Is the Garmin Instinct 3 a better smartwatch for tracking workouts and outdoor adventures than the Apple Watch Ultra 2? This is a question I've been asked often ever since Garmin's new ultra-long-lasting, rugged wearable debuted at CES 2025 in early January.
The answer isn't a simple yes or no. Depending on your needs, budget and the level of training insights you desire, there's a good chance that one of these smartwatches will be a better fit for you than the other.
It's also worth noting that we're still in the process of testing the Garmin Instinct 3, so this comparison is based on our impressions of the device so far. In the meantime, the Garmin Instinct 2 remains our favorite Garmin for battery life, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is simply one of the best full-featured smartwatches around.
Read on for a breakdown of how the Apple Watch Ultra 2 compares to the Garmin Instinct 3 across six categories including price, design, battery, health and fitness insights, smart features and safety/navigational tools.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Specs
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| Starting price | $799 | $399 (Solar); $449 (AMOLED) |
| Sizes | 49mm | 45mm and 50mm |
| Weight | 61 g | 52 - 53 g (45mm); 58 - 59 g (50mm) |
| Smartwatch battery life | 36 hours (72 hours in low-power mode) | 18 days (45mm AMOLED); 24 days (45mm Solar); 24 days (50mm AMOLED); 40 days (50mm Solar) |
| GPS battery life | 12 hours | 32 hours (45mm AMOLED); 40 hours (45mm Solar); 40 hours (50mm AMOLED): 60 hours (50mm Solar) |
| Water resistance | 100 meters | 100 meters |
| LTE support | Yes | No |
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Price
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 was announced in September 2023 and starts at $799. The Garmin Instinct 3 was announced in January 2025 and starts at $399 for the Solar-powered model (in 45mm) and $449 for the AMOLED version (also in 45mm). So no matter which version of the Instinct you get, you're paying anywhere from $350 to $400 less than you would for an Apple Watch Ultra.
Both the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Garmin Instinct 3 are available now.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Design and build quality
Regardless of whether you choose the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Garmin Instinct 3, you're getting 100 meters of water resistance, which is enough for long swims, snorkeling and even scuba diving. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 boasts a sleek, rectangular titanium case that weighs a little more than the Instinct 3's more sporty, rubbery circle case.
While the Ultra 2 is only offered in 49mm, the Instinct 3 comes in your choice of 45mm or 50mm.
Both devices feel well-built in hand. Rather than titanium, the Instinct 3 has an aluminum chassis. It also sports a new metal-reinforced bezel to better protect the screen. The Apple Watch Ultra 2, on the other hand, offers little by way of screen protection.
The Garmin is thicker than the Apple Watch, leading it to sit higher on my wrist and catch more often on my jacket sleeve. Physical buttons adorn the sides of both watch cases. The Instinct 3 offers five physical buttons but the screen is not touch-sensitive.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 pairs a touchscreen with two standard physical buttons, one customizable, and a digital crown that also doubles as a button. From an ease-of-use perspective, I prefer Apple's approach, but once you get used to the Garmin, it's also pretty simple to operate. Either way, I loathe using a touchscreen when I'm sweaty right after a workout, so I'm glad both devices give you real buttons.
This is the first Instinct model to sport an AMOLED screen, which is brighter and better-saturated than the MIP screens found on the solar-powered models. Of course, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 also boasts an AMOLED screen. Next to the Instinct 3 AMOLED, the Apple Watch Ultra 2's display is significantly brighter, maxing out at a whopping 3,000 nits.
Garmin doesn't provide a screen brightness figure for the Instinct 3 but it's likely less than 1,000 nits by my estimate. Still, I had no trouble reading it even in the bright Las Vegas sunlight.
One feature on the Instinct 3 that I'd love to see make its way into the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the device's onboard LED flashlight tucked into the bezel near the 12:00 position. While the Ultra 2 has a flashlight mode that uses the screen, it's not nearly as bright or useful as the Instinct's "Torch."
So, while the Ultra 2 has a brighter screen and easier-to-use button/touchscreen interface, the Instinct 3 has a cool and useful flashlight and comes in two case sizes rather than one. That means that this category is too close to call.
