Garmin Instinct 2S Solar

Disappointed by the Apple Watch, I was looking for a smartwatch with longer battery life and a size that fits my small wrist of 16.5 inches and discovered Garmin Instinct 2S Solar. This watch turned out to have the softest, most comfortable strap I have ever tried and its closely spaced holes make it easy to have a great fit on the wrist.

Specifications

• Size: 40 x 40 x 13.3 mm
• Weight: 43 g
• Display resolution: 156 x156 pixels
• Wrist size: 112-180 mm
• Battery life: 21 days (51 days with solar)

Buttons

There are 5 buttons, 3 on the left and 2 on the right:

• CTRL/Light: Single-press to toggle the backlight. Double-press to toggle the flashlight.
• Menu/Up: Hold to view menu.
• ABC/Down: Hold to view Altimeter, Barometer and Compass screen (ABC).
• GPS: Top-right button
• Set/Back: Press to return to previous screen.

Glances

Press Up and Down buttons to scroll through the Glances. Info shown includes:

• Solar intensity graph
• Weather
• Sunrise
• Last Sport
• Steps
• Heart rate
• Measure heart rate
• Sleep
• Calendar
• Notifications

Watch faces

The watch ships with a few faces and many more can be found online and installed to the watch by using the ConnectIQ app on the iPhone.

• Change watch face: Long press the Menu button and choose Watch Face. Scroll up and down through the various watch faces. Many of the watch faces have a Customize option that lets you customize the face. Some of the watch faces can be customized only through the ConnectIQ app.

• Instinct Pro: This is a watch face that I like for this watch. It can be found and installed using the ConnectIQ app. Note that it can only be customized using the app. Documentation for the watch face can be found here.

Smartphone Apps

• Garmin Connect: Smartphone app for the watch. Recommended method to sync with the watch and track health stats.
• Garmin ConnectIQ: To discover and install apps and watch faces.
• Garmin Express: Windows/MacOS software for working with the watch.

Garmin Pay

• Open Garmin Connect app, press on your watch (top right corner), press on >.
• Choose Wallet & Garmin Pay and add a new card.

Track activity

• Press the GPS button. This shows your favorite list of activities. Use the Up/Down buttons to scroll through the list.
  • If the activity you want is not listed here, scroll down (using Up/Down buttons) to get to the bottom where there is a + sign. Press GPS button to select that and add the activity from the long list that the watch supports.
• Press the GPS button on the activity you want to do right now. It shows the screen with various stats that will be tracked while you do this activity.
• Press the GPS button again to start the activity.
• Do the activity - walk, run or hike.
• Press the GPS button again to stop the activity.
• You can now have the option to resume the activity or to save or discard the log.
• Go to the Connect app on the phone to see the full details of the activity: colorful GPS map of the run, pace and times.

Usage

• Sync time: Hold down Set button until the options show up. Choose Set time with GPS. Note that even though I tried this, my watch was 3 seconds faster than the actual time.

• Sync over Bluetooth: Press and hold the CTRL button until the wheel of icons appears. Use the Up (Menu) and Down (ABC) keys to cycle through the icons to reach the Sync 🔄. Press the GPS button to start the sync. (If you have Battery Saver turned On, find it in the wheel of icons and turn it Off first.)

• Disable heart rate monitor: Hold menu button to get to menu options. Choose Sensors & Accessories -> Wrist Heart Rate and change Status to off.