Garmin Intuition 3: One minute evaluate
I do know the Garmin Intuition 3 has quite a bit to dwell as much as. In any case, the Garmin Instinct 2 received a rare, coveted five stars in our official review. With a wide range of sizes (from 40mm to the Intuition 2X Photo voltaic at 50mm), solar-powered and non-solar variations, a smorgasbord of enjoyable colorways, and – my private favourite – a hybrid Garmin Instinct Crossover, there actually was an Intuition 2 for everybody.
The Intuition 3 runs alongside very a lot the identical strains, with a number of cool colorways, a wide range of sizes, and two key display screen choices. The smallest 40mm dimension is known as the Intuition E, and is most paying homage to the Intuition 2: there’s solely the MIP (Reminiscence in Pixel) choice with no photo voltaic charging and no flashlight. In 45mm and 50mm sizes, you may select between a brilliant, smartwatch AMOLED display screen and a traditional Garmin MIP display screen geared up with Garmin’s Energy Glass photo voltaic cost expertise, providing ‘limitless’ battery life in brilliant sufficient circumstances, should you’re out and about with it uncovered to daylight for a number of hours.
It solely actually makes an enormous distinction throughout endurance train on sunny days, when it could actually decelerate the GPS mode’s drain on the battery life, but it surely’s good to have. We received the AMOLED 45mm model to check in its cool, minty Neotropic colorway, however I do have a delicate spot for the digital watch-esque MIP screens that the best Garmin watches used to make use of as commonplace. As is, this feels extra like a Garmin Forerunner 265, with restricted map capabilities, though the case design remains to be stereotypically Intuition.
The Intuition sequence has by no means provided the full-color topographical maps extra premium watches in Garmin’s vary have, and I used to be questioning if the AMOLED display screen meant we’d lastly see topographical maps on an Intuition, however there are not any maps or touchscreen right here. I suppose Garmin has to differentiate between the ranges and preserve the Intuition’s worth down one way or the other.
The Intuition 3 has dealt with all my coaching with accuracy, and was as intuitive to make use of because the Intuition 2. It was simple for me to exchange my every day Intuition Crossover with this with barely three minutes of setup, seamlessly taking on with my sleep monitoring, Physique Battery and Coaching Readiness scores from my outdated watch.
Total? As a pre-existing Intuition fan, I like it. It’s quick, it’s brilliant, it appears to be like enjoyable, and most significantly, it’s helpful. Sure, it’s chunky and plasticky, and should you don’t just like the outdated design, you gained’t like this one both. But it surely’s not a smooth steel communications instrument: it’s a toy, and it’s greatest performed with outdoors.
Garmin Intuition 3: Value and availability
- Intuition E begins at $299 / £259 / AU$549
- 45mm Intuition 3 begins at $399 / £349 / AU$829.
- 50mm Intuition 3 begins at $449 / £429 / AU$929
The Garmin Intuition 3 is out there now on Garmin’s website and different retailers, barely confusingly with 5 totally different costs, relying on which mannequin you choose.
The most affordable Intuition E is out there now for $299 / £259 / AU$549. The 45mm watch begins at $399 / £349 / AU$729 for the MIP Photo voltaic display screen, rising to $449 / £389 / AU$829 for the AMOLED display screen choice. The most important 50mm watch with MIP Photo voltaic display screen is out there from $449 / £429 / AU$829, rising to $499 / £449 / AU$929 for the AMOLED display screen choice.
It’s cheaper than most Forerunners and Fenix watches, though it does make up for this by utilizing much less premium supplies and skipping some premium software program options. Total a superb worth package deal, however not ludicrously so, particularly in comparison with a few of Polar and Coros’ cheaper choices. You will not be upset by the value, but it surely’s not fairly a steal.
