Important news concerning our digital services

DmitryKo

@Emir-Karisik said in Important news concerning our digital services:

Some thoughts about this from famous sport equipment reviewer DC Rainmaker:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/01/suunto-announces-decommission-plans-for-movescount-platform-impacting-some-watches.html

I think this passage is especially cute:

they’re awaiting user feedback and then will determine a specific course of action from there. Which is a simple way of saying they’re waiting to see how many people scream (and how loud they scream).

No, my friend, no! Of course they are not “waiting to see how many people scream”. They know exactly how many people will scream, they have full MovesCount usage statistics for the older devices. It’s just these people would be the minority by the time of shutdown.

Don’t you think it was really obvious from the start that the decision to simply brick one of their most popular watch series of the past decade was not going to fly with just about anyone, starting with the current owners? Of course the damage has already been done, simply by the very fact of making such an announcement, and it wouldn’t be undone even if that decision could be reversed (which won’t really happen). This was actually expected.

What they might be really considering is their sales stats for Suunto 3 and Suunto 9 watches in the coming months. These are the first Suunto watch series with no official support for MovesCount - so if these still sell, everything is fine. Voting with your money is the only vote that counts.

All in all, the current markets are becoming oversaturated, so it’s time to move over to greener pastures. And if that fails, they can always dumb the platform down (i.e “make it simple and user-friendly”) to further cut on production and support costs.

As for the owners of current BLE watches, believe me, they will be eventually convinced to move over to the Suunto App. They just have no other choice if they want to continue using their watches.

Again, please understand that it was not a spontaneous decision taken without any consideration, and that it won’t be reverted, no matter the amount of possible backlash from the users. All that voting and petitioning is just for letting out the steam.

I’m optimistic Suunto will come up with a plan to solve things over the next few months. By going with a decommissioning date some 18 months into the future, they’ve given themselves plenty of time to come up with a plan and execute on it. Even if we don’t necessarily like it. Hopefully, that end plan will at least maintain core functionality for all watch owners, even if it lacks the extended functionality.

Wishful thinking at best. Do not expect some miracle to happen - 18 months from now would be barely enough to properly implement the announced transfer options and make the Suunto App usable.

Please only consider the features that have been outlined in the official announcement. These are the only ones that will be actually implemented, if all goes well. Do not rely on possible great new features that could be added in the future if they were not confirmed.

These are the simple rules of surviving product planning and release management from big multinational corporations.

A Former User

@DmitryKo agree, couldn’t have write it better, like the bit of sarcasm in your line:

“Wasn’t it really obvious from the start that the decision to simply brick one of their most popular watch series of the past decade was not going to fly with just about anyone, starting with the current owners?”

A Former User

@Tobias-F

For Ambit 1 & Ambit 2 series
"
I went round and round with Suunto on this via e-mail, and the long and the short of it is that they’re awaiting user feedback and then will determine a specific course of action from there. Which is a simple way of saying they’re waiting to see how many people scream (and how loud they scream).
"

From: dcrainmaker

It is also obvious from which company Suunto copied their new digital strategy.
Xiaomi (of amazfit fame) also has no web interface. A manufacturer of a sports watch that costs 130 euros that is based in China that has been referenced by moderators here as the model of things going forward.
To be fair, I think Xiaomi does not have an open API.

jwiberg

About open API: problem with the api is that it’s not really open. You have to have company and real product. I was about to code some stuff, but can’t get access for ‘personal projects’…

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@jwiberg It is open but you have to do something with it. ITs not for you to pull data to excel, but if you make an IFTT, for example, recipe (something you share) then it’s open to individuals.

jwiberg

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos ok, thx for info

Prenj

@Yannis-Belouris
How about this one?
https://www.gearbest.com/promotion/KOSPET-BRAVE-.html
For $59.99!
Are Suunto watches really worth 10 times more? This one right here you will be able to use until you break it, manufacturer will not kill it when they decide it’s too old. You could even buy 10 of these and just replace them when or if you break them.

Suunto don’t play “we are poor, have no resources” etc. game on us! There are manufacturers who make sport watches that cost 10 times less and will not be killed by their manufacturers! They even have fully functional app and you are able to change the settings by yourself, inside the watch! You really want to make us buy someone else’s products instead of your premium price - soon to be paperweight (“perhaps”) watches in the future?

I really love your products but please stop making fools of ourselves! You make huge profits selling high priced products that you marketed as “built to last” and now you want to persuade us that means 1.5-2 years? Come on! I bet the watch from this link up there can last 2 years too.

The least you can do is to make an offline software for managing all available settings of our watches, with ability to export data from your watches and import for the routes and POI-s. And make it open source. That would mean you respect your loyal customers. That would mean you are proud there are people who use your products for long time and they work! That would really justify top prices you are charging for your watches and not make us compare you to loads of other crappy watches manufacturers out there.

