Garmin already has a smartwatch that comes with the ability to recharge via solar power, but it may be working on releasing another one if a new report is accurate.

According to some leaked information obtained by Tizenhelp, Garmin is looking at launching the Instinct 2 Solar. The Instinct 2 Solar would be able to utilize the power of solar energy to recharge the battery.

This is a feature which you can currently use on the Fenix 6 Pro Solar, the watch that Garmin debuted the feature on.


The details come from a leaked firmware version

A leaked firmware version is the source of the details about the watch, including the name, the solar charging capabilities, and some additional features that can be expected.

Some of those features include a blood oxygen saturation sensor. It's also expected that the watch will come with a heart rate sensor that will be able to capture the heart rate data while swimming, and a body battery widget as well as new watch faces.

It's also highly likely that it'll come with most or all of the features that you can find on the currently available Garmin Instinct smartwatch, such as GPS, GLONASS and more.


The watch probably won't be cheap

Solar charging tech in a watch isn't likely to be an inexpensive feature to implement. For comparison, the original Instinct retailed at a starting cost of $299 and went up to $349. Though now you can pick it up for $199 on sale.

The Fenix 6 Pro Solar model costs $999, whereas the non-solar model of the Fenix 6 Pro retails for $700. That's a $300 variance in the price between the standard Fenix 6 Pro and the version that comes with solar charging.

That means there could be a similar price difference between the Instinct and the Instinct 2 Solar. If that ends up being the case the Instinct 2 Solar could end up with a retail price of around $600.


That's a lot for a smartwatch, but it's also important to remember that having the ability to recharge the battery through solar power is a nifty feature. If you're someone who looks at smartwatches from Garmin, you're probably taking it out quite a bit on little or big adventures.

And when you're on those adventures it's not always possible to charge the watch up the normal way – by plugging it in. Having the ability to charge it through solar energy could mean the difference between having battery power and not. So perhaps the cost would be warranted.

Of course, keep in mind there's no confirmation from Garmin that this watch is coming. Or what it's price will be if it is.