Garmin has today announced the expansion of its solar charging technology to its Instinct, fēnix 6 and 6S and tactix Delta adventure and multisport smartwatches.
Building on the success of Garmin’s the first solar charging multisport watch, the fēnix 6X – Pro Solar, these new solar editions allow customers to ‘Do What They Love Longer’ through significantly increased battery life and new purpose-built functionality including surf, mountain biking and climbing activities.
“Garmin’s multisport GPS watches are the choice for athletes and adventurers willing to push themselves through the next mile or over the next mountain,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Sales.
“Using our solar capabilities, the new Instinct, fēnix 6 and 6S, and tactix Delta solar watches provide extraordinary battery life and give customers the ability to follow their passion to the sunset and further.
“In addition to the solar charging capabilities, these editions are full of updated and unique features. From new camouflage design patterns to surfing activity profiles, there is something for everyone.”
fēnix 6 Series – Solar Editions
The fēnix 6S Pro Solar and fēnix 6 Pro Solar are the newest members of the Garmin flagship multisport GPS smartwatch line.
Featuring Garmin Power Glass solar charging lens and a customisable Power Manager mode, fēnix 6 Series – Solar Editions harness the power of the sun. Expanding the robust activity profiles included in the fēnix series, the fēnix 6 and 6S Solar editions come surf, mountain bike and indoor climb-ready.
Surf: Using a Surf Activity profile, also found on Instinct Solar – Surf Edition, 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 or Instinct surf-compatible watches can upload their surf to their Surfline account and later view video of that surfing activity through Surfline Sessions.
Mountain Bike: Using the new ‘Grit and Flow’ activity, individuals can track the details of every ride with mountain biking metrics, plus specialised grit and flow measurements that rate trail difficulty and how smoothly users descend, giving a unique 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.
The fēnix 6S Pro Solar battery performance in smartwatch mode is up to nine days indoors and up to 10.5 days with sufficient solar exposure, while 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.
The fēnix 6 Series – Solar Editions also includes Advanced Sleep Monitoring, which provides a detailed breakdown of user’s light, deep and REM sleep stages as well as Pulse Ox and respiration data.
This can be viewed on a dedicated widget that includes stress score and sleep insights. Out of the box, the fēnix 6 series includes TopoActive Europe maps for outdoor adventures, ski maps for over 2,000 ski resorts worldwide and over 41,000 golf courses.
The fēnix 6 series features Garmin Pay and on-device music storage of up to 2,000 songs, allowing users to sync playlists from several of the most popular music services (subscription may be required), no phone required.
tactix Delta – Solar Edition
The tactix Delta – Solar Edition is the fourth generation of the tactix family, which is developed on the fēnix series platform. Built to military standards (MIL-STD-810), the tactix Delta – Solar Edition uses solar charging to extend battery life and Power Manager mode to provide up to 21 days indoors and up to 24 days with sufficient solar exposure.
The tactix Delta – Solar Edition includes stealth mode, which disables location sharing and wireless connectivity, and a kill switch to wipe all user memory. The rugged design features an always-on 1.4” display, scratch-resistant sapphire lens, black DLC-coated steel bezel, black PVD-coated steel rear cover and all-new military-inspired black tactical nylon QuickFit band with reinforced stitching and exposed black metal hardware.
With specialised tactical features as well as mapping, music, advanced training and the same smart features from the fēnix 6 family, the tactix Delta – Solar Edition is ‘built for demanding field use and everyday wear’.
Instinct Solar
Since launching in 2018, the Instinct GPS outdoor watch series takes its rugged reputation to new heights with battery life, updated bold designs and new activity profiles. This includes two new activity-specific Instinct editions, Instinct Solar – Surf Edition and Instinct Solar – Tactical Edition.
Representing a milestone for Garmin, Instinct Solar can provide unlimited battery life with sufficient solar exposure in Battery Saver mode. Using Expedition Mode with sufficient solar exposure, Instinct Solar provides increased GPS functionality while still delivering over two months of battery life.
The Instinct Solar series also boasts up to 24 days in smartwatch mode indoors and more than 50 days with sufficient solar exposure. Users can make these battery-extending changes on the fly through Instinct Solar’s incorporation of Power Manager.
The Instinct Solar, fēnix 6 Series – Solar Editions and tactix Delta – Solar Edition are available now. The complete line of Garmin solar charging smartwatches also includes the fēnix 6X – Pro Solar and quatix 6X Solar. Suggested retail prices start at £349.99 for Instinct Solar, £649.99 for fēnix 6 Series – Solar Editions and £999.99 for the tactix Delta – Solar Edition.
