Spartan update complains

borgelkranz

@Brad_Olwin said in Spartan update complains:

@borgelkranz I feel differently.

That’s absolutely fine with me. Your feelings are yours and mine are mine.

Concerning your other questions: back with my Ambit 2R that I bought because I could not afford a regular Ambit 2s I envied the updates that the bigger models received.

That’s why I decided to buy the biggest model next time.

Well, that was a mistake. Just like buying a Windows Phone was. My bad(s).

The lessen I earned (pun intended) is to never again buy a new product. Regardless of the manufacturer’s reputation.

Concerning my SSU: in fact it let’s me do most of the things that I do. Hiking, biking and running. All three for recreational purposes.

Still I hoped for features like training plans (I had them with MC), recovery test, performance index and such.

Maybe I have to admit to myself that I bought a product that is aimed at another market than the one I’m supposed to be a buyer in.

But even then I am puzzled at the way Suunto presents their products. Probably I’d need an S5 with a baro. But that’s not be had…

Jessica Monk

@borgelkranz said in Spartan update complains:

Just like buying a Windows Phone was. My bad(s).

Lol. I did that too I wanted Windows phone to take off so bad, but here I am 2 years later, Android in hand

SlaSh

Done espect FB to come to spartan line as it is purely licensing cost question and in other hand when why to buy Sx line when cheaper spartan will have the same.
Marketing departments now own companies and no matter it is sport watch manufacturers or else, this happens everywhere and shouldn’t be new for you guys
Age when stuff was made to last has ended long time ago…

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@SlaSh I am sorry but “last” to “get new features” (which is what you refer to) has a big difference.

Let me butt in here.

Spartans with ohr or no , could support the firstbeat features but not all , eg the trainer can’t for hw reasons and some others as well.

I had said this before , you might think that the Spartans have the same hw with the s series but they don’t.

However, licensing is a big thing here in play. Yes it costs x amount of money for each unit sold to bring that feature to a watch including all the testing and tweaking for device hw + build (weight) etc. (This does not apply to all models meaning the testing as some don’t even have ohr)

And no this is not about marketing. If it was one button press, it would have been done. Took us 3+ months to bring it to the s9 line and that was not only due to sw development (that was also needed) but for many other reasons kinda mentioned above.

I hope it clears up a bit the conversation.

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

And hey I am taking about firstbeat. Not in any case about generic update etc. That was discussed before and I also expressed my dissatisfaction.

kriskus

And any hints/leaks if we can expect any update for SSU in predictible future?

jsuarez

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos said in Spartan update complains:

However, licensing is a big thing here in play. Yes it costs x amount of money for each unit sold to bring that feature to a watch including all the testing and tweaking for device hw + build (weight) etc. (This does not apply to all models meaning the testing as some don’t even have ohr)

I would be happy to pay a few extra bucks for those features. What I don’t like to feel as a consumer is that my EUR 500+ watch is artificially crippled (hardwarewise -missing basic features such as structured intervals- and softwarewise -read MC web-).

@jsuarez said in Spartan update complains:

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos said in Spartan update complains:

However, licensing is a big thing here in play. Yes it costs x amount of money for each unit sold to bring that feature to a watch including all the testing and tweaking for device hw + build (weight) etc. (This does not apply to all models meaning the testing as some don’t even have ohr)

I would be happy to pay a few extra bucks for those features. What I don’t like to feel as a consumer is that my EUR 500+ watch is artificially crippled (hardwarewise -missing basic features such as structured intervals- and softwarewise -read MC web-).
So maybe it is a new ideal for business model for suunto, paid updates for certain features.
But I guess people wouldn’t like it anyway

fejker

@kriskus said in Spartan update complains:

And any hints/leaks if we can expect any update for SSU in predictible future?

Judging by past update cycles, we will have to wait until early march to find out - if we get an update at all … hopefully at least bug fixes sooner than that.

Suunto has just split the two lines regarding version numbering … Spartans (non WHR) are now two version behind (one minor update and one bigger). I know the hardware is different, but in the past every time there was an update for the S9 line, the Spartan line would get it too with their own differences, but the version number was the same.

So how is this going to work now, will the Spartans be made into a separate version numbering with just bug fixes and no new features - unlikely … will the Spartans get updated with the next major S9 update - highly unlikely … or will the Spartans stay at 2.8.24 (non WHR) and 2.8.28 (WHR) - very likely?

Fenr1r

@fejker Highly plausible but morale-sapping scenario there, Leonidas.

fejker

@Fenr1r I hope Suunto proves me wrong … otherwise I will just flash an older FW that works for my needs and keep using that until I buy a new watch (high probability it won’t be a Suunto watch).

danisius

I think that Spartans will not get anymore any FW updates.
It seems that watch is mantained for about 2 years and then work is focussed in new producs, i get to this conclusion looking at list with updates for Ambit 3.