A Former User

@Emir-Karisik
Time will tell if Suunto made the right call.
We are voicing our concern. If this will be heard is another matter.
Since abandoning my Fenix5, I have bought an Ambit3 vertical, 2 SSS, 1SSSWHR, 1S9 and 1 SSU.
I chose Suunto because of the build quality and looks.
Really bought into this European company mentality and tried to support the underdog.

What Suunto is saying (now) is something that we are being reminded by the some people with good intentions here:

Caveat emptor

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@Yannis-Belouris said in Important news concerning our digital services:

We are voicing our concern. If this will be heard is another matter.

Isn’t this what it’s all about?

Philippe A.D.

Possibly the new apps will be great.
But it has to match in every points what MC offered.
Large screen is very important for mapping anything.
Data analysis is extensive in MC on single records or records to records.
Calendar view is very useful, and also planning.
Configuring watches on large screen is much more convenient.

Communication is catastrophic.
Ambit 1 and 2 support is still required. Programmed obsolecense is so bad for a company reputation today. They even consider financial compensation for products that shall even 10-15 years life cycle (when you sell quality, you sell lasting products).
Most users bought suunto with the MC support as advertized. Breaking up this support leaves a really bad feeling about the company. It opens up for class actions as well, as the company is not provided the services it has sold.
From being X9 owner, Ambit 2 owner and now SSU, driven by the outdoor and trekking, mapping has been a big plus of Suunto solutions (software + MC). On a 4-5’ screen, suunto no longer targer outdoor guys.
That’s stupid for a company that had its roots in compass for mapping in the outdoor.

Moving to the Apps could be great, but the new system, whatever its name is, must cover what MC offered, heavily discussed on the web. And this includes webbase interface.

A Former User

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos Exactly right.
For us, it seems we are fighting an unprovoked, pointless and unnecessary war.
I would must rather be fighting for FW features and/or how to integrate some of the analysis tools that are available online into the platform.

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@Yannis-Belouris why do you say that?

A Former User

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos
Regardless if I feel that a large portion of users do not care if there is a web interface or not, as long as they have strava sync, we can agree that this is a -planned- regression of functionality. We could be proven wrong.
This will make the annual upgrade decision much more difficult than it should have.
Between the unfinished Android app, the planned non-existence of a web interface, the ridiculous (sorry, but it is), situation with suunto HR belts, the minimal upgrade that S9 was in relation to SSU, the WHR issues (locked in cadence for the first x minutes, etc) things are not very rosy.
And, and I mean this, it pains me that I seem to come across as ungrateful for all the hard hard work that the IT people are investing. I very much admire their hard work, and would buy any one of them a beer if I ever meet one.

Working in a similar environment, I can relate to working hard towards a non ideal target.
The difference between:
Effectiveness - doing “the right” things
Efficiency - doing things in the most economical way
It is the business people that are steering things into uncharted territory. Maybe they have better vision than me.
Long rant over. Let;'s keep our hopes up. Also, when is the new FW out ? --Just kidding.
Efficacy - getting things done

Luís Pinto

@Yannis-Belouris agree. I love mcweb, but if Suunto tell me you prefer features on SA or keep this in actual point? First option. The problem is Very slow implementation in SA.

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@Yannis-Belouris I asked about

For us, it seems we are fighting an unprovoked, pointless and unnecessary war.

GingerBeardMan

Ambit, Ambit2, M-series, T-series and Quest Collection watches
These Suunto products will not be compatible with Suunto app due to no mobile connectivity (Bluetooth).

Is it not possible to allow connectivity between older devices and the suunto app via Suunto link?
I still have to use Suunto link to upgrade my Suunto 9 so if it is still going to be part of the suunto ecosystem, why not use it as a gateway for older devices?

A Former User

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos
I would must rather be fighting for FW features and/or how to integrate some of the analysis tools that are available online into the platform rather than begging to keep existing functionality alive.

ColdBeer

@Yannis-Belouris said in Important news concerning our digital services:

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos
Regardless if I feel that a large portion of users do not care if there is a web interface or not, as long as they have strava sync, we can agree that this is a -planned- regression of functionality. We could be proven wrong.

Don’t be confused: Strava is a social network, not a workout analysis solution (even if you’re a “summit user” and pay for it). MC is 2 or 3 light years ago from Strava.

A Former User

@ColdBeer Was not talking about me. Don’t care for strava one bit. But some of my friends are asking me if their activity has been uploaded to strava first and then worry about intervals etc.

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@Yannis-Belouris I am kinda confused. There is that announcement that MC will go off.
What stops you to “fight” for new features especially this time for the new platform, along with the affected users ( I am assuming that perhaps you where not due to your involvement with the forum/Sa app dont get me wrong)