Winner: Draw
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Battery life
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 may be the battery life king of the full-featured smartwatch realm but it can't touch the longevity of the Garmin Instinct 3.
You can expect around 36 hours of battery life from the Ultra 2 under standard operating conditions and up to 72 hours when using low-power mode. With GPS tracking switched on, battery life is closer to 12 hours.
The 45mm Garmin Instinct 3 is rated for 18 days in smartwatch mode for the AMOLED model and 24-plus days for the Solar edition. The 50mm model, meanwhile, lasts 24 days for AMOLED and 40-plus for Solar.
On the GPS tracking front, you can expect 32 to 40 hours for the 45mm models and 40 to 60 hours for the 50mm versions.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Fitness and holistic tools
The Garmin Instinct 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 each track an impressively long list of workout types, including complex multisport activities. However, Garmin supports more nuanced outdoor activities like bouldering, mountain biking, hunting, horseback riding, backcountry snowboarding (separate from regular snowboarding), snowshoeing, whitewater rafting and more.
From my experience, the Instinct 3 also provides more useful/accurate data for outdoor activities that involve lots of elevation change, like hiking, skiing and mountain biking. It can even parse time spent riding a ski lift from time spent snowboarding with ease.
Location tracking should be excellent from either device thanks to multi-band GPS. Similarly, both Garmin and Apple offer reliable heart rate tracking on their latest wearables along with reliable insights into sleep quality.
While I prefer Garmin's detailed sleep analysis and daily morning reports, only the Apple Watch has sleep apnea detection. On the flip side, for U.S. customers, only the Garmin watch offers blood oxygen saturation readings.
Users can create their own custom workouts or access training plans with either model. Both models also provide insights in training load but Garmin's training and recovery tools are more extensive than Apple's.
For example, Garmin's daily Body Battery rating lets you know how much energy you have for the day based on recent sleep quality and exercise. While Samsung, Google and even Amazfit all offer something similar, this tool is absent on the Apple Watch.
Other training tools you'll find on the Instinct 3 but not on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 include a daily Training Readiness Score and daily workout suggestions. For hardcore outdoor adventurers, the Garmin Instinct 3 also offers a unique set of altitude and heat acclimation tools.
Winner: Garmin Instinct 3
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Smart features
Apple wins this category with ease. While the Instinct 3 offers a small smattering of smart features, like NFC payments via Garmin Pay, mirrored smartphone notifications and access to some additional apps for the Garmin ConnectIQ store, it lacks support for common third-party apps, from social ones to fitness ones.
You also don't get any onboard storage for offline music listening on the Instinct 3 and only Android users will be able to respond to their texts via the watch.
Conversely, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is one of the most smart-feature-packed wearables in the known universe with all sorts of impressive tools on offer like on-wrist translations, global tide tracking, AI-generated notification summaries and support for thousands of third-party apps. It also supports cellular, unlike any of Garmin's watches.
Winner: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Safety and navigation tools
The Instinct 3 doesn't support downloading maps for offline navigation, a feature you will find on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. However, with the Apple Watch, users will need to jump back and forth between their navigation app and fitness tracking app, which is a tad annoying.
The Instinct 3 does offer Garmin's TracBack feature which can guide you back to the starting point of a route if you get lost. Apple also offers something similar called Backtrack.
Either device can alert others to your location in the event of a fall or accident, which is comforting. Instinct 3 users can even generate and share a link before heading out on an adventure, providing real-time location info to loved ones. Apple's Check In safety feature is somewhat similar.
Winner: Draw
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Instinct 3: Verdict
Ultimately, the Garmin Instinct 3 is better for folks who want a dedicated wearable for tracking their outdoor adventures, no matter how nuanced the activity. It's also for those who want to be able to track long treks (greater than 12 hours) without having to worry about battery life and/or anyone who wants advanced workout training and recovery tools.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 may be a better option for those who want a do-it-all smartwatch that's as well suited for the hiking trail as it is for the office with plenty of tools for keeping tabs on fitness, monitoring health and staying connected.
Of course, the Ultra 2 costs significantly more than the Instinct 3, but that higher price brings about a much brighter screen, sleeker design and access to a huge selection of apps and smart features.
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