Live location S+ app

Nikolai Simonov

Hey everyone!

Glad to announce that Live Groups is finally in the early preview stage, and you can try it out right now.

You don’t even need the latest version to get started. Group setup can be done entirely through the web interface.

Here is all you need to do:

Connect your Suunto account in the app.
Confirm your email via your web profile (don’t worry, I won’t send any spam).
Create a group and manually add your partners.

You can also invite people via an invite link, but that’s currently only available in the TestFlight version.
You able to add to group any user with linked Suunto account

The link to watch the group live will look like this: live.athletica.one/live/+group-name

I’ve recorded a short walkthrough video to show how it all works:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/8RA2GZJHFC#3SfMbzrSV8sR

And quick demo how it looks for spectators:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/0NXMP4BV1R#zxaE0CLPdcwh

Since this feature is in early access, I would be REALLY grateful for any feedback! Let me know how it works for you or your club.

Ecki D.

@Nikolai-Simonov Have you thought about other datasources for the livetracking app. When it comes to groups, my first thought is - how to add that G. users to our group.

Further on my last ride I had to re-route on the watch during recording an activity. How can this be achieved in the moment? I couldn’t work it out without loosing the live track and stopping the activity to reconnect the watch to the suunto app. So I did just switch to directly back to start and let me route further with komoot and google maps.

Nikolai Simonov

@Ecki-D.

Regarding other ecosystems: Yes, expanding to users from other ecosystems is definitely in our plans for future growth. There is a lot to investigate regarding how best to implement this. One idea we are considering is a “guest account” feature that would allow users to join a group using just their phone’s GPS on demand. It’s one of directions, but there are still many details to work out before we can make it happen.

Regarding re-routing during an activity:
If I understand correctly, you want to maintain your live tracking session even if you need to stop an activity to adjust your route mid-workout.

So, here is how the system currently works: if you completely end an activity on your watch, it sends a “stop” message, which tells our service the session is finished. However, if the connection is simply lost without that “stop” signal, the service keeps waiting for new data until a timeout occurs. Even if the service on the phone is turned off during this time, there will be a “stalled” session in the app. If you start the app again, it should ask you whether you want to continue the previous session or start a new one. Because this involves several edge cases, it hasn’t been exhaustively tested, but it should work.

As a workaround for your specific situation, you could try this:

During your activity, hold down the bottom button to enter the settings.
Go to SuuntoPlus and turn off live tracking. (It would looks like a dropped connection for phone).
Stop activity
Set up your new route.
Once you are ready, re-enable live tracking as usual.
The live session should then pick up right where it left off!

So, hope it helps! And let me know if it works for you!

Nikolai Simonov

While we wait for the app stores to approve version 1.0.14, I want to share an early preview of a new feature I think you’ll find useful.

Introducing Sensor Bridge! or sensor forwarding, decide later…

You can use this during indoor sessions to share your heart rate, cadence, and power directly to apps like MyWhoosh or Zwift, or simply broadcast your HR to your bike computer, or other Suunto watch…

Here is a quick video showing it in action: https://drive.proton.me/urls/STJ4XA016R#DVBaMPzj9cLt

I also prepared an early Android build so you can try it yourself: https://artifact.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/live-t/apk/sensor-forward/live-t.apk

Please give it a run and let me know if it works for you!

I will release the iOS TestFlight build later this week.

Well…

To try this out in the Android build, simply follow these steps:

Go to Settings -> Lab and turn Sensor Forwarding to ON.

Start the service and connect your watch as usual.

Once your watch connects, you can pair your other device to the sensor.

Look for a Bluetooth device named SF-ATHL. It will broadcast your HR, Power, and Cadence/Speed data.

Heyhoheyho

Hi @Nikolai-Simonov

First of all : THANK for this app. I love it (great design too :))

Small question : i try to log me https://live.athletica.one/profile and link it with the app. It said : Open the Live.τ app on your phone and scan this QR code. But there is no possibility on the app to scan the QR Code. When i open the camera on my phone (app already open), i’m blocked on the account page. If i close the app and scan the QR Code, the app doesn’t open.

I’m on iOS (and I’m using Safari for the web).

Thanks!

Best

Ecki D.

@Nikolai-Simonov Yeah I think it works to draw a new route and sync it to the watch without stopping the activity.

Generate new Route on Suunto App
Stop Livetracking in Suunto Plus
Restart Suunto App (iPhone)
Add Route to watch - this sync works will still in activtiy so you don’t have to stop it
Choose new route on watch
Enable livetracking in Suunto Plus
Connect it with the Livetracking app.

Nikolai Simonov

@Heyhoheyho Oh! Thanx for point out! Looks like i broke iOS deeplinks in the latest builds

Will fix in the next release.

Speed Man

It looks like the application can also download offline maps, but how do we actually use this feature?

