Garmin Instinct 3 vs Polar Vantage M3

Garmin Instinct 3

Garmin Instinct 3

vsPolar Vantage M3

Polar Vantage M3

Garmin Instinct 3Polar Vantage M3
DisplayAMOLED or solar-charging display, both in 45 mm and 50 mm1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 416 x 416, Gorilla Glass 3, always-on option with ambient light sensor
Battery (smartwatch mode)AMOLED up to 24 days; solar models "unlimited" under Garmin test conditions (3 hours a day outdoors at 50,000 lux)—
DurabilityMetal-reinforced bezel, fiber-reinforced polymer case, scratch-resistant display, MIL-STD 810, water-rated to 100 m—
LightBuilt-in LED flashlight on every model (variable intensity, red light, strobe)—
NavigationMulti-band GPS with SatIQ, TracBack routing, altimeter, barometer, 3-axis compassPreinstalled and upgradeable offline topographic maps, planned routes, breadcrumbs, komoot turn-by-turn guidance
HealthHeart rate, Pulse Ox, HRV status, sleep monitoring, women's health tracking—
PaymentsGarmin Pay—
PriceAMOLED from $449.99; solar from $399.99 (suggested retail, launch)—
Body—44.7 x 44.7 x 12.2 mm; 53 g with wristband (35 g without); glass-fibre reinforced plastic case with stainless steel bezel; 22 mm quick-release silicone wristband; WR50 water resistance
Battery—Up to 7 days in smartwatch mode; up to 30 hours in training mode (Polar's spec table lists 27 hours performance, 90 hours eco and 8 days smartwatch); 310 mAh replaceable Li-Pol battery
Storage—32 GB (offline maps), 37 MB memory, 275 MHz CPU
Sensors—Polar Elixir biosensing: 4th-generation optical heart rate, wrist-based ECG, SpO2, nightly skin temperature; barometer, magnetometer compass, accelerometer, gyroscope
GPS—Dual-frequency GPS (L1/L5) with GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS
Connectivity—Bluetooth LE (no ANT+), USB-C charging cable (proprietary connector)
Software—PolarOS; Polar Flow app; Training Load Pro, Nightly Recharge, Smart Coaching; over 150 sport profiles
Colors—Night Black, Greige Sand