Instinct E (45mm)

Garmin Instinct E (45mm) is a watch from 2025, sitting in the budget band at an indicative $249.

It reads 16 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 a spot reading you take yourself, not a continuous one.

Its 16 days per charge are the 33rd longest of the 76 devices of its kind here that publish a figure. The transflective MIP screen can stay always on. Built-in GPS. Rated 10ATM / 100m, fine for swimming. It weighs 48 g. Case size 45mm. No subscription is required.

Cheapest Instinct, January 2025. Keeps the barometer and HRV status but drops solar, multiband GNSS, Garmin Pay, training load and Training Readiness.