Garmin Instinct 2 Solar vs Withings ScanWatch 2
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: 2022
2️⃣ Withings ScanWatch 2: 2023
🏃 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The Withings ScanWatch 2 is a sophisticated hybrid smartwatch designed to seamlessly blend medical-grade health monitoring with elegant design and activity tracking. It accurately records steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, providing insights into your daily movement alongside advanced health metrics. Its activity tracking supports various sports with a focus on overall wellness and fitness trends.
❤️ 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: This device is a powerful health monitor, featuring continuous heart rate tracking, SpO2 measurement for blood oxygen levels, and an impressive ability to take on-demand ECG readings to detect signs of atrial fibrillation. A key feature is its ability to track body temperature variations and perform a respiratory scan during the night, offering comprehensive health insights from the wrist.
🔋 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The ScanWatch 2 boasts an exceptional battery life of up to 30 days on a single charge. This significantly longer duration compared to traditional smartwatches ensures uninterrupted health monitoring and activity tracking, making it ideal for users who prioritize longevity and consistent 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: Advanced sleep tracking on the ScanWatch 2 provides detailed analysis of sleep stages (light, deep, and REM), sleep duration, and sleep quality. It incorporates SpO2 and body temperature data collected during the night to offer deeper insights into respiratory health during sleep and overall recovery, contributing to informed decisions about rest and training.
📍 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The Withings ScanWatch 2 does not have built-in GPS. It relies on a connected GPS feature, utilizing the GPS from a paired compatible smartphone to accurately track outdoor activities like walking and running, providing pace and distance data 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The ScanWatch 2 supports multiple workout modes for tracking various physical activities such as walking, running, cycling, and swimming. It displays essential real-time statistics on the small digital display, offering a blend of analog watch style and digital tracking functionality.
💫 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The device includes automatic exercise recognition for common activities like walking and running, ensuring that these basic movements are captured in your activity log without requiring manual initiation, contributing to a complete record of daily physical activity.
🍎 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The Withings ScanWatch 2 is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth to the Withings (formerly Health Mate) app for seamless data synchronization and comprehensive health analysis.
📲 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: Synchronization with the comprehensive Withings app is central to the ScanWatch 2 experience, providing a detailed dashboard for reviewing all collected health data, including ECG waveforms, SpO2 trends, temperature variations, and activity logs. The app offers insights and personalized coaching to help users understand their health metrics and make informed decisions.
💡 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: Beyond its primary focus on health monitoring and traditional watch design, the ScanWatch 2 provides essential smart notifications for calls, texts, and app alerts on its integrated digital display. It maintains a minimalist approach to smart features, prioritizing health functions.
💦 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: With a water resistance rating of 50 meters (5 ATM), the ScanWatch 2 is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a durable companion for everyday wear and various water activities without concern for damage.
⌚ 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The ScanWatch 2 features a traditional analog watch face with a small integrated grayscale OLED display. This digital screen is discreetly placed and provides clear, readable information for notifications, health metrics, and activity data when needed, balancing classic aesthetics with digital functionality.
👌 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The device offers a user-friendly interface controlled primarily through the crown and a physical button, complemented by the integrated digital display for navigating options and viewing data. The intuitive design and seamless syncing with the Withings app make managing health data straightforward.
✨ 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: The Withings ScanWatch 2 features an elegant and comfortable design, closely resembling a traditional wristwatch with analog hands. It is made from premium materials and is designed for comfortable all-day and all-night wear, allowing for continuous health monitoring without the appearance of a bulky smartwatch.
🩸 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: An integrated SpO2 sensor is a key health feature, allowing for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels on demand and during sleep. This provides valuable data for assessing respiratory health and contributes to the device's advanced sleep analysis.
💖 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: A significant health capability of the ScanWatch 2 is its ability to take on-demand Electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. This allows users to check for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and share the results with healthcare professionals, offering valuable heart health monitoring.
🧘 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: While not providing a specific "stress score," the ScanWatch 2 contributes to understanding stress through its continuous monitoring of heart rate variability (HRV) and sleep patterns, providing data within the app that can help users identify stress triggers and their impact on physiological state.
🩹 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: Recovery insights are provided through the Withings app based on analyzed sleep patterns, heart rate variability (HRV), and potentially body temperature data collected during the night. This helps users understand their body's readiness for activity and optimize rest and recovery periods.
💳 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 Withings ScanWatch 2: No subscription is required to access the core health features and data tracked by the ScanWatch 2, including ECG and SpO2 readings, through the Withings app. Premium features or deeper insights may be offered through optional services in the future, but essential functionality is free.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Instinct 2 Solar: $399.99
Check Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Price *2️⃣ Withings ScanWatch 2: $299.00
Check Withings ScanWatch 2 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you