Garmin Instinct 2S Solar: A mid-range smartwatch that crams features into its subtle form
Garmin Instinct 2S Solar: A mid-range smartwatch that crams features into its subtle form
The Instinct 2S is smack dab in the middle of the pack. It's light and sturdy, with enough features to compete with some of the more costly watches, but it makes a few concessions to keep the price down.
It is, however, not a budget option, since it costs €449.
The Instinct 2S Solar is smaller and lighter than Garmin's other smartwatches. It's tough, with a water resistance of up to 100 metres and thermal and shock resistance. The lightweight case is composed of fibre-reinforced polymer and features scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, but mine did get a few minor scratches during the testing.
The display is not touch sensitive and has a high contrast ratio, with controls confined to five buttons on the case. While this may appear to be a step backward in an era of high-resolution colour displays that respond to every touch, it actually works pretty well in this situation. Even in the brightest sunshine, it can be seen, and there are no inadvertent touches or swipes.
It's also jam-packed with sensors. There's a three-axis electronic compass, an altimeter for elevation data, and a barometer for weather. It supports numerous global navigation satellite systems, including GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, and if you're using GPS to track a run, you can go backwards to avoid becoming trapped.
If running isn't your thing, the watch can also track cycling, high-intensity interval training, and other activities like yoga, Pilates, and surfing. It will even encourage you to exercise and provide recommendations for what you should do that day based on your fitness objectives. It will also monitor your VO2 Max and tell you your fitness age based on a variety of parameters, as well as provide advise on how to reduce it even further.
The Instinct 2S will measure your heart rate, sleep and stress levels, and use its body battery feature to keep track of your energy levels, as expected. It will also check your oxygen levels in your blood.
It's a lot to expect of a watch's battery, so how does it fare? That's pretty good.
The charger, like all Garmins, is proprietary, but you aren't obligated to use it. The Instinct 2S Solar is also fueled by solar energy, as the name implies, so you won't have to rely on your main charger for days at a time. It results in extremely long battery life, depending on what you're doing with the watch. Even when topped up by solar, too much GPS use will quickly deplete the battery.
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