The Garmin Fenix series is the cream of the crop when it comes to multi-sport and adventure watches. If its steep price tag is holding you back, check out the Garmin Instinct instead. It carries the best of the Fenix at a fraction of the cost. You can even get the graphite variant on sale right now, as Amazon is cutting its price from $300 down to $244. An additional $50 off can also be slashed instantly upon approval of your Amazon Rewards Visa, lowering the sale price further to $194.
A true outdoors-focused smartwatch, the Garmin Instinct sports a rugged profile and a durable build. It consists of a fiber-reinforced polymer casing for resistance to scratching, a chemically strengthened glass with a raised bezel for screen protection, and silicone straps for a breathable and comfortable fit. It’s also constructed to U.S. military standard 810G for shock, thermal, and water resistance (up to 100 meters). And with support for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, the watch can quickly connect to satellites and is able to take on more challenging environments.
Similar to most Garmin watches, the Instinct can track more than 25 different activities. These include biking, swimming, and running as well as less common activities like rowing, stair-stepping, and stand-up paddleboarding. You can scroll through various data screens designated for the activity. For instance, running includes heart rate zone, pace, and distance, while hiking includes ascent and vertical speed.
The Garmin Instinct covers major health and wellness metrics as well, such as sleep tracking, calorie burned monitor, and step counter. It even has a stress tracking feature and can provide a relaxing breathing session to reduce your stress levels. When it detects you’re sitting for too long, it will remind you to get up and walk around. Accompanying apps like Garmin Connect lets you engage with the online fitness community, and Garmin Explore allows you to plan your trips ahead.
Pairing this watch with a compatible smartphone will enable smart notifications and music playback control. Notifications are not actionable but should be more than enough to keep you connected. Battery life is estimated to last for 14 days in smartwatch mode and up to 16 hours in GPS mode.
At $300, the Garmin Instinct hits the sweet spot between features and price. It comes with a solid suite of practical outdoors and sports functionalities that will keep adventurers happy without breaking the bank. Amazon just makes it more attractive by dropping its price down to $244.
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The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.