Nikolai Simonov

@Speed-Man

Yep, it can sound odd to have offline maps for a live tracking app (since that means you probably should be online).

It’s not a game-changer feature, but it can still be really helpful for things like:

Reducing traffic and battery usage: Transmitting a live data package is fast even on a low-end connection, but downloading map tiles requires a much broader channel + battery consumption could be increased especially on bad network condition. Pre-downloading maps just helps free up your network channel so it doesn’t struggle with loading graphics.
Offline navigation: Sometimes your network goes offline, but your watch GPS is still fine. In those cases, it could be helpful to use the map on your larger smartphone screen to navigate, or looking around.

Speed Man

@Nikolai-Simonov If this feature can also help reduce the phone’s battery consumption, that would be amazing. Sometimes when we go deep into the forest, the phone keeps trying to search for a signal, which can drain the battery faster.
I really like this feature and I hope it continues to improve. Keep up the great work with the development!

Antoine

Hello,
I’ve noticed that running a guided route simultaneously with the Suunto+ Live Tracking feature triggers frequent “off-route” alerts, even when I’m on the right path.

Nikolai Simonov

@Antoine do you mean off-route alert on watch or in the live.t app?

so basically it shouldn’t intersect in any way, but it’s interesting observation i’l check what it could be.

Antoine

@Nikolai-Simonov said in Live location S+ app:

@Antoine do you mean off-route alert on watch or in the live.t app?

so basically it shouldn’t intersect in any way, but it’s interesting observation i’l check what it could be.

It is off-route alert on watch.
I had these kind of alerts on several different routes (and using live.t app at the same time)

Nikolai Simonov

@Antoine Hmm… looks quite odd and interesting, currently no idea how routes could intersect with the app… need to test by myself.

Nikolai Simonov

Hey everyone!

Lately, I’ve been working on a group walkie-talkie feature for Live.τ! (I believe someone asking about this.)

What is the feature?

It’s the ability to exchange voice messages within a group. You can use your headphones (which is probably the most convenient way) or your smartphone like a traditional walkie-talkie. You will also be able to initiate PTT via your watch (this is currently in the works).

How does it work?

You need to have or be in a group. There is no minimum size, it can be just 1 person.
To create a group, you must have a verified email address. You can verify your email and create the group in your profile.
Go to Settings -> Lab -> PTT in group session set to [on].
After that, you can use the walkie-talkie during any workout.
(Note: At the moment, if you are in a group, any workout is broadcast to all the groups you are a part of).

You can start speaking into the walkie-talkie in three ways:

App: Open the panel with the PTT (Push-To-Talk) button on your group card
Headphones: Use the play/pause button. Since we can’t capture a “press and release” action on headphones, the button acts as a toggle. One press gives you 15 seconds to speak. If you want to end the transmission early, just press it again.
Watch: Using a button on your watch, similar to the headphones. This isn’t implemented yet, but it will be available in the next watch update.

Your messages will be broadcast to everyone in your group, plus anyone watching your group via the web.

Where is it available?
It’s available starting from version 1.0.16 (87):

iOS: via TestFlight
Android: as an .apk file

This is an experimental and relatively complex feature, so there might be a few quirks. So and because of this, I’m really looking forward to feedback from anyone who wants to try it out!

Speed Man

Can you help explain how to broadcast watch sensors to Zwift?

Nikolai Simonov

Hey @Speed-Man!

I don’t use Zwift myself, but I believe it’s pretty much the same as MyWhoosh.

So, basically:

Pair your trainer to the watch.
Enable Sensor Forwarding in the Lab settings.
Choose a run or cycling activity.
Enable the service and pair your watch as usual.
Once the connection between the app and the watch is established, open the sensor search screen in MyWhoosh/Zwift/your other device.
Search for the sensor. The naming might vary, it could show up as SF-ATHL-..., Device-XXX, or maybe your phone’s name. The main thing is that the app recognizes it as a trainer or HR monitor.
-Connect to it.

Note: Data will only be broadcasted once you press the Start button on your watch, so your power, HR, and cadence will show as 0 until then.

It’s still in a really early stage. It needs more testing and stabilization, and the UX definitely should be improved. But you can try it as-is, and any feedback would be really appreciated!

Speed Man

@Nikolai-Simonov Thank you very much, sir.

Egika

@Nikolai-Simonov yesterday I wanted to switch on Live location mid-activity.
I failed.
Thule the watch showed connected, the ios app (latest beta of today) always had an orange “waiting for S+” in the status and did not get a position from the watch.
It looked like this (ios):

Is this supposed to work?

Mff73

@Egika
I already did that in the past, and in such case (with Android though), I switch off the app service, and switch on again, and it is fixing.
Maybe worth trying, as initial workaround.