News > Smart & Connected Life Garmin Reveals Solar Smartwatch With 'Unlimited' Battery Life There’s a slight catch on that battery life claim By Lawrence Bonk Lawrence Bonk News Reporter Florida State University Lawrence Bonk is a tech news reporter for Lifewire, specializing in gaming, AI, VR, and consumer tech, including iOS, macOS, wearables, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on February 9, 2022 12:49PM EST Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Smart & Connected Life Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Smartwatches are highly useful, but we have so many gadgets to charge every day, and it’s all too easy for these watches to slip through the powered cracks. Popular smartwatch manufacturer Garmin has unveiled a potential solution to this problem, with the release of the Instinct 2 Solar smartwatch, according to a company press release. Garmin Garmin says the Instinct 2 Solar can be fully powered by the sun, meaning it has potentially unlimited battery life. The company adds that these watches can run continuously with all features enabled, no outlet charging required, with one major caveat. The Instinct 2 Solar line needs three hours a day in direct sunlight (50,000 lux) to maintain this continuous battery life, which may be easier said than done for some. Garmin says a normal sunny day should do the trick, but this largely depends on how often you are outside and your local weather conditions. As for other specs, these watches are water-rated up to 100 meters and feature military standard shock and thermal resistant components. The line also includes Garmin’s usual mix of health tracking features, including sleep tracking, V02 tracking, and the full-body tracking Body Battery app. Instinct 2 Solar watches are also highly customizable, with dozens of bezel and band options creating more than 240 design choices. The solar-powered marvel is available to order right now on the official company page. In addition to the Instinct 2 Solar and non-solar editions, Garmin also announced an Instinct 2 Surf edition that tracks watersports like surfing, windsurfing, and kiteboarding, with a tide widget to keep an eye on ocean conditions. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit