What do you expect from the next update?

sky-runner

Seems like the old thread got resurrected.

My expectations are the same - to get the software more polished.
I use map, navigation, and climb guidance features very extensively - every week, sometimes multiple times per week. In my opinion it continues to be a mess. Almost none of this stuff works flawlessly - that is unless you use these features in the most most basic and straightforward way. There is a large number of quirks and bugs, and unfineshed rough edges. I could easily make a list of probably 10-15 issues that I continue to hit on every long run including:

The watch not following the navigation route as planned and jumping from one part of the route to another
Navigation direction reversing - almost guaranteed at a turn-around. Also often the route is reversed right from the start.
Climb guidance switching direction (going right to left), swapping colors (green for uphill), or just plainly not working correctly and showing me on an uphill segment while I and descending
Climb guidance zooming working incorrectly or even refusing to zoom
Light blue navigation arrows not being visible
Off-route notifications when I am not off route and the watch shows me right on top of the route

The above is what I could remember in a few minutes, but there are many more issues.

If someone at Suunto took a comprehensive look at this area of functionality and made sure it offers a more polished and reliable experience for trail runners, with all features completed and working correctly, this would be the best thing for me to have in the next update.

But in the last almost 2 years of owning 3 different Suunto watches I am continuously frustrated by the lack of improvement in these core areas of functionality. The only reason I continue using a Suunto watch is because there are no significantly better alternatives from competitors.

runyx17

@sky-runner I completely agree, nicely written. I really like Suunto’s navigation—graphically it’s much better and clearer than the competition—but climb guidance really doesn’t work very well. I also remembered one more bug in the navigation for me: when I turn back along a route I’ve already run, the color of the track log covers the navigation route.

duffman19

@sky-runner @runyx17 And I’ll say it again, on the chance someone out there is listening: Removing the auto-reverse “feature” would solve almost all of the navigation issues.

isazi

@runyx17 said:

I also remembered one more bug in the navigation for me: when I turn back along a route I’ve already run, the color of the track log covers the navigation route.

Not a bug, but a deliberate choice from Suunto as far as I remember. The rationale being that the real track has always precedence over the planned scenario.

runyx17

@isazi OK, I understand and accept.

stromdiddily

definitely some stuff to iron out around navigations last update…I couldn’t be more on route

dreamer_

@runyx17 said:

@sky-runner I completely agree, nicely written. I really like Suunto’s navigation—graphically it’s much better and clearer than the competition—but climb guidance really doesn’t work very well. I also remembered one more bug in the navigation for me: when I turn back along a route I’ve already run, the color of the track log covers the navigation route.

I had lots of expectations but I don’t think Suunto’s navigation is that good yet. We have spoken about this in several threads and there are too many bugs, inaccuracies and issues.
Honestly, after several months with the Vertical 2, I expected a lot more this Q2

Highlands

@dreamer_ Maybe some fixes will come with the next update.

sunter

I expect to be able to manually set custom Heart Rate zones directly in the Suunto app and have them sync seamlessly to the watch. Furthermore, I hope that activities imported from third-party head units (like the Hammerhead Karoo) are properly categorized into these HR zones, ensuring that all dependent metrics and analysis are calculated accurately.

Bogdan1921

But will be another update?

thomas1983

It would be nice to have the elevation value on the map’s contour lines, just like the Suunto 7 did.

Highlands

@Bogdan1921 Someone on Suunto telegram channel had posted a reply from Suunto support talking about future updates for V1.

dreamer_

@Highlands said:

@Bogdan1921 Someone on Suunto telegram channel had posted a reply from Suunto support talking about future updates for V1.

The V1 has not been updated in 2026 yet and we are reaching September. Perhaps Suunto is releasing an update or two but it does not seem the V1 is receiving the support that the watch should still have. Which is a shame. The watch is not that old yet

Highlands

@dreamer_ I guess that’s exactly the context of the Suunto support reply.

Even though V2 is my main Suunto, hopefully Suunto brings all new V2 features to V1 that are hardware supported. I like V1 very much and I’ll keep it until Suunto releases a new MiP Vertical.

dreamer_

@Highlands said:

@dreamer_ I guess that’s exactly the context of the Suunto support reply.

Even though V2 is my main Suunto, hopefully Suunto brings all new V2 features to V1 that are hardware supported. I like V1 very much and I’ll keep it until Suunto releases a new MiP Vertical.

MIP, navigation and that I didn’t like the update policy of Suunto are the main reasons I’m now with the Fenix 8 (MIP). I’m finally skipping this generation until the V3.

I really hope Suunto releases a new MIP Vertical. That would help further differentiate the model from the Race 3; and now that Garmin has confirmed not only the Enduro 4 but also a Fenix 9 MIP—and given that Coros is seeing strong sales for the Apex 4 (MIP) and even Amazfit is set to release a watch featuring solar and MIP technology (confirmed via patents and release expected in the next days)—it seems the MIP market isn’t as niche as many YouTubers have tried to make us believe.

Highlands

@dreamer_ IMHO MiP watches amongst outdoor enthusiasts are preferred and amoled is a niche. Even though V2 screen works great for me and I like it very much, I certainly prefer MiP.
I guess Coros will come up with an MIP Vertix 4, so if Suunto decides to put an end to Verticals with MIP, they’ll lose sales.
The only thing I like better in my Garmin are maps and navigation. But Fenix series prices have gone through the freaking roof and I’m not sure whether I’d buy another Garmin again. Their devices are way too overpriced and I don’t need the Mickey Mouse metrics they feed me. Besides, my verticals have better GPS and elevation tracking than my Fenix. I have grown to trust Garmin less and less.

dreamer_

@Highlands 100% agree.
About Garmin, they have several stupid things like the smart recording that affect to accuracy and that should be avoided in settings.
My Fenix 8, at least where I live and in my trail runs in forest, is very accurate with both GNSS and altimeter. Very similar numbers as the V2 (and in fact my F8 altimeter seems marginally better). But, in my opinion, Garmin’s navigation, is still more accurate in almost everything (but the compass and the zooming in maps, where Suunto is better)

Highlands

@dreamer_ Hard to believe that smart recording still exist even in 8/8 pro series. This is the first thing I change on a new Garmin. For me, Suunto FusedAlti does better job than Garmin’s way of measuring altitude.

duffman19

Smart Recording is just a way to reduce file size by logging data only when it changes. So if your heart rate remains steady at 150 bpm for 5 seconds, it’ll only write one data point instead of 5. It has no effect on GNSS accuracy, distance, or any other statistics. Activities with Smart Recording will look identical to those with every second recording, just with fewer data points and a slightly smaller file size.

I tested the two settings awhile back and found that even with smart recording, GNSS points were still recorded every second. I assume this is because the precision is such that each reading is always going to be slightly different. The only real compression I could see was in the other stats like HR, pace, and elevation.

Even so, I still turn on “every second” recording, because why not?

sky-runner

@Highlands said:

IMHO MiP watches amongst outdoor enthusiasts are preferred and amoled is a niche

MIP has a worse contrast especially when paired with sapphire crystal. With age, eyes lose ability to clearly see low contrast details. I always preferred MIP but now I have switched to AMOLED and will never go back to MIP.

In my opinion MIP will become fully obsolete in a few years when microLED technology matures. MicroLED will provide high contrast and high resolution combined with higher efficiency approaching efficiency of MIP. And unlike AMOLED, microLED doesn’t have a problem with burn-in.

Also, nobody produces MIP displays anymore because there is very little demand for it. With sparse supply, the cost is higher. There maybe one or two producers of small round MIP displays remaining. That’s why it is being phased out by Garmin and other brands.