone, and the experience across both has been pretty consistent.
Setup and pairing weren’t a problem, the Garmin Connect companion app remained stable, and the on-watch software was relatively easy to get to grips with.
If you’re an Instinct 2 owner, it doesn’t feel like there’s much added in this area besides things being more neatly presented on the AMOLED display.
