Suunto Race 3S General Discussion

[Egika]

@VoiGAS this is how my Race S looks right now

I am trying to say that the price difference is not just a single feature, but a bundle of features:
High end materials, new OHR, new baro sensor, more memory, offline music, S+, more sport modes, etc.

[VoiGAS]

@Egika What did you do???

But yes, I am sure there is a reason for the price increase and everyone can decide if its worth the extra money. Its just my personal opinion that its not

[Tieutieu]

@VoiGAS said:

@Egika What did you do???

But yes, I am sure there is a reason for the price increase and everyone can decide if its worth the extra money. Its just my personal opinion that its not

+1 !! I’ve brought my SRs almost everywhere (climing indoor, outdoor, beach, water, mtb, skiing, moutains…) and the screen is like brand new ! I guess I’m far from being a “true” tester !!

[sky-runner]

@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 am 56 years old. I cannot comment specifically about Race 3S, but I can say that I have both Race S and Vertical 2, and once I’ve got Vertical 2, my Race S has been in a drawer ever since. Despite Race S being smaller and lighter, the bigger screen size makes it easier for me to read the screen, especially when using map and climb guidance. For example, on the climb guidance screen, when using Race S I absolutely cannot see the remaining climb distance. The same applies to time of day at the top of activity data screens and to map labels. Also, when reading notification text, the larger screen does make the difference. Also, the same applies to complications on many watch faces. There are probably other areas as well.

[raven]

@Egika My Race S looks brand new but I don’t use it as a hammer either.

[Squirrel]

Price seems a bit over the top at USD 600.
500 EUR (presumably including sales tax / VAT)
vs.
600 USD + tax, so about ~650 USD?
What? At first I thought it was a typo on Suunto website.
We’ll see how the sales go and when is the steel version coming out.

[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…