Suunto 7

@stromdiddily I wasn’t expecting a Suunto 9 killer. But if this watch release is any indication, I think there won’t be a Suunto 9 killer in the future.

The main problem with Wear OS is that it runs managed apps with Garbage Collection, which makes this platform significantly less robust for sport usage. Expect things like activity recording suddenly shutting down and restarting, especially when pushed to extreme.

I am sure a lot of people will like this watch, but I am not in the target audience.

Brad_Olwin

@silentvoyager I think you are being a bit too harsh, the watch is actually quite good, does not crash and the maps are amazing. While this is not the watch that you or I would buy for ultra or long distance events it will be great for a large number than want to run marathons or less. The map implementation is very good and the screen has to be seen to be believed, the stock photos do not do it justice! My hope is the work that went into maps will make it into the S9 successor.
Trail Running Heat maps around Boulder, CO

Prenj

I was expecting from suunto some ambit3 on steroids. Something like suunto 5 with compass and baro. Kind of disappointed… If this is where suunto is heading in the future, that will probably be the end of it as a serious sport and outdoor watch manufacturer. I just hope they don’t go in this direction all the way… I’m not interested in new fossil or xiaomi.

chrish

Yea, this is a complete departure for Suunto. Definitely moving to be a “Fitbit on steroids” company if you ask me. This pretty much seals the deal that they are headed toward being a data collection device for serious day-tripper athletes and to feed third-party training/analysis software. They aren’t at all catering to the outdoor enthusiasts anymore, and probably barely hitting the mark for the ultra/sky runner crowd.

Glad I sold my Spartan, wish I hadn’t re-purchased another Ambit3. Still gonna wait and see what capability the replacement web platform gives us for the Ambit3, but this is definitely not my cup of tea, hardware or software wise.

Maybe the Suunto 9 is gonna get some kind of a huge improvement this year to support the backpackers, off-trail trail runners, sky runners, etc…but I doubt it. It’s pretty evident to me that this would be where they’ve been focusing their efforts and why nothing much new has been coming to the older and even current devices and software. They just aren’t staffed to be able to do both, and this is where the $ is right now…day-use devices.

Plus, Android developers are a dime-a-dozen. They can find talent easier. Proprietary is expensive.

@Brad_Olwin May be I am too harsh. I understand Suunto needs to make money. Good for them.

Since you seem to be a tester for this watch, how about sharing a FIT file produced with it? A link to quantified-self activity would be great.

Brad_Olwin

@silentvoyager As soon as there is a public firmware released I will do that. Not sure I can ATM.

Brad_Olwin

@chrish How can you say this? I certainly don’t know what the future holds but Suunto’s base is outdoor and Ultra (more recently). I fully expect them to dominate here. BTW in my opinion there is no better ultra watch than the S9. From a guy that does Ultras.

MiniForklift

@Brad_Olwin I agree with you about the 9 being the best in its class (I am also an ultrarunner), which is why this new 7 doesn’t hold any interest for me. However I can see that it’s going to appeal to a heck of a lot people, job well done IMHO. Having said that, I have just dropped my 9 Baro into where I bought it from as the battery has started to deplete rather quickly; used to be that I could train a couple of times a day and it would maybe drop 10% or thereabouts. I charged it back up to 100% yesterday and after about 20hrs it was down to 63%? Only an hour of training in there. Be interesting to see what the issue is and what options they give me

Egika

Some more screens and opinions:
https://www.uhrenundtouren.com/en/the-suunto-7/

Brad_Olwin

@MiniForklift I think this may be due to the new Firstbeat features. Has your exercise battery estimated run time declined?

chrish

@Brad_Olwin which part? I kinda said a few things.

