Garmin takes swipe at Apple with its ‘months, not days’ Instinct Crossover battery life

Garmin has announced the Garmin Instinct Crossover, a hybrid smartwatch with analog timekeeping designed for “those who appreciate a classic analogue watch experience, but who do not want to compromise essential smartwatch functionality or rugged watch durability.”

It’s a Garmin Instinct 2, one of the best Garmin watches, with hands. Hands! The analog timekeeping elements are coated with Super-LumiNova illumination markings, and are overlaid on top of the watch’s digital display. The hands are said to “quickly move” when you want to access your smart watch functions, and new ‘RevoDrive’ technology keeps the watch accurate when it resumes, although no details were given on how this works. 

The other big news on this watch is battery life. The Instinct Crossover comes in Solar and non-Solar charging options. If you get one of the versions of the watch with no solar charging capabilities, its smartwatch mode can last 28 days, while its low power battery mode can last an excellent 71 days. If you get a watch with Solar charging, the low power battery mode will last forever.

That is not hyperbole. As long as you spend three hours each day in 50,000 lux conditions – the equivalent of an overcast day – the watch will continue to operate.