Suunto Software update Q2 (2.56.18) - July 14th, 2026 - Vertical 2 and Race 2
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@sky-runner
Huge difference here. Well probably Suunto will work with font in next update/future.
So far I find out Dark Mode good enough. In normal bright map mode sadly for me it’s unreadable. -
@sky-runner Try switching the offline map to Dark Mode if you’re having trouble seeing it.
For me, city names aren’t really necessary—I actually turn them off because I already know where I am. What I want from my watch is a smooth, real-time map that shows my route without lag.
That’s one thing I really like about Suunto. The map rendering is fluid, even while moving, unlike Garmin, which can sometimes feel choppy. The color scheme is also well designed, especially in the forest, making trails much easier to distinguish and read at a glance.
Sometimes the issue isn’t the map itself—it might just come down to how it’s being used. A few small adjustments to the map settings can make a surprisingly big difference.
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@sky-runner Try switching the offline map to Dark Mode if you’re having trouble seeing it.
Both Dark and Light maps are quite poor at rendering trails at 500 ft and 0.2 mi zoom levels - the contrast is just too poor due to choice of colors. The only acceptable option for me is High Contrast maps.
I shouldn’t have to use a workaround just to see labels. I think Suunto developers should improve this for everyone in all map styles. And I am not alone - here is a screenshot of a poll I did on Reddit:
Suunto: Ambit, Ambit 3 Peak, 9 Baro, Race S, Race Ti, Vertical 2 Ti
Garmin: Forerunner 210, Forerunner 610, Fenix 6X, Fenix 7X Ti -
@sky-runner I understand your point, but the reality is that everyone sees and uses maps differently. That’s exactly why Suunto offers multiple map styles, including High Contrast, Dark, and Light.
I don’t think the goal should be to make every map style look the same. If Suunto changed everything to match one group’s preferences, another group of users might end up unhappy. Personally, if Suunto maps looked like Garmin’s, I probably wouldn’t buy their products either.
Different preferences are exactly why having choices is better than forcing a single design on everyone.
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@sky-runner pass me the poll so I can tranfer it to PM
Community Manager / Admin @Suunto
Creator of quantified-self.io - sync Garmin and COROS activities to Suunto, import Suunto routes, deliver Suunto routes to Garmin courses, and analyze training data in one private dashboard. -
@sky-runner The text on the Garmin’s screen is easier to read – hard to argue with that. But Garmin’s maps look more like graphics than actual maps.
Suunto’s maps, despite sometimes poor colour choices, are often much more readable in the field.
Note that even on professional paper maps – the Holy Grail of maps – the text isn’t the most important thing; it’s the landscape features. -
@Egika for others, of course, but this is avery tiny user base being addressed.
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@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos said:
@sky-runner pass me the poll so I can tranfer it to PM
https://www.reddit.com/r/Suunto/comments/1uz9eni/do_you_find_map_labels_street_or_trail_names_to/
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@Svenning I have the same issue with ages and loosing close up eyesight and use sunglasses with built in ready lens. It works well.
Even if Sunnto changed all the fonts increase size on map etc sooner or later glasses will be needed.
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I do not need to wear glasses but I do struggle to read the labels on the maps purely due to a lack of contrast between the text and the background. It is also hard to pick out trails which are green on background of lighter green sometimes when outside so a different colour or a thicker line would be useful. I appreciate what everyone else has said and that my needs are not necessarily the same as most other people.
Suunto Ambit3 peak
Suunto 9
Suunto Vertical 2
Suunto Wing 2
COROS HR monitor -
@Svenning So I have to buy more hardware in order to use my current hardware? I’m not doing that!
Just make the fonts more legible, user test it with people that need reading glasses, test it with people that don’t. Find out what works.
Watch: Suunto Race S
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It is also hard to pick out trails which are green on background of lighter green sometimes when outside so a different colour or a thicker line would be useful
Yes, that is exactly what I have complained about many times. Trails are too thin and the contrast between similar colors isn’t good enough. That is less of a problem when having a navigation route, but using the map without a navigation route is problematic due to poor contrast of “green on green” trail rendering. This applies to both Light and Dark maps. Also this partially applies even to High Contrast maps because trails are too thin and still not high contrast enough.
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If font outline on streets was choosen better. It would be easyli readable for most people. Currently choosen outline make that font harder to read than necessary. I don’t have problem to read it with my eyes but i agree clarity is really bad on street names. With other fonts and text on suunto map i don’t have much problem. Maybe just green paths on green background could be more wide to be better seen too.
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@Svenning I have the same issue with ages and loosing close up eyesight and use sunglasses with built in ready lens. It works well.
Even if Sunnto changed all the fonts increase size on map etc sooner or later glasses will be needed.
Same for me, I’m using Oakley glasses with +2 lens built in, that works very well, but I still need to use dark mode to be able to reed it easily. So there is room for improvement.
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Maybe Suunto could make some examples of few new variants and we could vote for what we want :-).
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@Steven-Hambleton that is a very strange argument. I had perfect vision up to 50. Now I need 2.5 readers at approaching 60.
They would never have a font big enough to read on a map crammed into a watch without readers for me now.
And I guess for you also as you age
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@Audaxjoe I just need 0.5x glasses but it’s the system messages which bug me the most. I run at night a lot and the fonts are small and thin which makes them blurry against a white background.
Bumping them up to a font size similar to the menu and with a black background would make them far easier to read - it wouldn’t affect those with good eyesight but would benefit those without.
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The question you have to ask yourself is: does everything really need to be readable on a tiny watch screen – and while running, no less? To me, it’s obvious that some things just can’t be done or seen properly. But maybe my expectations are too low.
For me, certain compromises are just obvious -
@maszop I agree basically but the Garmin solution is reported to be better readable. Since we have seen just the next stage in Suunto’s map design, I think it is likely that they will improve this in the next release.
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@Gunnar My friend recently got lost in the woods while relying on a Garmin map, and it turned into a major rescue operation.
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