The new Garmin Enduro 3 is here — better battery life than Fenix 8 and cheaper

Person wearing the Garmin Enduro 3
(Image credit: Garmin)

It’s a big day for new Garmin watches, with the Garmin Enduro 3 launching alongside the Garmin Fenix 8 range. The Garmin Enduro 3 stands out for its incredible battery life, with the watch lasting up to 90 days in sunny conditions, and offering up to 320 hours of GPS tracking.

That monstrous battery life has been a feature of the Enduro line since it launched, with the watch being designed for multi-day adventures, and Garmin has managed to increase the battery life in the new model while keeping the case size the same at 51mm.

Along with the upgrade in battery life, the new Enduro 3 has improvements to its navigation features, including dynamic round-trip routing where you set a target distance and the watch will create a route for you that updates on-the-go to get you back to your starting point in that distance.

Garmin has also added strength training programmes to the watch, with these four to six week plans helping you to hit a variety of fitness goals. Plus, there are guided strength workouts on the watch that support certain sports, like skiing and trail-running.

Person wearing the Garmin Enduro 3 while cycling

(Image credit: Garmin)

The titanium case and sapphire screen on the Enduro 3 make it a lightweight but very durable watch. It has a built-in flashlight and solar panels on its watch face that help to boost its battery life in sunny conditions, and it comes with Garmin’s UltraFit nylon band, which I’ve always preferred to the brand’s silicone bands.

It is lacking some features from the Fenix 8 range, with the most notable being that the Enduro 3 doesn’t have an AMOLED display, like the Fenix 8 AMOLED. It has a similar design to the standard Fenix 8, with a memory-in-pixel screen that allows for longer battery life.

The Enduro 3 also doesn’t have a built-in mic and speaker, which have been added to the Fenix 8 watches, and it isn’t a diving watch. The Fenix 8 has a 40m dive-rated case and scuba diving and apnea sports modes. The Enduro 3 instead focuses on battery life and performance in a lighter design, but does seem to match the features of the Fenix 8, while offering longer battery life. 

So the fact it’s actually cheaper than the Fenix 8 at $899.99/£769.99  vs $999.99/£949.99 for the base Fenix 8 models makes the Enduro 3 an attractive option to those who regularly partake in long adventures in the great outdoors. There is also the new Fenix E to consider though, which offers the essentials of Garmin’s top watches for $799. 

More from Tom's Guide

Nick Harris-Fry
Senior Writer

Nick Harris-Fry is an experienced health and fitness journalist, writing professionally since 2012. He spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers, which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear.

Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 27min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 13 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK.

Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for many publications, including Live Science, Expert Reviews, Wareable, Coach and Get Sweat Go, he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent.

Read more
Garmin Enduro 3
Garmin Enduro 3 crashes to lowest ever price on Amazon — it's better value than the Fenix 8
Close up of the Amazfit T-Rex 3 smartwatch on an orange silicone strap
I just went hands-on with the Amazfit T-Rex 3 and it could be my new favorite wallet-friendly rugged smartwatch
Close-up of the Garmin Instinct 3 smartwatch in orange and teal on a user's wrist with the default screen shown
I wore the Garmin Instinct 3 for six weeks and it's a near-perfect smartwatch for outdoor enthusiasts
Close-up of the Garmin Instinct 3 in 45mm on a user's wrist with the 'torch' flashlight shining
I wore the Garmin Instinct 3 for over a week — here's 5 things I like and 2 I hate
Garmin Instinct 3
The Garmin Instinct 3 just launched at CES and it’s a rugged and affordable rival to the Fenix 8
Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Instinct 3
I wore the Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Instinct 3 for two weeks — which is better?
Latest in Smartwatches
The coolest things the Apple Watch can do
A folding Apple Watch could follow the iPhone Flip — here’s what we know
Atari 2600 My Play Watch
It's not just Pebble — Atari is back with a watch that lets you play retro games on your wrist
Pebble Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2 smartwatches
Pebble is back with two new smartwatches starting at $149 — how to preorder
Garmin Fenix 8 Sleep
New data reveals the average Garmin sleep score — do you sleep better or worse than most people?
Garmin Fenix 8 deal
Act fast! Unexpected discount sees Garmin Fenix 8 drop to its lowest price on Amazon
The coolest things the Apple Watch can do
7 best Apple Watch features you're probably not using, but should
Latest in News
Rendered images of rumored foldable iPhone.
Foldable iPhone report just revealed key details — here's what we know
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Saturday, March 23 (#651)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #385 (Sunday, March 23 2025)
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 rumored specs — here’s what we know so far
iPhone 17 Pro render
iPhone 17 Pro — 7 biggest rumored upgrades
CAD renderings of the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
Pixel 10 leak could be good news for all Android phones