With the Garmin Instinct Solar, the outfit finally had a GPS sports watch that can refill its battery from exposure to sunlight. Problem is, it uses up so much power it’s impossible to use it without charging when you have activity tracking running full time. The Garmin Instinct Solar 2 looks to improve on that solar charging performance.
Unlike its predecessor, which can only run on pure solar power in battery saver mode, the new sports watch boasts the ability to run continuously on “smartwatch mode,” which has activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, health monitoring, and sleep tracking running. That’s right, so long as you don’t activate the GPS, it can keep running without needing to be plugged in, so it’s quite the upgrade from the battery performance of the previous iteration. At least, that’s the promise in ideal conditions.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is a solar-charging GPS sports watch with a monochrome MIP screen that’s split into two display windows, a main round panel in the center of the case and a smaller round one on the upper right corner. It’s a clever layout that allows you to display detailed information on the main window and notification icons on the smaller one, allowing it to show more information without cluttering the main screen.
As with the outfit’s other GPS sports watches, it’s designed as a training tool that can monitor activity stats, heart rate, VO2 max, and various other metrics. It has built-in sports apps for different types of activities, from various types of running, cycling, and swimming to golf, gym workouts (strength training, HIIT, yoga, indoor rowing, and more), and all sorts of outdoor sports (climbing, kayaking, skiing, hunting, and more). Basically, you can have it monitor most activities you’ll pursue in a more detailed manner than it can with the standard activity tracking mode.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar can provide daily workout suggestions that takes your previous activities and current fitness level into account, all while suggesting proper recovery periods, so you’ll know how long to rest before going back out. It can also track your stress levels, energy reserves, oxygen levels, sleep cycles, and general health levels. For outdoor recreation, it uses the onboard GPS to offer point-to-point navigation, trackback mapping, and other familiar navigation features, so you ca use it to help you out in hikes and other outdoor adventures.
Will you really not have to charge this? You probably still do. The continuous smartwatch mode function they’re touting, for instance, still requires sun exposure in 50,000 lux conditions for three hours a day. If that much sunlight doesn’t present itself, the battery can provide up to 28 days of smartwatch mode or 30 hours of GPS mode between charges, with the solar charging extending it here and there. Other features include a 45mm case, 10ATM of water resistance, safety assistance, and, of course, various smartwatch features when paired with a smartphone (notifications, messaging, music controls).
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is available now, priced at $449.99.