Driving from the momentum brought by the successful debut of their solar charging technology in the fēnix 6X Pro Solar, Garmin announced on Thursday, August 6 the expansion of the tech into their flagship outdoor smartwatch series.
“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,” said Garmin Asia’s Director Scoppen Lin.
According to the smartwatch company, the integration hopes to give a power boost to its line of outdoor smartwatches, by using the solar tech to do more than just extending battery life.
Pace-setting technology
Garmin reports that the production of the proprietary tech involved the filing of over 30 patents all to serve the purpose of ‘catering to the needs of outdoor adventurers and athletes’ to enable them to ‘truly do what they love, longer’.
SPhoto of the Garmin fēnix 6X Solar courtesy of Garmin PhilippinesBut what truly sets apart the Garmin’s new tech isn’t just the extended battery life and a longer list of activities it tracks. In the first place, those added benefits wouldn’t be possible without the solar tech’s one-of-a-kind solar conversion rate.
Garmin reports that unlike other solar watches that only support time functionalities, their solar charging technology leads the market with a solar conversion rate of about 5 times higher than the industry standard. This makes the company the first in the world to launch solar-powered multisport GPS smartwatches.
Specifically, the solar tech was developed to power multiple functions such as time, health monitoring, GPS tracking, and other sensors used for data calculation.
Powered for every athlete and adventurer
Garmin, in the same announcement, officially introduced the Instinct Solar, fēnix 6 Solar, and the fēnix 6S Solar as the new solar-powered iterations of their famous outdoor line. With these, they hope to provide various options for any and every kind of athlete and adventurer.
Read the specifications for each solar-powered Garmin outdoor smartwatch below:
Garmin Solar Series Battery Life Chart
fēnix 6 Solar Series – Duration of battery life |
||
Active modes |
6S Pro Solar |
6 Pro Solar |
| Smartwatch | Up to 9 days plus 1.5 days* | Up to 14 days plus 2 days* |
| GPS | Up to 25 hours plus
3 hours** |
Up to 36 hours plus
4 hours** |
| GPS and Music | Up to 6 hours | Up to 10 hours |
| Max Battery GPS Mode | 50 hours plus 14 hours** | 72 hours plus 21 hours** |
| Expedition GPS Activity | 20 days plus 6 days* | 28 days plus 8 days* |
| Battery Saver Watch Mode | 34 days plus 25 days* | 48 days plus 32 days* |
Instinct Solar and Instinct Solar – Camo Edition |
||
Active modes |
Duration of battery life |
|
| Smartwatch | Up to 24 days + 30 days * | |
| GPS | Up to 30 hours + 8 hours ** | |
| Max Battery GPS Mode | 70 hours + 75 hours** | |
| Expedition GPS Activity | 28 days + 40 days* | |
| Battery Saver Watch Mode | 56 days + unlimited* | |
*Solar charging, assuming all-day wear with 3 hours per day outside in 50,000 lux conditions
**Solar charging, assuming use in 50,000 lux conditions
Pricing and Availability
Watch |
Price |
Colorway |
| Instinct Solar | PHP 24,995 | Flame Red
Graphite |
| Instinct Solar – Camo Edition | PHP 27,995 | Graphite Camo |
| fēnix 6S Pro Solar | PHP 52,995 | Light Gold + Shale Gray band
Amethyst Steel + Shale Gray band |
| fēnix 6 Pro Solar | Black + Slate Gray band
Mineral Blue + Whitestone band |
Sold online at the following websites:
Garmin retail stores are located at the following malls:
- Glorietta 5
- SM Megamall
- SM Mall of Asia
- Uptown Bonifacio
- Alabang Town Center
- SM Aura
- SM North EDSA
- The Podium
- Ayala Malls Vertis North
- SM City Pampanga
- Shangri-La Plaza
- SM City Baguio
- SM City Cebu
- SM Lanang Premiere
- Festive Walk
- SM Bacolod
Visit Garmin’s pressroom to learn more about their new line of solar-charged smartwatches. For updates on products, promos, and events, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
