Garmin - Instinct 3 AMOLED

The Garmin Instinct 3 falls closest to your budget and requirements, while maintaining a rugged look ([link to watch on Garmin website](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1316397/). I’ll let others chime in on the Tactix and Enduro - might as well consider the Fenix with a flexible budget.

I would go for either the Instinct 3 or Vivoactive 6. Both new watches are great, no issues. Vivoactive 6 is just in your budget range but isn't very 'rugged', which is the perfect desciption of the instinct 3 (which is a bit more pricey). You can go for the black and white screen of the Instinct E ($299), but the tech is a bit more dated, and if you are coming from an apple watch, im guessing you like the bright screens. Another option is the Epix 2 (refurbished) from amazon for $349 (what I would go for). This is their top of the line watch from a few years ago, but still very advanced with most of the new features. [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1316397/pn/010-02936-00/](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1316397/pn/010-02936-00/) [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1555457/](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1555457/) [https://a.co/d/fs1SPqL](https://a.co/d/fs1SPqL)

I have the instinct 3 AMOLED and it’s been awesome. I received it on August 14th, starting wearing it the 15th and have yet to charge it since. Battery still shows 6 days left which is incredible

No I do the wrist gesture and have it on low light, which is plenty for me and still able to see just fine outside

I was in the same boat last month; I stretched a little bit and bought the Instinct 3 AMOLED. I'm happy with the purchase. What you will miss is the mobile app UI/UX, as well as the watch's. If your main goal is battery, notifications and health, then go for it.

If your sensor should struggle because of the tattoos you can use white epoxy stickers. Before I discovered that I wore my Suunto, Garmin instinct 2, Epix Gen 2 the other way around. But after my both very dark sleeves were finished 6 months ago the heart rate sensor didn't work. Now for the first time in years I wear the new instinct 3 amoled the 'right way', even works with the old Gen 4 sensor. :)

Are you tired of the old-school MIP (memory-in-pixel) watch faces from a decade ago? Do you want your daydreams transformed from monochrome into AMOLED color, eh...? Yes, I have had these same thoughts, which is why I purchased a Garmin EPIX 2.0 nearly two years ago. It was one my favorite timepieces since my first Apple Watch. Nevertheless, I sold it and purchased the Enduro 3 and then they announced the Instinct 3, dang it, far too many temptations online, right? Day Four with the Instinct 3 and... the watch is down to 28% battery life with 2 days left. Wed. 01/22, unboxed around 17:00, AOD enabled, SP02 at night enabled, raise to wake was enabled by default. Left wrist all day with the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar on my right wrist. Thur. 01/23, wore it all day & night Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Fri. 01/24, wore it all night & day Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Sat. 01/25, I woke up with it on my right wrist. The time is now 08:53, 28% battery, and 2 days left even with my one-hour of GPS workouts, what? Why can't Apple or Samsung build watches with battery life like the Garmins? Instinct 3 (right wrist) Instinct 2X (left wrist) Yes, the battery life is great, yes, the screen is bright. And sure, it feels more like a Casio G-Shock with a gorgeous screen or a little sister watch from the Garmin EPIX line. It is comfortable to wear all day and night. The buttons are easy to press and make less clicking noise than the Instinct 2X Solar I purchased over 18 months ago. Yet, what is new and why should you upgrade if you're like me an already have a Garmin Instinct 2X to 2X solar? Reasons to upgrade to the Garmin Instinct 3 1. AMOLED screen with AOD (always-on display) that lasts for six to 10 days 2. it tracks naps now and has the nap timer just like the EPIX 2, Fenix 8, or Enduro 3 3. Body Battery factors - wow, and about time. After a workout, nap, or even low stress, yes, on the watch or in the app, there is a breakdown of your activities with positive or negative details and your body battery is affected. I am unsure at this point if Garmin will release these features to the Instinct 2X models. 4. Louder speaker 5. Faster navigation 6. Faster solar charging...? To be announced 7. Instinct 3 is faster at saving workouts 8. Night Shift - oh yeah, the entire watch interface changes to red, green, or orange. It's such a fun feature to have on a $400.00 watch! 9. The buttons are softer to press and make less noise. 10. Steps on the data screen during workouts 11. Torchlight has a better menu for changing the light from red to white on the Instinct 3, about time, and thank you Garmin! Oh yeah, 11 new features if you buy another MIP Instinct 3 or slightly less if you purchase the AMOLED version like I did from Garmin.com. There are new color options, yet that is standard for Garmin, Apple, Samsung, Amazfit, COROS, Fitbit, Suunto, Polar, and most watch companies. They attempt to entice us every year to upgrade, upgrade, and upgrade. Okay, the Instinct 2X will be two years old soon and yet I don't think there is a need to upgrade. If you're still rocking the first edition of Garmin Instinct Solar, yes, your four-year timepiece needs an update. You'll notice many changes from four years ago, that much I already know. Thank you for reading and for clicking on by... More about this Garmin Instinct 3 (AMOLED) soon. Sincerely, Pietro & Gadgets Anonymous **Update, Sunday, 01/26/2025, 22:50** Yes, I made it to Day Five, my Instinct 3 battery life is at 11% with a 2-day estimate. A pretty radical accomplishment of battery life since those initial days of any new watch are the hardest. In fact, it blows my mind that it made it this far out of the box without a charge and even upgraded the first day. Now, I did have to disable AOD earlier today and the battery life went from 22 hours back up to 2 days. **Monday, 01/27/2025, 07:00** Just to prove a point, yes, I still have yet to plug in this Caribbean-colored Instinct 3 and did a bizarre test last night with my Garmin versus Garmin research. A. Garmin Instinct 3, right forearm, above the flaming red wearable B. Garmin Instinct 2X Solar, right wrist as directed by the manual I slept this way to see how the sleep data reacted. https://preview.redd.it/2rgr8ygm06fe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d8f40294dabead7fc73c82087d33773014b90f7 on https://preview.redd.it/lfe9kygm06fe1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2301f2a3c6d02e7c6d7cd6819afc7af3f852e3f https://preview.redd.it/f1d6g0wp06fe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e6dbb1e7658ab05ec15b1277c11643a499ef20a https://preview.redd.it/rxbbgzvp06fe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84efab89a09127927da79ecec27895542fa939e9 https://preview.redd.it/ynktv2x67hfe1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90df4c9586f905e92f6c4f5e66c40636cf05322b

