Instinct 3 (Solar, 50mm)

Garmin Instinct 3 (Solar, 50mm) is a watch from 2025, sitting in the premium band at an indicative $399.

It reads 18 of the 33 signals this comparison tracks. Full coverage of activity. Nothing at all from body composition. Rarer readings it does take: Body Battery.

By sensor class: 10 at high accuracy and 3 at consumer grade. That grade is my classification of the hardware, not a lab test. Those readings come from an optical heart rate sensor, an optical blood oxygen sensor, a GPS receiver, a barometer and an accelerometer. Blood oxygen is measured during sleep, not continuously through the day.

Its 40 days per charge are the 2nd longest of the 74 devices of its kind here that publish a figure. The transflective MIP screen can stay always on. Multi-band GPS. Rated 10ATM, fine for swimming. It weighs 58 g. On top of the tracking it also handles contactless payments. Case size 50mm. No subscription is required.

Display/battery variant catalogued for the buy comparison; health-signal capability mirrors Instinct 3 (AMOLED, 45mm).