The Garmin Enduro 3 is an ideal instance of what occurs when an organization listens to person suggestions. When it comes to battery life, that is Garmin’s longest-lasting flagship smartwatch, however in some way, that is not even the most important a part of the Enduro 3’s story. Extra importantly, the gadget has every part you need in a GPS journey watch and nothing you do not. In comparison with its predecessor, the newer mannequin is $200 cheaper, six grams lighter, and full of many options and enhancements.
The Enduro 3 is not simply nice in comparison with the Enduro 2 — it is also as much as the duty of competing with the Fenix 8 Photo voltaic. Customers in search of diving capabilities, plus speaker and microphone help, would possibly nonetheless need to pay the $1,200 sticker value for that Fenix 8 mannequin. Nevertheless, at $800, the Enduro 3 has extra battery, a bigger photo voltaic floor space, a a lot lighter construct, and a ton of characteristic overlap. After over a month of utilizing the Garmin Enduro 3, I can comfortably say it is the true deal.
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Garmin Enduro 3
Garmin’s new longest-lasting smartwatch is the Enduro 3, which brings many enhancements over its predecessor — and it is cheaper. The watch helps GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and others. Plus, the Enduro 3 consists of loads of sensors and now makes use of Garmin’s Elevate Gen5 optical coronary heart fee sensor. But it surely lacks a couple of good options in comparison with the Fenix 8, like a microphone and speaker, however packs all the identical software program choices.
- Battery life is best-in-class
- Higher than the Enduro 2, whereas costing and weighing much less
- Display screen is brighter and extra seen due to shifted photo voltaic panels
- Practically a Fenix 8 Photo voltaic, minus the dive options, case dimension choices, and speaker/mic combo
- Solely is available in 51mm dimension
- Does not have a speaker or microphone
- Show might nonetheless be brighter with higher visibility
Worth, availability, and specs
Garmin launched the Enduro 3 smartwatch in August 2024, and it prices $900. It is obtainable in a single 51mm case dimension and colour and consists of an UltraFit nylon strap. You’ll find it on Garmin’s web site and Amazon, in addition to area of interest retailers like Scheels, although it might arrive at extra shops sooner or later.
What’s good in regards to the Garmin Enduro 3?
Light-weight, fashionable, and practical design with an improved display
The Garmin Enduro 3 appears much like the Enduro 2 at first look, however there are a couple of impactful modifications to notice. For starters, the brand new watch has a case weight of simply 57g and a complete weight (together with the default UltraFit band) of 63g. That is six grams lighter than the Enduro 2 and considerably lighter than the 95g Fenix 8 Photo voltaic.
It felt nice on my wrist, and I typically forgot I used to be sporting it. The gentle and adjustable nylon strap was an enormous motive why — it is far more snug than the same old Garmin rubber bands.
The show additionally acquired a refined improve. Whereas the Enduro 2 had a photo voltaic panel that spanned throughout the complete floor, the Enduro 3’s panels are confined to the show border. As such, the Enduro 3’s 1.4-inch memory-in-pixel (MIP) display is simpler to see. On the identical time, the photo voltaic space captures twice the power of the Enduro 2.
Coming from the Garmin Intuition 2 Photo voltaic, it is good to have a touchscreen once more. The Enduro 3’s MIP show panel affords a responsive contact floor, 5 {hardware} buttons, a backlight, and photo voltaic capabilities. It is actually the perfect of all worlds. I’ll be aware that, as you will see in my images, the Enduro 3’s sapphire glass remains to be extraordinarily reflective. The backlight is not excellent, however the show appears implausible outside.
Learn our overview
Garmin’s Intuition 2 Photo voltaic is a health and journey watch with out the nonsense
Dwelling with no touchscreen is hard, although
Battery life, well being monitoring, and software program options are all glorious
I can forgive the show’s shortcomings attributable to how properly the Garmin Enduro 3 performs in lots of the different areas that matter. There are a ton of sensors right here, together with the brand new Garmin Elevate Gen5 optical coronary heart fee sensor, which allows ECG and temperature readings. Maps and navigation are a lot improved, and there is help for GPS with GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BEIDOU, and SatIQ. You additionally get blood-oxygen sensing, plus a barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, and ambient gentle sensor.
It isn’t anyone sensor or metric that makes a Garmin smartwatch nice. As a substitute, it is how Garmin takes all of this knowledge under consideration to tell cumulative metrics like Coaching Readiness scores, sleep scores, and Physique Battery scores. I used the Garmin Enduro 3 to trace runs, treadmill exercises, walks, and hikes and thought of all of the watch’s recommendations whereas coaching.
Surprisingly, there have been a couple of days when my sleep rating, Coaching Readiness, and Physique Battery had been all extraordinarily low. You’ll be able to see the dip for your self within the second screenshot above. I did not realize it on the time, however I used to be coming down with a sinus an infection — and my Enduro 3 picked up on the underlying indicators earlier than I did.
The Enduro 3 can be a do-it-all watch, and it got here in useful whereas I used to be climbing at elevation in Flagstaff, Arizona. I used maps to trace our actions, and the climbing exercise view’s tempo and sundown time indicators to verify I used to be again earlier than sunset. However the Enduro 3 has a built-in flashlight, simply in case. This watch was a vital software for climbing in an unfamiliar place, and I do not need to go on hikes with out it now.
In smartwatch mode, Garmin says you will get 36 days of battery life, and that is bumped to 90 with common photo voltaic charging. In fact, your mileage will fluctuate. My overview unit lasted a few month with restricted photo voltaic charging and every-other-day exercises. I would guess that the Enduro 3 would final every week or two in excessive conditions, with day by day GPS-heavy exercises. The purpose is, the Enduro 3 had battery life that made me neglect in regards to the problem of charging. It put my Apple Watch Extremely to disgrace.
What’s unhealthy in regards to the Garmin Enduro 3?
The display nonetheless is not excellent, and it isn’t fairly a Fenix 8
My principal gripe with the Enduro 3 is that the display nonetheless is not implausible, and falls in need of AMOLED watches just like the Polar Grit X2 Professional and a few Fenix 8 fashions. That mentioned, the Fenix 8 Photo voltaic, the Enduro 3’s direct competitors, has the very same MIP show panel. If you need the extent of battery life the Enduro 3 affords — which is longer than that of AMOLED watches — that is merely a compromise you need to make.
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A tank towards the weather
Moreover, some folks would possibly miss the speaker, microphone, and dive capabilities of the Fenix 8. I did not miss them in any respect, however it’s one thing to contemplate earlier than selecting the Enduro 3 over the Fenix 8.
Do you have to purchase the Garmin Enduro 3?
At $900, the Garmin Enduro 3 is not low cost by any means. Nevertheless, it is arguably one of many best-value Garmin watches ever. This smartwatch is healthier than the Enduro 2 and the Fenix 8 Photo voltaic, each of that are costlier than the Enduro 3. In the event you’re on the lookout for a long-lasting GPS watch jam-packed with options, it is onerous to not just like the Enduro 3.
Employees choose
Garmin Enduro 3
For individuals who want long-lasting battery life and glorious well being and health options, the Garmin Enduro 3 is probably going the most suitable choice beneath $1,000. It is virtually as succesful because the Fenix 8 for a couple of hundred {dollars} much less.
