Suunto Race 3S General Discussion

Prenj

Looks like a nice watch. Sapphire glass and brighter display are welcome addition. But the price is a tough pill to swallow. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see enough to justify the price bump. But then again, this might be just problem for existing suunto watch owners. To be honest previous race/race S watches had pretty competitive pricing strategy. At 350€ I might be tempted to buy it. At 500, not so much. I’d rather buy Race 2 tbh.

Highlands

IMHO, it’s an awesome, future proof watch. Very suitable for people who buy watches rarely. Buy one now and forget. Not that the current models are bad. I consider my V2 Ti the best watch for my needs on the market even though they could improve the mapping feature.

Brad_Olwin

When you comment on price, compare to the Ti version of Race S that was US $450 as noted here https://forum.suunto.com/post/199589 by @squirrel. Then the price bump is not as large given chip costs have dramatically increased.

raven

@Brad_Olwin said:

When you comment on price, compare to the Ti version of Race S that was US $450 as noted here https://forum.suunto.com/post/199589 by @squirrel. Then the price bump is not as large given chip costs have dramatically increased.

However, if someone doesn’t care about titanium, and they were looking at the base model Race S, then the lack of an equivalent version of Race 3S becomes important. (Note: This is not me; I got the Titanium Race S partly for the material and partly for the Courtney band colorway. But other people than me exist.) Pointing out pricing when there’s no “entry level” model that previously existed is fair, I think.

Jason M

Apologies if this has already been addressed but I tried to read all the comments and its hard to keep up with.

My question is - Are there any software differences between the Race 2 and new Race 3s as I looked at some reviews and it seems to have new software that my Race 2 doesn’t have.

Thank you!

isazi

@Jason-M you will get the same software in Q4 this year, but not feature that need newer hardware, such as music playback

jthomi

Race 3S is gonna be my next watch, following my S9PP. But right now, have to wait a little to have enough funds to buy it.
But it has all the things I want to replace my S9PP.

Jason M

Thank you! Q4 this year…seems a bit of a long wait as I work in the DevOps world and understand what is involved in updating/merging a new code branch which is what this is.

Thanks!

Steven Hambleton

@Richard-Thygesen They still need to licence fonts bigger than 8pt for their system messages and complications…

Steven Hambleton

@isazi To store and play back music? What different hardware is required for this?

Steven Hambleton

@Tieutieu And doesn’t integrate with third party apps like Runna!

That seems like a several bullets in both feet decision.

Kraisun Tunta

It looks really nice. I’ll have to try it on in person to see if the 46 mm size suits my wrist.

Highlands

@Brad_Olwin
Here the Race S Ti - 450€
Race 3S Ti sapphire- 500€.
If they charge me 50€ for sapphire, then I get for free the better oHR sensor and other improvements?

Egika

@Richard-Thygesen said:

@Egika how does it work for old people eyes?
I like the some but need to be able to read the screen without reading glasses.

Yeah, it is smaller.
And details on the map screen may be too small for some. This is highly individual.
As you already have S9 Peak - the screen is just a tad larger than S9 Peak - plus a lot brighter. Maybe this gives aou an idea.
If you are used to Race’s size, you might find it a little smallish.

In the end it is a thing of priorities: Do you value readability -> larger screen/larger watch
Do you prefer a smaller watch on your wrist -> Race 3s and live with some smaller fonts and information…

sunter

@Highlands said:

@Brad_Olwin
Here the Race S Ti - 450€
Race 3S Ti sapphire- 500€.
If they charge me 50€ for sapphire, then I get for free the better oHR sensor and other improvements?

And it is 1mm bigger.

elbee

@Richard-Thygesen said:

@Egika how does it work for old people eyes?
I like the some but need to be able to read the screen without reading glasses.

I’m 56 and use +1.50 or +1.75 reading glasses.

During activities I have no problem reading the screen. Do have to say, I use max 4 datafields per screen. And I use maps only for following a route. I do use navigation quite a lot. In the past I had no problem at all with breadcrumb navigation and I see maps just as breadcrumb navigation with a bit more context at junctions. I never use maps on my watch to see where a certain path leads to. Then I always get my phone, which is so more convenient than a tiny watch screen. I don’t use climbguide that much. I have to run/bike that hill anyway.

In day to day use, there is some small text for the complications I use (like battery percentage) but I doubt a slightly bigger screen solves that. Incoming notifications start to become difficult to read without glasses. For now I can read it just enough to decide if I have to pick up my phone to deal with it or it can wait (or is just info)

My view? If you cannot read the screen, displaying less on the screen is a better solution than a slightly larger display.

Luca Pallavidino

Hello everyone, first time I actually post something. I’ve had three Suunto watches (9 peak, Vertical 1 and Race S) and was waiting for a new release but I kinda feel disappointed. The 3s is beautiful, maybe the best looking watch on the market. The materials are great, but it feels it’s not trying to catch up in terms of features. No fall detection or emergency features, no microphone, no payments, all the nice and useful little things I was expecting. Beside that, can you guys name one reason not to buy the Race 2 instead of Race 3s? Only If someone prefers a smaller watch, but it feels like the Race 2 is a better watch offer all considered.

Richard Thygesen

@Egika thanks!

isazi

@Luca-Pallavidino the watch, in this case the Race 3S, is the hardware that is being released. Software features are shared between all watches (Run family excluded) unless they require some hardware features that are watch specific (music playback in this case). If you are fine with your Race S, why change it?

Dušan Ković

I think biggest missed opportunity with Race 3S is not releasing regular steel model… If they just added stainless steel version for 350-400eur it would be really solid buy.