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Garmin announced a new version of its inReach satellite communicator with major upgrades that expand and improve the ways you can keep in touch while you’re adventuring outside cellphone coverage. The new inReach Mini 3 Plus now features a color display with touchscreen capabilities and adds voice messaging, longer text messages, and the ability to send and receive photos.
Sending custom text messages using the older’s Mini 2’s buttons to scroll through the alphabet was an arduous process. We haven’t gone hands-on with the device yet, but as smartphones have demonstrated, the Mini 3 Plus’ touchscreen potentially makes text messaging much easier, particularly when taking advantage of the new 1,600 character limit. Sending and receiving 30 second voice messages could be even easier. The Mini 3 Plus has a built-in microphone and speaker, and for those times when you’re out in the wild and don’t want to scare away the wildlife, voice recordings can instead be transcribed and read.
Sending and receiving photos is also a useful new feature, and not just for sharing a beautiful sunset. While the Mini 3 Plus doesn’t have a camera, it can pair to a smartphone using the Garmin Messenger app so you could send a photo of your location to assist with a rescue, or an image of a broken piece of equipment you need help fixing.
Battery life is rated at up to 350 hours when using the device to share your current location every 10 minutes, or up to 95 hours in “performance messaging mode” when you’re really taking advantage of all the new features. If you don’t think you’ll need features like voice messaging, transcriptions, and photo sharing, Garmin also sells a slightly cheaper version called the inReach Mini 3 for $449.99 that still has a color touchscreen and text messaging capabilities.