Garmin Intuition 3: Specs
Beneath are the specs for our evaluate unit, the 45mm AMOLED Intuition 3.
| Element | Garmin Intuition 3 (AMOLED, 45mm) |
| Value | $449 / £389 / AU$829 |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 14.9mm |
| Weight | 53g |
| Case/bezel | Fiber-reinforced polymer / aluminum |
| Show | AMOLED, 390 x 390px |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, SatIQ |
| Battery life | As much as 18 days (smartwatch), as much as 32 hours (GPS) |
| Connection | Bluetooth, ANT+ |
| Waterproof | 10ATM |
Garmin Intuition 3: Design
- Chunky polymer casing
- Alternative of screens
- Intuitive, unchanged Garmin structure
The Intuition 3 builds carefully on the design legacy of the Garmin Intuition 2, and the casing appears to be like principally the identical. It’s received a great deal of colours, it’s roughly the identical thickness, roughly the identical weight (with only a gram of distinction between the 45mm Intuition 3 versus the 45mm Intuition 2), and it’s nonetheless received 5 buttons and comparable bezel indentations. The primary variations are the steel accents, the brand new AMOLED display screen choice, and the flashlight, neither of the latter can be found on the smallest Intuition E.
The brand new AMOLED display screen is evident and brilliant, though it isn’t a touchscreen. I just like the default watch face structure, though that is simply modified, and navigating across the watch with the five-button management interface is intuitive for me (an everyday Garmin consumer) even when my Apple Watch-wearing health author, Stephen Warwick, was offended on the lack of touchscreen.
Whereas Garmin’s Forerunner, Venu and Fenix watches have adopted the hybrid of buttons and touchscreen, it’s one other function lacking from the AMOLED Intuition 3 to maintain it inexpensive. The identical could possibly be mentioned of the chunky ‘fiber-reinforced polymer’ (learn that as ‘thick plastic’) casing, with slim steel accents the one factor separating it from being too infantile for some customers. Metallic screws give it a rugged edge.
Functionally, the guts fee and pores and skin temperature sensor array have not been given a slight improve, with the watch nonetheless sporting the Elevate Gen 4 coronary heart fee sensor as a substitute of the extra correct Gen 5. Garmin ought to actually have included the up-to-date sensor, even when it skimped on a few premium software program options. The common Garmin proprietary charger stays the identical, solely with a more moderen USB-C cable as a substitute of USB-A, as is commonplace with most Garmins now.
Garmin Intuition 3: Options
- Nearly all of Garmin’s wellness options
- New torch is helpful
- Primary directional maps
For the uninitiated, opening a Garmin watch and scrolling down with the ‘down’ button offers an inventory of wellness, navigational, and quality-of-life widgets. Out of doors-focused widgets vary from the climate, dawn and sundown instances, and a compass shortcut to your sleep monitoring data. Wellness stuff contains your final accomplished exercise, sleep, Physique Battery and your Coaching Readiness rating. As a watch tailor-made to the nice open air, all of the functionalities you anticipate will be discovered right here and the record will be custom-made as normal to fit your wants. Climbing a mountain? Stick the altimeter on the high. A eager marathon runner? Select the ‘Race Calendar’ widget.
It’s enjoyable, intuitive and acts just like the watchOS 11 widget stack, however much less flashy. I discovered a lot of the normal Garmin stuff there, however some premium options like Endurance Rating and Hill Rating had been lacking. They might have been good to have. As beforehand talked about, there’s no topographical maps performance both, simply primary directional steerage, however there have by no means been maps on an Intuition watch, and more often than not instructions are all you want. You possibly can, nonetheless, nonetheless retrace your steps with the ‘TracBack’ function, together with a slew of different navigational instruments.
{Hardware}-wise, the brand new torch may be very helpful: it is available in 4 intensities and a much less dazzling crimson choice, identical to the torch on the Garmin Fenix 8. I’ve already used the crimson mild on a night run and the white mild to assist me stumble my approach to the toilet at six am. Within the morning, you’ll get a every day digest, Garmin’s ‘Morning Report’ detailing data in your sleep, the climate, your Coaching Readiness, and a motivational message. Garmin’s been doing this for some time and it’s refined the function during the last couple of years. Its lengthy battery life means you gained’t shrink back from carrying it to mattress.
