Building on the success of its solar charging technology on the fēnix 6X Pro Solar, Garmin announced that it is bringing the technology to new flagship outdoor smartwatches—the Instinct Solar and the fēnix 6/6S Pro Solar.
“In 2019, Garmin pioneered a breakthrough in solar charging technology, introducing the Power Glass to launch the world’s first solar-powered multisport GPS smartwatch, fēnix 6X Pro Solar. This year, we extend this proprietary technology into our well-loved Instinct and the complete fēnix 6 series, catering to the needs of outdoor adventurers and athletes, accompanying them to truly do what they love, longer,” said Scoppen Lin, director, Garmin Asia
Unlike other solar-powered watches that converts the solar energy into electrical energy for single functions such as time, Garmin’s solar charging technology is the only watch which uses the converted electrical energy to support various features such as sport activity modes, GPS, various health sensors such as heart rate, and data calculation.
Garmin’s solar-powered smartwatches work by using a specially designed conductive element on top of a glass panel, creating a multi-layer structure that measure’s a mere 0.5mm thick. The sophisticated structure is able to efficiently convert the light source into electrical energy while maintaining high permeability so that when it is paired with a memory-in-pixel (MIP) display, it retains clear and full-color visibility under bright sunlight.
Garmin’s innovative solar panel technology has rearranged the panel’s conducting cells in a new design so that even when part of the screen is covered by clothing or covered in mud during mountain biking, the smartwatch continues uninterrupted solar charging. This groundbreaking design allows users to enjoy their outdoor activities for longer periods of time, without having to worry that their activity will not be recorded when the battery runs out.
The power manager feature also allows the user to easily toggle the watch functions according to their usage needs for the day, deactivating unused or lesser used functions on low activity level days. This feature allows the user to adapt the device to their lifestyle needs and getting the most out of each power charge.
Instinct Solar for the rugged, outdoor enthusiast
Garmin has incorporated the solar lens technology into its Instinct range of GPS smartwatches to cater to the urban sport enthusiast. With the power manager feature, users can toggle to the battery saver mode to enjoy unlimited battery life on the Instinct Solar and Instinct Solar–Camo Edition, up to 24 days in smartwatch mode indoors and over 54 days with sufficient solar exposure.
In addition to Instinct’s list of outdoor activity and health tracking features, the Instinct Solar series now also includes the body battery feature which analyzes heart rate variability, stress level, sleep quality, and activity data to determine overall energy levels. Another newly added feature is the Pulse Ox (SpO2), a technology which measures blood oxygen saturation—a useful health indicator to monitor during this time of pandemic as the COVID-19 virus can lead to pneumonia infection in which the lung’s air sacs are filled with fluid, leading to a drop in blood oxygen level. A sudden drop in SpO2 levels can indicate early onset of symptoms.
The Instinct Solar is available in graphite and flame red, while the Instinct Solar–Camo Edition is available in graphite camo. The Instinct Solar will retail for PHP 24,995, while the Camo Edition costs PHP 27,995.
fēnix 6/6S Pro Solar series—the ultimate solar-powered smartwatch
The fēnix 6 Pro Solar and fēnix 6S Pro Solar are the newest members of the Garmin flagship outdoor GPS smartwatch line. Featuring Garmin Power Glass solar charging lens and a customizable power manager mode, the fēnix 6/6S Pro Solar watches harness the power of the sun to stay on and remain performance-ready for weeks, so users will have more on-wrist time to enjoy their activities, training features, onboard mapping, music streaming and much more. Expanding the robust activity profiles included in the fēnix series, the new 6/6S Pro Solar series come surf, mountain bike, and indoor climb-ready.
- Surf: Using a Surf Activity profile, fēnix surfers can track total waves, surf time, total time, max speed, and their longest wave. When surfing in front of a Surfline camera, users wearing fēnix 6 Solar Series can upload their surf data to their Surfline account and later view the video of that surfing activity through Surfline Sessions.
- Mountain Bike: Track the details of every ride with mountain biking metrics plus specialized grit and flow measurements that rate trail difficulty and how smoothly a user descends, giving a score to beat next time.
- Indoor Climb: The indoor climb activity profile allows climbers to track their sessions at indoor facilities. Metrics include the number of routes, vertical distance climbed, climbing time, difficultly of each route, and more.
Battery performance for the fēnix 6 Pro Solar in smartwatch mode is up to 14 days indoors and up to 16 days with sufficient solar exposure. For the fēnix 6S Pro Solar, battery performance in smartwatch mode is up to 9 days indoors and up to 10.5 days with sufficient solar exposure
The fēnix 6 Pro Solar is available in black with slate gray band and mineral blue with whitestone band. The fēnix 6S Pro Solar is available in light gold with shale gray band and amethyst steel with shale gray band. The fēnix 6/6S Pro Solar costs PHP 52,995.
The new Garmin solar smartwatches are available at Kinetic.com.ph, Lazada, Shopee, Garmin Brand Stores, and all authorized retailers.