Garmin has boldly ventured into the wearables market with its fitness-focused offerings, and now the firm has stepped into a new and virtual domain with the announcement of its latest gaming-focused wearable, the Garmin Instinct Esports Edition.
The Instinct Esports Edition supports a dedicated eSports activity function which enables gamers to track and analyse their heart rate and stress levels while they’re in play; and thanks to a new PC tool dubbed STR3AMUP! (yes, that gave us a headache too), can share their biometric data with audiences while they compete.
Notably, the Instinct Esports Edition offers gamers the ability to customise the data overlays showing heads-up information, and can hence tailor the information they wish to show to their broadcast.
Not too dissimilar from a health bar of sorts, the smartwatch also provides a mode of analysis called Body Battery Energy Monitor (that’s a mouthful!) which, in essence, attempts to monitor how much stamina a user has remaining by tallying their heart rate, stress, and sleep data.
The genesis of the idea is that viewers will further be able to see whether a player is at their peak performance or might be too tired to play at their best.
Speaking more generally, the Instinct Esports Edition bears the same features as other models in Garmin’s Instinct range, which includes 24/7 activity tracking as well as a heart rate monitor and the ability to review notifications.
Garmin claims that the device will provide up to 80 hours of battery life in eSports Mode and up to 14 days when set to smartwatch mode. The device, which retails for $299 USD, is built to military spec at MIL-STD 810 – in the event your gaming takes a turn for the dramatic.
What are your thoughts? Would you buy a gaming-focused smartwatch? Let us know in the comments below.
