Suunto 7 in 2021! Is it a good buy?

BinoWorld UK

Folks

I am in the market or for a Suunto 7 and after browsing YT for hours I just canot find any real take on the performance of the S7 after all the updates it had received over the last year.

Can someone please share their experience with battery battery life from an average user point of view and the casual one or two runs a week of 40 minutes each and HR. Each review I watched was knocking off the S7 for it’s lack of HR accuracy and poor battery life.

I currently have a S9 non Baro, I do like the look of the S7 and the flexibility to install an Alti-Barometer app which I am missing now. I am absolutely fine with charging the watch every day if need be.

Thanks in advance

Egika

@optics-field-test
Battery:
has been discussed here a lot already. With normal smartwatch use (check weather, check messages, run 30mins, with constant BT connection to phone and flight mode during sleep i have 40% left after 24h.
I usually charge it in the morning while getting me and the kids ready. After 30mins it is back at 100%.

HR:
Definitely way better than S9 (except S9P which is on par)!

olymay

@optics-field-test at full price I can’t honestly recommend one right now. The S7 will not get WearOS 3, and whilst it runs very, very well on WearOS 2 there is no guarantee how long support will last.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my S7 and if it broke today I would buy a replacement tomorrow. But not at full price. I would search out a used or reconditioned unit.

If you can get one at a reduced price then I would HIGHLY recommend it. I still think it is the best WearOS device on the market (yes, even better than the GW4 and TWP3 mega ultra super snazzy - or whatever silly name it has now).

The HR is super accurate (for me). The GPS tracking is great and power efficient. The sleep tracking is brilliant and beats a dedicated monitor I have. And with regular use (no GPS tracking) I get an easy 48hrs battery life from mine.

BinoWorld UK

@egika Thank you for swift reply mate.

It all sounds good to me as as that’s on par with my Apple S6 or a bit better. Seems like the battery has been improved with various updates. Thank you!

BinoWorld UK

@olymay Thank you for the speedy response chap

I think the asking prices atm is fair whilst discounted on Suunto website.

HR is very accurate is music to my ears which should lead to accurate HRV reading and more precise sleeping score prediction.

I am not sure if I care much about Wearos as I am mainly attracted to the looks of the watch and the integration with Suunto app, but thanks the heads up on that.

Does the S7 count steps and calories based on its accelerometer or Google fit software?

I am a light user that doesn’t fiddle around with the watch too much, all I need a a Baro/alti widget on the main screen and done. Getting a 1/5 day out of it would be grand.

Cheers

DMytro

@optics-field-test keep in mind though, that an HR belt can’t be connected with the watch whilst using Suunto app for trainings.
It seems not to be an issue for you, but some users found it to be an essential part of a sports watch.
You could use an HR belt with S7 and an other training app however.

BinoWorld UK

@dmytro that’s an awesome tip buddy! Thanks for highlighting that area.

Egika

@optics-field-test said in Suunto 7 in 2021! Is it a good buy?:

Does the S7 count steps and calories based on its accelerometer or Google fit software?

Yes, it counts steps based on the accelerometer. Both Google Fit and Suunto Wear App read and present the numbers.
Not 100% sure where the calorie information comes from. It should take the 24/7 HR into account and not just steps. But it is shown, recorded and synced to Suunto App.

BinoWorld UK

@egika Manu thanks

With best wishes,
Sl

aeroild

@optics-field-test I get from 36 to 40 hours battery including a 30-50 min run, notifications 16 hours during day, sleep tracking (while in flight mode and theatre mode), daily HR monitoring and body resources activated.
HR precision is excellent on runs. GPS is on par with my old Spartan Sport.
Google Pay is great. Navigation with maps and Spotify with offline music are also great but uses a lot of battery.
I am happy with my Suunto 7. I wish for support for external HR sensor in the Suunto Wear app, but that is the only thing I’m missing. And maybe also a Vo2max value after runs. Getting an upgrade to Wear OS 3 would be nice, but I honestly don’t think that would bring any more features. My only fear is that apps like Spotify and Google Pay eventually will stop supporting Wear OS 2.

@optics-field-test said in Suunto 7 in 2021! Is it a good buy?:

I am a light user that doesn’t fiddle around with the watch too much, all I need a a Baro/alti widget on the main screen and done. Getting a 1/5 day out of it would be grand.

Hi,
I use the Alt-Baro app from XDA and it works very well (I only use the manual calibration so I can’t say anything about the automatic). I often use the watch without the need for GPS (so just the altitude from the barometer) and it survives a 2 day hike with no problems.

… I forgot to mention that there is a specific tile with altitude and pressure (absolute value)

BinoWorld UK

@g-q Hi, thanks so much for input on the Bro/Alt option.

I am in to hiking and rely quite a bit on Baro do you know if it has automatic switch from Baro to altitude once on the move?

Cheers

@optics-field-test
I would love that, unfortunately no.
The automatic I was referring to has nothing to do with the automatic you found in the Suunto watches. Just a way to pick up a reference from some station around you and calibrate the altitude.

BinoWorld UK

@g-q oh I see so the app doesn’t display Sea level pressure instead absolute pressure? If that’s case then it’s the same as all Casio ABC both alt & barometer work separately.

olymay

@optics-field-test Have a look at the Baro Trend app as another option.

Brad_Olwin

@optics-field-test said in Suunto 7 in 2021! Is it a good buy?:

@egika Thank you for swift reply mate.

It all sounds good to me as as that’s on par with my Apple S6 or a bit better. Seems like the battery has been improved with various updates. Thank you!

I tested the S7 against an AW5, not too different from the AW6. I you have Apple devices, the S7 will not communicate with them as an AW does, I really miss this. The S7 will use iCal for calendar information and will display text messages. if you want to fool around with IFTTT you can get Apple Reminders to ToDoist and into your S7.

However, the AW is simply not a good enough sports device to overcome the issues with S7 for me. The battery life for the AW during exercise does not compare (if you always have the phone with you and AW uses the iPhone GPS they are closer). I can get 15-18h of GPS on good fix with the S7. Maps are not native during exercise on AW, they are on the S7. (on the AW you have to use a 3rd party app, Workoutdoors is great but then…you sacrifice other things…). Hitting the lap button on the AW is a pain especially during intervals. Getting the data into SA from AW is a bit of work too, harder than from SA to Health.

So, while I miss the smartwatch features of the AW, the S7 is a superior exercise watch. The map implementation is brilliant and I use it a lot! There are a significant number of 3rd party apps that will work on the S7 without an Android phone so the functionality is not bad.

Storz

Mine is for sale, cheap. PM if interested. Black/lime color

@Optics-field-Test around one year back I take the decision of move from S9B to S7, today I still believe, that at least for me, it was the right decision. I love the smartwatch functionallity and yes, the battery lasts less than on S9B but are two kind of different devices. You will love the S7 and its features.
For baro I use Baro Trend app among others.

I can get 15-18h of GPS on good fix with the S7.

@brad_olwin you get this using the Location Accuracy in GOOD or with other additional tweck?
Thanks!

Brad_Olwin

@flypg said in Suunto 7 in 2021! Is it a good buy?:

@brad_olwin you get this using the Location Accuracy in GOOD or with other additional tweck?
Thanks!

Yes, no additional tweaks except I put the watch in airplane mode so no notifications. You can occasionally view the map page but loading a course will reduce the battery life.

My last run this last Sunday (2h) with GPS set to best and no course loaded estimated 11h of GPS tracking

@brad_olwin Thank you!