Garmin Instinct 2 Solar vs Fitbit Inspire 3
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: 2022
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: 2022
🏃 Activity
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is a purpose-built, rugged outdoor GPS smartwatch designed for extended adventures and comprehensive activity tracking, featuring enhanced battery life through solar charging. It accurately tracks steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with customizable daily goals. Its extensive activity profiles are tailored for a wide range of outdoor pursuits, offering reliable data for prolonged training and exploration in demanding environments.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Fitbit Inspire 3 delivers essential activity tracking, accurately logging steps, distance, and calories burned. Its Active Zone Minutes feature is particularly valuable, guiding users to optimize workout intensity by monitoring time spent in personalized heart rate zones. Real-time progress updates and configurable movement reminders actively support the user in achieving daily activity targets, promoting consistent engagement with fitness goals.
❤️ Health Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: This device provides continuous heart rate monitoring, stress tracking, and detailed sleep tracking for insights into daily well-being and recovery. The integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for blood oxygen saturation monitoring, particularly useful for altitude acclimatization and assessing physiological status during extended demanding activities, supported by consistent power from solar input.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Beyond basic heart rate monitoring via PurePulse technology, the Inspire 3 offers crucial health insights. Continuous 24/7 heart rate tracking provides valuable data on resting heart rate trends. Integrated SpO2 monitoring allows for tracking blood oxygen levels, a key indicator for overall wellness and potential sleep disturbances. The inclusion of guided breathing exercises provides practical tools for stress management, enhancing the device's holistic health focus.
🔋 Battery Life
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: A key highlight of the Instinct 2 Solar is its exceptional battery life, significantly extended by solar charging. It provides up to 28 days in smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours with continuous GPS active, with the potential for virtually unlimited battery life in smartwatch mode with sufficient solar exposure, making it an ideal companion for multi-week expeditions where charging is impractical.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: A standout feature is the exceptional battery life, offering up to 10 days on a single charge. This longevity minimizes downtime for charging, ensuring continuous tracking of activity and sleep, which is a significant advantage for users prioritizing uninterrupted data collection.
😴 Sleep Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: Sleep tracking on the Instinct 2 Solar monitors sleep stages and provides valuable insights into sleep quality, contributing to a better understanding of recovery. The data, combined with other metrics like Body Battery, helps users optimize their rest and training, with reliable overnight tracking ensured by the efficient battery management and solar capabilities.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Advanced sleep stage tracking (light, deep, and REM) coupled with a comprehensive Sleep Score provides detailed insights into sleep architecture and quality. Personalized sleep recommendations empower users to identify areas for improvement. The Smart Wake function, utilizing subtle vibrations, aims to rouse users during an optimal sleep stage for a more refreshed start.
📍 GPS Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Instinct 2 Solar provides accurate outdoor activity tracking without needing a paired smartphone. It supports multiple satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) for reliable positioning in diverse and challenging terrains, essential for navigation and route tracking during extended outdoor excursions.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: While lacking integrated GPS, the Inspire 3 leverages connected GPS through a paired smartphone. This allows for accurate real-time pace and distance tracking during outdoor activities like running, walking, and cycling, providing essential data for these workouts when your phone is with you.
🏋️ Workout Modes
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Instinct 2 Solar supports a wide variety of workout modes beyond standard running and cycling, including profiles for hiking, climbing, swimming, strength training, tactical activities, and more, providing relevant metrics for each activity, with the battery capacity to track even the longest sessions.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Supporting a diverse range of activities, the Inspire 3 includes dedicated modes for running, cycling, swimming, yoga, HIIT, and strength training. These modes provide real-time statistics, such as heart rate, calorie expenditure, and active minutes, enabling users to monitor performance and optimize training efficiency.
💫 Exercise Recognition
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities like walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring these movements are captured in the activity log even when a specific workout isn't manually started, contributing to seamless and comprehensive tracking over extended periods.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The implementation of SmartTrack technology provides seamless automatic detection and recording of common exercises, including walking, running, cycling, and elliptical training. This functionality ensures comprehensive activity logging, even when manual workout initiation is overlooked.
🍎 Compatibility
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Instinct 2 Solar is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications, ensuring connectivity is maintained even during prolonged periods in the outdoors.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Ensuring broad accessibility, the Inspire 3 is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms, utilizing Bluetooth for synchronization. Google Fast Pair is supported for streamlined setup on Android devices, simplifying the initial connection process.