Now i`m wondering when Suunto 11 will be released, maybe in the spring of 2020?

sealion.hr

I had SSWHRB and then upgraded to S9baro (started in 2012 with Ambit1). In my opinion Spartans have everything that was promised since the day 1 (firmwarewise). In that sense, I understand company for not pushing this update to Spartan line.
What I cannot understand is not resolving known bugs in the firmware, which are present in S line as well. Personally I reported 1 bug which is present in firmware regardless of the watch (and I am not the only one who noticed the issue) i.e. when having external heart rate monitor and when setting FEELING is set to OFF, when saving workour watch will remain stuck in “saving” screen and you have to reset the wach (workout is nevertheless saved afterwards).
Personally I do not care about new firmware update as fearstbeat features are none if my interest (but I understand all the marketing hype around these metrics) I am just an ordinary athlete doing regularly various sports and watch is just a pure tool to measure excercises right. Have a very good feeling on my recovery even on my VO2max. I would much rather prefer structured intervals if possible or even smaller things like countdown beeps during simple intervals on watch (the way Polar has, already submitted it as a feature idea to Suunto). Also it is nearly impissible to turn on screen backlight during run at night without switching the display.
On the positive side, I love my watch: sturdy, sapphire glass, battery, big 1.4 inch screen easy to read for a 50years old dude, handles easily my Stryd and Scosche Rhythm24 external sensors. Simple and complex enough at the same time. When thinking on competition I consider Polar Vantage for interval workouts (smaller screen though, no sapphire) or Garmin…but hey, nearly 1000€ for watch (F6x sapphire) where I shall use maybe 10% of the features, no thanx. Last but not least both competitors have better apps but since using Suunto app for more than a year I can easily see progress being made. Nowadays it is rock solid for my level. Thanx for reading

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@morskilav hey I think I kinda know that bug.

I heard that its due of the watch not having the correct time before starting an activity.

Not 100% sure but might worth the check

sealion.hr

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos don’t know what do you mean by “time”. I sync watch regularly, time is fine, time zone as well. External sensors (stryd, hrm) do not have time settings afaik. It is quite simple, when Feeling is set to off problem occurs, when it is on no problem

Dimitrios Kanellopoulos

@morskilav what HRM do you use?

sealion.hr

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos Scosche Rhythm 24

314BMI

Tbh watch works fine for me. As a sport watch.

As a activity monitor it is 10 steps behind fitbit (sleep recognition, activity recognition - thats one big joke). Even step counting sukcs - it is not rocket science. Do the same thing that fitbit does: start adding steps after series of 8… anything less is not ‘walking’. So easy, so hard for suunto team.

And please do not answer me that sensor manufacturer knows what to do. They do not. In laboratory envoirment they have precise start and end time and they analize data within that interval. And they know that the subjest was running or riding a bike. It is obvious that they cant analize IMU data (try indoor rowing and stroke count is rubbish).
Yes, I work with biosensors…

Sleep recognition is one simple formula on probability.
If you add machine learning after gathering data from millions of users you will get some idea how it should work and when it is not working. But you have add ability tk adjust wake up time in the app.

But the thing that bothers me the most is that they cut app functionality just to work with some types of their watches. For me adding scuba diving by hand is the most annoying thing ever. I cant even add gps location. But of course if you have new suunto diving computer with gps it adds all that info automaticaly.

Suunto is a company and their goal is make more money. And I believe that they have better management than development team. They know that loosing ‘a few’ unhappy users is what they can afford.

After my suunto episode that lasted 8 years, few years with fitbit I will just go to strava or any third party (not supported by any watch manufacturer) platform.

BobMiles

@314BMI I agree with you in so many ways. Looking at the Ambit3, they really put some top features in there by that time. The software did not look fancy, but it was functional and thought through.
Now, the software doesn’t look fancy and the features are a joke for that price range.
It’s just an average GPS watch with half baked fitness tracking, sketchy OHR, strange marketing and development decisions.
The watch face with the duplicate battery indicator says it better than a thousand words, they lost it.

Michał Rudzki

@Brad_Olwin Unfortunately nope, they didn’t, but what they did was they learned a lot on Spartan hardware and they put into S series. Spartan + WHR has better hardware than 3 and 5. Also, they took VO2 and Movescount from Spartan and they gave us promises that the didn’t keep. So how you can feel ?! when you buy a watch that cost you around 500 euro on early-stage and after 2 and half-year you get information that SSS just died. Also, all functionalities that supposed to be on SSS go to 9/5/3. The worst thing is that the promised a lot but they didn’t really deliver that on 50%…