Continuing on from last year’s update to the Fenix series with the solar-powered Fenix 6X Pro, multisport GPS technology makers Garmin have added three new outdoor smartwatch lines to their collection. These include the Instinct Solar, the Fenix 6 Solar and Tactix Delta Solar (a military-focused watch which we won’t cover in this article).
Last year, Garmin managed to create something they call ‘Power Glass’, a transparent lens that harnesses the sun’s energy to provide additional charge to a watch. It was an innovation that gave their first model to feature it, the Fenix 6X Pro, three additional days of charge. Now, with the release of these three new watches, this tech been further refined and improved, to the extent that Garmin are claiming it has allowed them to achieve a world first in watch technology.
Instinct Solar
In a new watch design from Garmin, the Instinct Solar is the first watch to be able to offer unlimited battery life when used in battery saver mode (providing you’re able to capture enough sun to provide charge, of course).
You’ll also get some phenomenal battery life while using the full functionality of the watch. For instance, when used as a regular smartwatch, you’ll get up to 24 days, or 54 days with solar. With GPS tracking on, you’ll get up to 30 hours, or 38 hours with solar, and finally, in Expedition GPS tracking, it’ll see you through up to 28 days, or 68 days with solar. These times are all assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux (bright) conditions.
As you can see, this watch is equipped with a GPS device that makes use of GPS, GLONASS and Galileo system of satellites (standard from Garmin), meaning you’ll be able to track all of your activities including trail running, hiking, ski touring, among many others.
On top of this, the Instinct Solar is also carrying a wrist-top heart rate monitor (chest heart rate sensor can also be purchased separately for accurate readings) and smartphone pairing, all tied together in a military standard casing that’ll withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 100 metres.
Price: Starting at £350
Weight: 53g
More Info: garmin.com
Fenix 6 Pro Solar
The newest member of the Garmin flagship multisport GPS smartwatch line, the Fenix 6 Pro Solar promises up to 14 days of battery life in its standard mode, and up to 48 days (80 with solar charging) in its power saver mode. Of course, being part of the Fenix family, the 6 Solar offers a wealth of features packed onto this wrist-top computer.
These features include: full mapping with GPS tracking, smartphone compatibility, music storage, contactless payments, hydration tracking and heart rate monitoring, to name just a few.
Price: Starting at £740
Weight: 85g
More Info: garmin.com