Garmin Intuition 3: Efficiency
- Very good battery life
- Navigational options high quality
- Similar to different Garmins
The underside line is, should you’ve used one other Garmin, it will all be very acquainted. There’s no reinventing the wheel right here, and as I’m attempting to evaluate the watch in a vacuum, I can’t actually dock factors for lack of innovation. It’s an outstanding operating and strolling watch, with a lot of options at an inexpensive worth level.
Coronary heart fee monitoring doesn’t betray any main inaccuracies in comparison with tempo and cadence of runs and walks, despite the fact that it makes use of the older sensor. It confirmed comparable statistics to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. it’s received a serviceable power coaching mode most individuals gained’t hassle with, and can even monitor different out of doors disciplines resembling surfs with GPS data, together with journey velocity and estimated variety of waves caught.
All of Garmin’s outdoor-focused options are clear and current right here, and the AMOLED display screen provides the same expertise to the Garmin Forerunner 265 and 965: intuitive to navigate with the buttons, even with gloves on, and the widget record is simple to customise. I attempted TracBack on one long term, and that labored high quality even with out maps, serving to me retrace my steps simply sufficient. Even the screens considered throughout train are customizable, not simply the house menu of widgets.
The battery life is admittedly good, far outperforming many different operating watches in its worth bracket, except Coros. The AMOLED 45mm Intuition doesn’t attain Coros’ 24-day heights, however its listed 18-day battery life was correct primarily based on my testing interval. I sometimes used the torch indoors and open air at night time and located it brilliant sufficient for my wants, however not as brilliant because the Epix Professional (Gen 2)’s extra highly effective, comparable torch.
Garmin Intuition 3: Scorecard
| Class | Remark | Rating |
| Worth | Good worth for cash, according to different Garmins. | 4/5 |
| Design | A bit plasticky and a few lower corners, however in any other case oustanding. | 4.5/5 |
| Options | A smorgasbord of Garmin’s greatest out of doors options. | 4.5/5 |
| Efficiency | A real GPS workhorse. | 5/5 |
Garmin Intuition 3: Ought to I purchase?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Additionally take into account
| Element | Garmin Intuition 3 (AMOLED, 45mm) | Coros Tempo 3 | Garmin Fenix 8 (AMOLED, 47mm) |
| Value | $449 / £389 / AU$829 | $229 / £219 / AU$399 | From $999 / £949 / AU$1,699 |
| Dimensions | 45 x 45 x 14.9mm | 41.9 x 41.9 x 11.7 (mm) | 47 x 47 x 14.5 mm |
| Weight | 53g | 32g | 80g |
| Case/bezel | Fiber-reinforced polymer / aluminum | Fiber-reinforced polymer | Fiber-reinforced polymer, metal rear cowl, metal bezel |
| Show | AMOLED, 390 x 390px | 240 x 240 pixels, always-on LCD | 454 x 454 px, AMOLED |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, SatIQ | GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS | GPS+Beidou+Glonass+Galileo+QZSS |
| Battery life | As much as 18 days (smartwatch), as much as 32 hours (GPS) | 24 days, as much as 38 hours GPS | 16 days (47 hours GPS) |
| Connection | Bluetooth, ANT+ | Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.2, ANT, Wi-Fi |
| Waterproof | 10ATM | 5ATM | 10ATM |
How I examined the Garmin Intuition 3
I wore the Garmin Intuition 3 throughout power coaching exercises, boxing exercises, runs and even went browsing with it. I examined its TracBack options on an extended out-and-back run, checked its coronary heart fee readings towards an Apple Watch Extremely, and ran the battery down over 16 days of use.
First reviewed: January 2025