Garmin Instinct 3 Review

Introduction

Garmin continues its quest to bring AMOLED screens to its sporty smartwatches with the Garmin Instinct 3, the rugged, more affordable alternative to the popular Fenix 8.

AMOLED screen aside, Garmin is also taking the opportunity to update the new Instinct with its latest multi-band GPS technology, boosting storage and enhancing the Instinct’s smartwatch powers.

The Instinct 2 was a solid performer, and with the addition of a colour display, it gives Instinct fans an outdoor watch that feels more like a smartwatch.

Design and screen

• Choice of AMOLED or solar charging displays 
• 45mm and 50mm case sizes
• Waterproof up to 100 metres

Like Garmin did with its Fenix line, the Instinct 3 either comes with an AMOLED or solar charging display. Grab it with an AMOLED screen and it’s the more expensive buy of the two, but you do benefit from this year’s key upgrade.

You can also grab the watch in a couple of different case sizes. The Instinct 3 AMOLED and solar models are both available in 45mm or 50mm sizes. There’s also an Instinct E just to further confuse matters, representing the cheapest and smallest available model of Instinct you can buy.

I had the 45mm AMOLED Instinct 3 strapped to my wrist in its limited edition Neotropic colourway that shows Garmin is still willing to be a bit more adventurous with the colour schemes for its cheaper outdoor smartwatch. The partnered 22mm strap continues that more playful theme and uses one of Garmin’s trickier mechanisms if you want to swap in a new strap.

It’s dominated by the polymer and aluminium bezel that surrounds its good-sized 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 resolution AMOLED display. 

That’s not the largest or highest resolution AMOLED panel you’ll find on a Garmin watch, yet it’s still sharp, colourful and bright enough to glance down at. That display is protected by chemically strengthened glass, not the tougher Gorilla or Sapphire glass you find on more expensive Garmin watches.

Moving to a new display technology sees Garmin ditch the sub-display from previous models –  though this sticks around on the solar version of the Instinct 3. Instead, the sub-display lives on through the rejigged user interface that gives you the familiar feeling of older Instinct models. 

There are five physical buttons dotted around the case to navigate the watch software, because rather bizarrely, you don’t get touchscreen functionality on that colourful display. The buttons are also a little on the stiff side, even after a week of constant use. 

Embedded within the top of the case is an LED flashlight, and it’s a bright one too. You can activate it from the quick settings or double-tap the top left physical button to toggle it on or off. 

What I once thought was a bit of a gimmick when Garmin first started adding to its watches now proves quite useful. It’s great for getting around my room at night without turning on the lights and when I’m out at night and don’t want to reach for my smartphone torch.

Its durability underwater remains the same as the Instinct 2, slapped with a 10 ATM rating. That means you’re getting a watch that can survive in water up to 100 metres deep. You’re not going to want to take it diving, but for pool and open water swims, it’s more than up to the task.

Software and smartwatch features

• New user interface
• Adds on-watch Connect IQ Store
• Doesn’t include a microphone or speaker

There might be a new display, but Garmin doesn’t make wholesale changes to how the Instinct 3 behaves as a smartwatch. 

This is still a watch where you can easily view notifications from either an iPhone or Android phone, with Android users now able to view images in some notifications. The Morning Reports once again offer digestible summaries of key stats like sleep and training condition, and Garmin’s Glances lets you prioritise the data that you want to see on a regular basis. 

There’s Garmin Pay for contactless payments, but if you want a music player, you’re sadly out of luck. Instead, you make use of the now larger 32GB of storage to install apps, data fields and watch faces from the Connect IQ Store – a feature now accessible directly from the watch itself.

Garmin also opted against including its latest voice-centric features like Bluetooth calling and a voice recorder. However, I don’t think is going to be a deal breaker for most, who should be largely happy with what’s on offer in the software department.

That said, the software experience isn’t identical to the one featured on the Fenix 8 AMOLED. I find it slightly odd that, despite dropping the sub-display for the AMOLED Instinct 3, Garmin still retains the sub-display layout in the user interface. It really doesn’t seem to add much value in this form. 

Using the Instinct 3 is pretty straightforward and very Garmin at least. Power users can dig deep to find optional settings and modes, but it’s simple enough for even casual users to start a workout, read a notification, check the weather or look at training insights.

