CES 2025: Garmin Releases Instinct 3 Series With Updated Screen and Built-in Flashlights
Garmin makes more variations on the smartwatch theme than anyone else, and the Instinct series is a line that puts battery life first (with a little help from solar charging). Three years after the Instinct 2 series was first introduced, Garmin introduced the Instinct 3 models at CES 2025.
The header feature here is the updated screen version. One of the main reasons the Instinct 2 offers such good battery life is that it uses low-resolution monochrome MIP displays: these displays are still available in the Instinct 3 series, but there are now models with bright full-color AMOLED displays. (more information can be found in our guide to MIP and AMOLED ).
If you opt for the Instinct 3’s monochrome MIP display, the screen will be slightly larger than the Instinct 2’s, and you’ll also get solar charging, theoretically giving you unlimited battery life (assuming you live in a sunny part of the world). ). Garmin says the new watch has an improved solar charging panel, giving you (for example) more than five times the battery life in GPS mode when solar charging on its largest setting.
Opt for an AMOLED screen and you won’t get solar charging or the same long battery life, but you will get full-color displays. Garmin says AMOLED models in “smartwatch mode” (with most features enabled but no GPS) can last up to 24 days on battery life. For the MIP Solar model, this is up to 40 days, and if you’re always in sunny weather and never push your watch too hard, you may never have to charge it again.
As always, battery life will depend on a variety of factors, not just the screen, so take these as estimates rather than guarantees. Like the Instinct 2 models, the Instinct 3 smartwatch comes with different battery modes, so you can decide whether to prioritize features and performance or battery life.
Both the monochrome MIP and AMOLED variants are available in 45mm or 50mm sizes, and all models have a built-in flashlight and a reinforced metal frame. First introduced in the Instinct 2X, the flashlight is now available on all Instinct 3 models and has a neat trick: you can set it to a strobe mode, which can come in handy when you need to make yourself visible during a late-night run. at night, for example.
There is also a more affordable Instinct E model, available in 40mm and 45mm sizes, which has a monochrome MIP display but lacks solar charging, flashlight and metal frame. However, it still offers many of the same fitness tracking and navigation tricks, so it’s worth weighing in if you’re on a smaller budget and like the aesthetics of the Garmin Instinct.
Of course, all the usual Instinct benefits carry over to the new line, including 10 ATM water resistance and military-grade MIL-STD 810 heat and shock resistance. The rather unusual screen layout continues on the MIP models (and is available as an option on AMOLED watch faces) with a slight a screen within a screen in one corner that can be configured to display various statistics. or indicators.
There aren’t any new sensors on the Instinct 3, but there hasn’t been much need for an upgrade here either: as before, the watch can track a host of health and fitness stats (including heart rate variability and blood oxygen saturation), while also offering GPS and compass navigation , contactless payments and smart notifications from your phone.
Tempted to buy it? Orders open January 10 onthe Garmin website , with prices starting at $449.99 for the AMOLED 45mm model, $399.99 for the MIP Solar 45mm model, and $299.99 for the Instinct E 40mm model. The main color option is black/charcoal, but a number of limited edition options will also be available.