Garmin Instinct 3 solar – First Proper Leak

It looks like Garmin Instinct 3 will be the next new Garmin watch.

@Flo recently posted information from Garmin Support (Spain), confirming the leak’s authenticity.

There is nothing to note here besides the solar 45mm BLACK edition, which will be one of the variants. The price of Eu133 relates to a repair, so don’t get excited yet!

and here is a further leak from Garmin Peru confirming the non-solar model

Speculation

I won’t speculate too much until more information is known. However, we now have two leaks, which is getting more exciting!

I expect Instinct 3 to be visually similar to Instinct 2.

The solar model above will NOT be AMOLED. So we have to wonder if an AMOLED and MIP version will be released under the Instinct branding, similar to Fenix 8 and Fenix E, earlier in the year.  Instinct is perhaps Garmin’s only model that might not get AMOLED, but I suspect it will. The Garmin PERU links do not show an AMOLED model; maybe they will both remain MIP-screened?

Case sizes will likely be unchanged at 40mm, 45mm and 50mm, although not all cases will be available as solar or AMOLED models.

The same Surf/camo/etc. Editions will eventually be released, but the only complication will be solar vs non-solar. Despite filing for patents some time ago, Garmin does not yet have a solar AMOLED display option. Even if it had one ready for market, it would not appear first on an Instinct.

@Flo speculates on his site here if you want to read more about the speculation, but I think we need to wait for more concrete intel.

Warning:

The info here is the first real spec leak, but note that fake images are circulating purporting to be of Instinct 3. When the real ones are available, I’ll put them here.

Timings

I would expect Garmin to release a new watch before Christmas. If you take out December as too late and w/c 25 Nov as too close to Black Friday then the release date will either be 19/20 November or early in 2025. dcrainmaker has been quiet for a week or so, indicating he is doing some last-minute testing and writing.