Thank you, Retro-Ghost-Dad, and I should have brought that up in this article. It is a great feature of the Instinct series. That lovely lip on the bezel around the screen does help protect the screen. The Apple Watches, Google Pixel Watches, Samsung Galaxy Watch7, yes, they all made the same mistake of exposing their screens. I like the Instinct 3 AMOLED slightly more than the Instinct 3 Solar. The screen text is easier for my eyes to read for some reason. Outdoors, yes, the MIP screen is lovely and easier to read in sunlight than when I'm indoors. That being said, yes, I am indoors more often than outside due to life and my career in Quality Assurance. Thanks for the reply and I'll mention the nice feature of a recessed screen in my next review. Here's a photo I snapped of the Instinct 3 Solar earlier this week showcasing your favorite feature: https://preview.redd.it/s2qbede4ajge1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4374d3cc42db9f24e6cb34adac6e8719e3b88d0c

Yes, that is a fantastic choice! I just woke up with both the Instinct 3 45mm AMOLED on my right wrist and the 50mm Instinct 3 Solar on my left wrist. All in all, yes, I like the AMOLED better than the MIP monochrome screen. The Instinct 3 AMOLED has certain features that the solar MIP does not: 1. color 2. easier to read in low light and the text on the screen has a more crisp view 3. steps on the data screens for workouts. I checked yesterday after upgrading the Instinct 3 Solar to software version 6.28 and the steps is not even an option to add to any workouts at this time. 4. Body Battery Factors, yes, both watches collect them and keep track, but only the Instinct 3 AMOLED displays them on the watch. If you want to see how much your workout affects your Body Battery statistics, you'll need to grab your smartphone or log onto a browser. 5. since Garmin has yet to figure out how to implement the Night Shift colors onto their MIP screen watches, yeah, it is a huge bummer. 6. the octagon screen dimensions of the Instinct 3 Solar screen bothers me more than they should 7. the static submarine window on the Instinct 3 Solar, yeah, that also can be annoying at times. I like how it floats and is not always there on the Instinct 3 AMOLED. Thanks for reading my article and commenting. I hope you enjoy your new Garmin smartwatch.

I had a galaxy watch 4 for awhile (I use it because I am an android user) but I got a Venu 2 had it for about 2 years and the battery life was insane and since then I switched to a instinct 3 amoled, and the battery life is even better, I charge maybe every 2 weeks or more. I dont do crazy runs but want to soon. Rn it just tracks walks i do every day

I would definitely go solar too, I much prefer MIP displays, they're insanely visible in direct sunlight, and I don't like having to rotate my wrist to turn the screen on and with the always on display on the battery life is horrible compared to any other instinct. My instinct 1st gen easily gets 2 weeks after years or usage and with a fresh battery the 3 AMOLED will mabey last a week

Second the instinct vote! I have the instinct 3 AMOLEd and it’s a great way to enter the Garmin ecosphere. Higher price point than some of their other watches, but not anywhere close to the Fenix price point. Battery life, even when surfing every day for 2-3hrs a day is around 8 days, 16-18 days if I’m only using the watch as a watch. I’m charging once every 10-14 days atm, depending on activity levels. I wear it constantly and I surf, gym, hike and motocross etc with it. It tracks the lot. Pair it with a decent HRM and you can overlook the older internal HRM on the watch itself.

Even though I've got an Enduro 3 I really enjoy, I got a bit stupid last night and ordered a 45mm AMOLED Instinct 3. I'm a big fan of the Instinct series and, as much as I love my MIP displays, I'm not averse to a nice AMOLED display. I have to say that one of my FAVORITE features that I feel nobody talks about for the Instinct series is how darned recessed the screen is. Sure it isn't sapphire but you'd have to get PRETTY unlucky for anything to accidentally scratch the display on the 2X. The 3 seems similarly protected. When I first started getting into the wacky world of wearables I'll never forget I was trying out a Kospet Rock. Supposedly the thing was a real tank. Nearly indestructible. And then one day I brushed against a wall or doorway, and boom. Deep scratch on the screen. I've been sensitive to non-recessed screens ever since. One of my issues with the Enduro 3. There's a millimeter or two of a lip, but not much. Looking forward to getting a modern, AMOLED Instinct.

You know, it's funny but this sort of echoes my experience, too. My Enduro 3, no matter what I do, sort of maxes out at 3 weeks battery life. My Instinct 3 AMOLED, despite my not having it too long, is on track for darn near that with the AOD turned off. I am on the beta firmware on the Enduro 3 so maybe that plays a part, as well, but even when I wasn't I don't recall it being any better on battery life. All anecdotal, but by your saying that the official predictions for MIP being off but the official predictions for AMOLED being spot-on, I really feel that. Donning my tin-foil hat here, but I wonder if maybe that's intentional to help ease consumers into a post-MIP world.