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Customer reviews for Garmin Instinct 3 – 45 mm AMOLED Watch for
Garmin Instinct 3 – 45 mm AMOLED Watch
4.3 out of 5 stars
stars90 ratings90 reviews
  1. 5 stars74% (67)
  2. 4 stars8% (7)
  3. 3 stars6% (5)
  4. 2 stars2% (2)
  5. 1 star10% (9)
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Showing 21-30 of 90 reviews
Dec 23, 2025
Brent37
5 out of 5 stars review

Awesome watch!

I love my Instinct 3. I wanted a wearable that could track strength training well, and this watch does just that and more. I find that it makes training and pushing yourself even more fun by seeing progress recorded. It also give me deep insight into body that I had never had before. Highly recommend.

Review from Garmin
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Sep 19, 2025
Alaskan Carpenter
5 out of 5 stars review

Excellent features

I purchased my watch about a month ago and cannot tell you enough what a great purchase it was! I had the extinct solar watch before, and sometimes the screen was hard to read, this one is incredible. Easy to read and easy to navigate as well as very comfortable. I love this watch!!

Review from Garmin
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Dec 31, 2025
JADJR
5 out of 5 stars review

Very good improvement over Instinct 2

Purchased about a month ago and I'm very pleased with the additional features. Using it to keep track of my health stats and exercise routines. Love the AMOLED display and the flashlight that I'm using frequently. Battery life is excellent although the Instinct 2 lasted longer. Overall very pleased with my purchase. By the way gave up using Apple Watch 10.

Review from Garmin
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Sep 27, 2025
Rkeith20522
5 out of 5 stars review

Love how durable it is.

I love the durability of it, my Apple Watch lasted maybe a week before I shattered it. All of the controls are buttons but once you get used to it it’s great! It’s crazy light weight (reminds me of a Casio in weight terms). It takes a while to learn it but it’s very user friendly afterwards. The Garmin map is great for mapping runs, the health tracking is insane and has helped me a lot with my fitness goals. 15 day battery life and I have all of the trackers on 24/7

Review from Garmin
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Nov 7, 2025
Rakk7
4 out of 5 stars review

Very Nice Smartwatch

I bought this watch a few weeks ago to replace my Instinct camo. The Instinct 3 has a great battery life and I really like the flashlight. Only downside so far is that a few of my activities have been saved on the watch but for some reason they don't sync to Garmin connect. Otherwise I would give 5 stars. Anyway it's a great watch and I hope to enjoy it for the next few years until I upgrade.

Review from Garmin
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Sep 22, 2025
Illia
1 out of 5 stars review

Expected more, disappointed

Bought Garmin coming from Apple Watch, too complicated. Comes with a tiny thick instruction manual that you can’t read even if you wanted to, didn’t really think I would need to actually read it!!! Way too many steps just to do a simple workout, turn on lamp, check a message. Only positive is the battery but I don’t wear my watch to sleep in so what does it matter. Too many buttons on the sides that do to much! I should’ve just purchased another Apple.

Review from Garmin
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reply from Care

Good morning! Sorry to hear that you are having some issues, the good news is we do have our watch manuals online if it is easier. You can also do a quick search if you are needing something specific. I included some helpful beginner tips to help you get familiar with the Instinct 3. • "Instinct 3 AMOLED Series Owner's Manual" - http://ms.spr.ly/6426sqYno • "Instinct® 3 AMOLED | Getting Started | Garmin Support" - http://ms.spr.ly/6427sqYnU If you need additional support our team is always here to help, you can also use this link to search our several articles if you need to. • "Product Support" -http://ms.spr.ly/6428sqYnq The product support phone number is 800-800-1020, Press 4 then Press 2 for the Instinct series. M- F, 7 AM - 7 PM CTL

Nov 25, 2025
ozyjess
5 out of 5 stars review

Just the upgrades I needed and not more

I needed to update my old forerunner 935 since the GPS elevation gain tracking has been terrible for over a year, not matter what I did per YouTube and Garmin advice. All I really wanted was better GPS options and a good battery, and the instinct 3 was the answer. I didn't need more wiz & pang technology that I would use.. and I could get a color other than BLACK!!! (REI green model). love it!!!

Review from Garmin
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Jan 8, 2026
Mobi
5 out of 5 stars review

Great watch. Love the rugged look and features.

I got this watch for Christmas and what an upgrade from my Vivoactive 4. I haven’t charged the battery since Christmas Day and it is 1/8 now and still has 25% left. It has all the features I need and more and it was a breeze to add to Garmin Connect. This was a great choice for me.

Review from Garmin
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Oct 18, 2025
halit.kk
3 out of 5 stars review

Great hardware, but software is not perfect

Positive aspects: The watch feels rock-solid yet lightweight, and despite not having a touchscreen, it’s surprisingly easy to navigate after just a few hours of use. The overall design looks great — rugged but stylish. The battery life is incredibly impressive, especially after years of using an Apple Watch. I can go for days without worrying about charging, which is a huge advantage. Things that could be improved: • Watch face customization: On the main screen, the small calendar section always starts the week on Sunday. It may not sound major, but for those of us outside the U.S., it’s distracting not to be able to change the first day of the week. • iOS integration: As an iPhone user, I really wish there were iOS widgets to display some Garmin data (like steps or calories) on my lock screen or home screen. Also, quick replies to messages are available for Android users but not for iOS, which is disappointing. • Bluetooth range: I’ve noticed the Bluetooth connection is very weak compared to other smartwatches. The signal drops even when my phone is just in the next room — and I live in a small apartment. This really shouldn’t happen with this kind of device. • Sleep schedule system: This is my biggest frustration. The watch forces you to set a fixed sleep and wake schedule, and there’s currently no way to disable it. I often sleep and wake up at different times, so having to define a specific time each day doesn’t work for me. If the schedule ends before I actually wake up, it sends the morning report and stops tracking sleep — meaning I lose sleep data and also disabling the do not disturb mode. It would be so much better if Garmin allowed users to turn this feature off and let some people to put their watches to sleep mode when desired, not only scheduled.

Review from Garmin
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Dec 18, 2025
tom10i
5 out of 5 stars review

Best watch for mountain biking

This watch is better in every way than the Instinct or Instinct 2. Once it's set up, which does take some effort, with one press on the controls, I can easily connect it to feed my pulse to my Edge 830 for biking, track my indoor biking when the weather is inclement and monitor my weight work. I was confused a bit about the weight settings as I use a rapid sequence on various machines and weights; when I contacted Garmin, a rep responded with a workable solution in a day or two. Good support. What I most like is how readable the watch is in full sun or under a dark canapy; it is always easy to see.

Review from Garmin
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