Garmin continues to introduce innovation in its smartwatches and has now introduced a solar-powered Garmin Instinct 2 series. The series is built for ‘rugged individuals’ and comes with a twist with unlimited battery life.
The watches are available in two sizes – the base model with 45mm diameter and the Instinct 2S unit with 40mm for those with smaller wrists.
The Garmin Instinct 2 series builds on the original with a higher resolution display of 176 x 176 pixels, up from 128 x 128 pixels. The display size of the smartwatch remains 0.9” by 0.9” square on the 45mm models and 0.79” x 0.79” on the 40 mm ones.
The two sizes are both available in non-solar versions and solar versions. There are also sub-models designed for recreational activities and even serious professions.
Garmin continues to outdo itself and has introduced 240 different color combinations. Moreover, the Instincts make use of monochrome transflective memory-in-pixel LCD for legibility and longer battery life.
The extra resolution helps when rendering some of the complex widgets you can have on the watches.
The Garmin Connect IQ store allows the user to download apps and widgets on the watch to customize all your work and exercise needs.
Garmin borrowed hardware and software from its wearable lines, including the new solar panel and heart rate sensors.
The watches are equipped with satellite positioning including GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, as well as ABC sensors that include the Altimeter, Barometer and Compass, and a thermometer.
An optical heart rate and blood-oxygen saturation sensor are also included.
The Garmin Instinct 2 series also features Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity, allowing the watch to read data from other sensors, for e.g. a more accurate chest strap heart rate monitor, but also to send its own data to for e.g. a Peloton stationary bike.
Garmin Pay is, however, only available on Solar watches.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar watch can be indefinitely used without charging, assuming the smartwatch is used 3 hours a day outside in 50,000 lux conditions. At noon in the summer, the ambient light can go over 100,000 lux.
The 45mm Solar watches can run indefinitely in smartwatch mode, while the 40mm ones can only do so in battery saver mode.
Besides the base watches, special edition watches are also included. The Tactical Edition is marketed towards military personnel and includes a Kill Switch (that wipes all data on the watch), Stealth Mode, Night Vision Goggle Compatibility, and Dual Format Position Coordinates.
Another special edition – the Dēzl edition – is aimed towards professional truck drivers. While the Surf edition is for those who enjoy watersports, such as surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding.
The Garmin Instinct 2 watches start at a retail price of $350.