As mentioned earlier, the lack of a touchscreen is truly puzzling. There were more than a few occasions where I went to swipe on the display, as I’ve done on every other Garmin AMOLED watch, with no response from the screen. 

With the sub-display no longer available, touchscreen functionality makes way more sense – though this could be about consistency with the solar model of Instinct 3 that still uses the sub-display. Either way, it makes for a slightly odd user experience on an AMOLED display.

Fitness tracking

• Added multi-band GPS
• Garmin’s latest sleep insights
• Workout animations and muscle maps

Garmin stays true to the Instinct’s outdoor-centric roots. Its core sports modes cover running, cycling, swimming (pool and open water) and golf. For lovers of the outdoors, there’s data about tides and sun and moon activity, with glanceable widgets on the watch to display those more adventure-centric stats. 

In terms of headline changes, Garmin has added its latest multi-band GPS technology and bolstered its indoor training and sleep monitoring capabilities. It’s good to see multi-band support, and like other Garmin watches I’ve tested, offers a nice bump in GPS accuracy. 

Garmin’s older Gen 4 Elevate sensor takes care of heart rate monitoring, though this means you miss out on the ECG support offered on Garmin’s Gen 5 sensor setup. 

In general, the heart rate sensor performed well during workouts and for continuously monitoring heart rate day and night. Picking up the intensity unsurprisingly sees that accuracy falter more, so I’d be taking the option of pairing an external heart rate monitor if you care about getting the most accurate workout HR data.

One disappointing omission, especially given this is an outdoor watch with an AMOLED screen, is the lack of full maps. Garmin sticks to offering the same, simpler breadcrumb navigation with the ability to upload and import routes to the watch via the Garmin Connect app. 

That simpler navigation is effective enough to help point you in the right direction or get you back home. But when you consider that cheaper outdoor watches like the Amazfit T-Rex 3 offer full maps, you can’t help wondering if Garmin should have included it on the pricier Instinct 3.

Despite being a watch for those who like to explore the outside world, Garmin has given the Instinct 3 new indoor features we’ve seen on other recently launched Garmin watches. 

The first is the improved workout support. Essentially, when you download workouts from the companion Connect app, you’ll see animated prompts to help you perform moves correctly. Garmin also bolstered strength training with the ability to view muscle maps in the Connect app to give you a visual cue whether you’ve neglected your leg days.

Another new addition worth highlighting is the addition of a multisport mode to make it better suited to use for triathlons. It also includes Garmin’s more advanced interval training mode for those who take their speed work more seriously. 

It’s once again a jam-packed outdoor watch where the core experience is solid, but I can’t help thinking Garmin could’ve squeezed in one or two features it’s reserved for its more expensive outdoor watches.

Battery life 

• Up to 18 days in smartwatch mode
• Up to 7 days with always-on display mode
• Up to 16 days in Expedition GPS mode

The Instinct 3 is a smartwatch that Garmin says can last for weeks. Getting weeks out of it entirely depends on factors like whether you choose to keep the screen on at all times, use all available continuous wellbeing monitoring features or use the most accurate GPS mode.

Garmin says the 45mm Instinct 3 model will last up to 18 days in smartwatch mode, so without using any heavy tracking features essentially. If you keep the AMOLED screen on 24/7, that drops to seven days. And if you’re using that new multi-band GPS tech, you can enjoy anywhere between 23 hours and 16 days. 

The latter is when you’re using its Expedition GPS mode, which sees a reduction in overall accuracy in exchange for ensuring it can track multi-day or even week-long adventures.

I’ve been using it with a mixture of raise-to-wake screen mode and also setting the screen to always-on. I’ve also mainly been using the most accurate multiband GPS mode and found that, even with the addition of an AMOLED screen, it can comfortably last a week between charges. 

Using the always-on display mode sees that drop significantly, and with regular GPS and workout tracking, it was closer to 5 days than the promised 7 days.

It means that, while the Instinct 3 doesn’t last longer than the Instinct 2 with its more power-efficient display technology, it does put in a respectable performance that ensures you’re not charging it every few days.

Should you buy it?

FAQs