📲 App Support
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app provides users with detailed analysis of activity data, performance metrics, and health statistics. The app allows for planning routes, customizing watch settings, and connecting with the Garmin community, leveraging the extensive data collected by the watch during extended use.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Fitbit app serves as a robust central hub for comprehensive data analysis, offering detailed visualizations of activity, sleep patterns, and key health metrics. Seamless integration with popular third-party platforms such as Google Fit, Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and Strava facilitates a unified fitness ecosystem.
💡 Smart Features
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: Beyond its rugged outdoor focus, the Instinct 2 Solar includes practical smart functionalities such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It also features a barometric altimeter for accurate altitude tracking, a crucial tool for hikers and climbers, all powered for the long haul by solar charging.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Core smart functionalities include on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and various applications, enhancing connectivity without requiring constant phone access. Essential utilities like Do Not Disturb mode, silent alarms, and customizable watch faces contribute to personalization and user convenience.
💦 Water Resistance
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: With a robust water resistance rating of 100 meters (10 ATM), the Instinct 2 Solar is built to withstand swimming, showering, and various water activities, making it a durable and reliable device for watersports and wet environments encountered during outdoor adventures.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: With a water resistance rating of 5 ATM (up to 50 meters), the Inspire 3 is engineered to withstand swimming, showering, and general water exposure. It effectively tracks swim duration and estimated calorie burn during water-based activities.
⌚ Display Quality
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Instinct 2 Solar features a monochrome, sunlight-readable, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display with an integrated solar charging lens. While not a color screen, this display offers excellent contrast and unparalleled readability in direct sunlight, which is essential for outdoor use, and is highly power-efficient, directly contributing to its exceptional battery life.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The bright, full-color AMOLED touchscreen offers excellent visibility, even in challenging lighting conditions, and supports an always-on display mode for at-a-glance information access. Customizable clock faces allow users to tailor the visual interface to their preference.
👌 Ease of Use
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The device utilizes a five-button interface, designed for reliable operation and easy navigation through menus and data screens, particularly useful in challenging conditions or while wearing gloves. This button-based interface prioritizes functionality and durability over touchscreen complexity for demanding outdoor use.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Featuring an intuitive touchscreen interface, the Inspire 3 is designed for straightforward navigation. The lightweight form factor combined with the user-centric Fitbit app ensures a frictionless experience for tracking and interpreting health and fitness data.
✨ Design and Comfort
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Instinct 2 Solar features a rugged and durable design built to withstand tough outdoor conditions, incorporating the solar charging lens seamlessly into the display. Its construction prioritizes resilience, while the comfortable silicone band ensures suitability for extended wear during activities and throughout multi-day excursions.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The design prioritizes comfort and a modern aesthetic. Its slim and lightweight profile, coupled with a soft silicone band, is optimized for continuous wear. The availability of interchangeable bands in various materials allows for personalization to suit individual style and comfort preferences.
🩸 SpO2 Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep and at altitude. This feature provides valuable data for assessing acclimatization and overall physiological well-being in varied environments, with continuous monitoring supported by the extended battery life.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The integrated SpO2 sensor provides valuable data on blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep, offering insights that can be indicative of respiratory function and overall well-being during rest.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: It is important to note that the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: It is important to note that the Inspire 3 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) monitoring, a feature present in some higher-end models.
🧘 Stress Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Instinct 2 Solar tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress, contributing to a more complete picture of their daily physiological state and recovery, essential for sustained performance in challenging situations.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Stress levels are monitored through the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The device provides access to guided breathing exercises, offering practical tools to help users manage stress and promote mindfulness.
🩹 Recovery Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: The Body Battery energy monitoring feature provides insights into the body's energy reserves based on activity, stress, and sleep data, helping users understand their physiological readiness for training or the need for rest. This is a key feature for optimizing recovery in demanding training cycles and extended trips, with reliable data available due to the device's battery performance.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Daily Readiness Score provides a data-driven assessment of the body's recovery status, leveraging insights from sleep quality, recent activity levels, and heart rate variability to guide decisions on training intensity or necessary rest.
💳 Subscription
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Instinct 2 Solar are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality or advanced tracking features, providing comprehensive and enduring value for a rugged, outdoor-focused device with exceptional solar-enhanced battery life.
2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Core functionalities are accessible without a subscription. However, access to advanced features, including in-depth sleep analytics, personalized health insights, and a wider array of guided workouts, necessitates a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99/month or $79.99/year).
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: $399.99
Check Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Price *2️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: $99.95
Check Fitbit Inspire 3 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you