I just don’t think a Wear OS device is going to hit the mark for any serious backcountry outdoor person. Definitely not anybody that wants/needs more than 24 hours of battery life. Yea, as a backpacker I’m frequently carrying a small battery pack and could recharge every night. But watch and phone battery life was going in a good direction and this is totally the wrong direction in that regard. I was pretty close to being able to dump an 8-12oz battery from my pack load. No way I’m going to switch to a 24 hour battery life watch.

Regarding the future of the Suunto 9. Just based on what we’ve seen from Suunto since the release of the first Spartan is what leads me to believe the proprietary underlying platform could easily be going the way of the Ambit/MC platform in favor of Wear OS. Maybe I’m wrong and Suunto is planning to maintain two platforms? I’d be surprised if that were the case.

I’m not an ultra runner, so I’d have to defer to guys like you who are really using a Suunto Wear OS based device as to whether it’s gonna make the grade. But any event or activity > 24 hours, is that going to work for you?

We’ll see what happens with the Suunto 9 platform. If they really add true POI management from the SA app, which is really all I’ve waiting for, then maybe. But this Wear OS addition concerns me enough that I may hold off until I see what they do and say regarding a long term commitment to the Suunto 9 platform. Especially if MC and my Ambit can hold me for awhile longer until the dust settles.

Suunto Hardwear is second to none. But switching watch OS platforms this many times in just a couple of years, coupled with the lack of support, basic functionality, etc, is not confidence inspiring.

Dušan Ković

Probably smart move from Suunto in order to attract more (casual sports/fitness) people to use their products. Overpriced a bit, but looks sexy.

One thing that is now a bit clouded is the future of S line of watches… Not sure how much development will they receive, and what new features will they get. I have S9B for year and a half now and only recently it started to look like a complete watch. It is still missing things that would make it a true flagship. I hope that development speeds up u bit in the future.

jw cou

@Brad_Olwin do you know if it’s possible to directly use 3rd party apps (like Runkeeper / strava /…) to track runs with the gps / altitude of the watch? In other words, does the Suunto 7 allows to use only Suunto’s hardware and to not rely at all on Suunto’s software?

pilleus

Definitely my watch! Thank you, Suunto!

danisius

At first look i found it fascinating it is the most beautiful watch to me. There was i moment that i thougth i would upgrage my Ambit 3 with this piece of art.

But than checked the specs and price i am bit skeptical to the feature of this watch.
It is in lower end of premium watches price. Just offering Maps and super pumped Display with limited battery life.
There are no customizeble sports and no connecton to bluetooth sensors.
My outdoor activities are short runs of 30-60 mins and open water swimm up to 60 min,with battery life up to 48 hours i don`t like the idea to recharge it every day.

My conclusion is: I would not spent almost 500 euro just for the perfect look and i think that most people would not do it too.
I`m starting to wonder where Suunto is heading hope it would not follow Fitbit.

Jonathan Newby

I do run/walk ultras and looking at S7 I like it. The question is should i get it to complement my S9 or should i wait and get the S10.

Jonathan Newby

@solid_dd I was thinking daily use S7 racing S9.

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

Suunto 7 is a smartwatch @silentvoyager ,

I suunto waited to make $$ from the mountain lovers, well that is bad news. There are only a few like us in this word.

It would not be called ultra if anyone could run one

Shrek3k

There are a lot of really good comments that hit the mark in my opinion. I have to say -
1 - surprise accomplished
2 - accomplished that I now fear a little bit, that the focus drifts away from ‘real sport watches’ although I read @Brad_Olwin commentary about the Ultra domination I still see the limited capacities of Suunto … and as mentioned before - to become another Fossil-watch-adaptor might not be enough
3 - the features of the watch are interesting, nevertheless, but, it it is not for me

kurko

I have to say that this model is a huge opening for Suunto towards mass markets. Some people seem disappointed due to limitations on very niche features e.g. triathlon. This watch is not meant for hardcore athletes but fancy daily driver for most. If this turns out successful and Suunto development team gains good learnings on integration, I would not be surprised if we see Suunto 11 or so with more athlete’s approach later on.