Español That Suunto's new watch was going to be Suunto 7 is something we all knew. It was clear that in a range composed of 3, 5 and 9; 7 was what was missing. But what few expected was that the new watch Suunto presented today would be a smart watch.
Yes, you are reading right, Suunto has entered the market of smart watches. And it does not shy, but comes with the latest Qualcomm, the Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor. This processor is currently the most advanced there is for this type of watch. It is true that there are already rumors of the 3300, but they are simply leaks and speculation.
This Qualcomm processor brings to life a clock that uses Wear OS, Google's operating system. Suunto walks the same steps that Polar took a few years ago with M600But it does so now with a more mature platform and a much more successful aesthetic.
We can say that the Suunto 7 is "another smartwatch with Wear OS", but as happened with the Polar M600 the secret is in the "special sauce" that the manufacturer itself is able to add. That is, beyond the fact that all watches with this operating system can be very similar, the difference lies in the sports application. That is its differentiating point.
But let's look at all its features.
Suunto 7, features
Beyond the superficial details, we find what is interesting in all its details. This is not a smart watch with a sporting touch. What we have is a sports watch that offers us the benefits (and disadvantages) of a smart watch for everyday use.
This is the complete list of features.
- AMOLED touch screen with 454×454 pixel resolution and up to 1000 nits brightness (same as Apple Watch)
- Four control buttons, stainless steel bezel and reinforced polyamide body for a total weight of 70 grams and 50mm in diameter
- Support for more than 70 sports profiles, just as they are available in the rest of the range
- Maps can be downloaded to the watch for route tracking. The maps include Suunto Heatmaps, which are the most commonly used routes by other users
- Allows music to be played directly from the clock, including support for Spotify and Google Play Music
- Compatible with GPS, GLONASS and Galileo
- Barometric altimeter and digital compass
- 12-hour autonomy with GPS use and up to 48 hours as a smart clock
- Google Wear OS
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 processor
- With NFC for wireless payments with Google Pay
- Compatible with all Google applications: Google Fit, Google Assistant, downloading of Google Play applications, etc.
- Android and iOS compatible
- Available with straps of different materials and colours (silicone, leather and textile), all in 24mm width
- WiFi for synchronization, firmware update and local map download
- Water resistant to 50 meters
As you can see there are many positive aspects covered by Suunto 7. The most important one, beyond the Wear OS platform and the amount of possibilities it opens (which are many) is undoubtedly the maps.
Suunto had fallen behind Garmin, and the vast majority of its users are in the mountains, where map navigation is most useful.
These maps will be downloaded automatically via WiFi connection, provided you have your watch charged. So if you are going on a trip you do not need to prepare the maps in advance, the watch itself will download them when it confirms that you are in a different location.
They also include Suunto Heatmaps, which show which popular routes other Suunto users have registered for that location.
It is certainly the first thing Suunto needed to be able to fight one-on-one with Garmin. Of course, this is a different offer from the American brand because the range of autonomy is very different, but the type of processor and display used is also very different, which guarantees that Suunto's proposition will be much faster and more intuitive.
Suunto 7 Availability and Pricing
Do not think that this presentation is a toast to the sun to enter the framework of the CES 2020 (which this year is going to be quite decaffeinated), not at all, because you can already book Suunto 7 through its official website, with delivery available (and availability in other stores) the first days of February.
So it will be available, effectively, from "now".
As for its official price, it is 479 euros in any of its finishes and colours.
Suunto 7's opinion
Suunto have started to run away and enter a totally unknown territory, but I really want to get my hands on it and try it out, because it's an important turning point for Suunto.
It's true that Suunto had perhaps remained somewhat stagnant, offering watches that although quite different, to the untrained eye might seem practically the same, because from a Suunto Spartan Ultra to a Suunto 9 it might seem that there is very little difference, when the truth is that internally they are totally different.
And perhaps this was the reason for the continued delay in replacing Movescount with the new Suunto app platform, but the truth is that overnight we found ourselves with a completely different scenario for the Finnish manufacturer.
Now they have a watch with an app store that offers a lot of possibilities (not only apps, but also watch faces), support for wireless payments and music, downloading maps for route tracking, etc.
That is to say, this is a competitor that intends to fight not only with Polar or Garmin watches, but also wants to dare to stand up to the Apple Watch. It is true that in several aspects it can't measure up -mainly in health functions and iOS integration-, but it will cover much better the sport possibilities, something that Apple doesn't intend to bet on and that is my biggest criticism (this week I will publish the complete test of the Apple Watch Series 5).
As I say, Suunto has a very capable single-movement model, which offers the advantages not only of the other watches in its range but also all the advantages of smart watches. But of course, that also means a toll that we will find in its autonomy.
With a maximum of 12 hours of GPS use and up to 48 hours in smart clock mode, it's a far cry from what we're used to in Suunto watches, so it's not a model that will serve everyone, but it's not a bad number, it's very similar to what we have available in other smart watches like the already mentioned Apple Watch.
On paper, Suunto's proposal is extremely interesting. Polar's proposal with the M600 was already interesting (to which an unattractive aesthetic was not good for it), but Wear OS has changed a lot since then. Now it remains to be seen how Suunto's development of its part of the firmware has been and how they will integrate the new Suunto 7 into the rest of the Suunto App ecosystem. Because it's one thing to synchronize data with the phone, and quite another to configure it from the platform.
But don't worry, as soon as I get my hands on one of the new Suunto 7's I'll tell you all about it.
And with that... thanks for reading!
More information: Press release | Official website
Well, wait till you get your hands on it.
I found your website looking for information and comparisons, about 15 days ago. You make some great articles! So much so that I am in a huge sea of doubts ???? Thank you very much, really, they are very complete. I am looking forward to your hand on this Suunto and tell us ????
A salute.
Thank you, Miguel.
When I get a unit, I'll start to give it a whirl and see what it has to offer.
Hi!
Good article as always, congratulations for the work you do. I respect this new Suunto 7, I was confident that it was a step forward in many respects and in part it has been one of lime and one of sand.
In the absence of seeing the actual performance of the device at the sports level, however many extras Suunto provides, it is still a Wear OS. The simple fact that it cannot link a chest strap greatly limits its output for more "demanding" sports. The software and algorithms can do a lot, but the optical sensor has its limitations.
If you compare this with a Casio Pro Trek WSD-F21/F30 they are rather few and far between, they are there. They are expensive, the battery is a big handicap and WEAR OS, although it has many good things, tb has many bad ones (it is slow depending on which applications and loading certain information).
I see that it is difficult for someone to spend the almost 500 euros that they ask for it, as there are more versatile options, although obviously I see that he comes to fight with Apple Watch, Samgung Galaxy Watch 2 and the Casio Pro Trek themselves. Let's see how it ends, we will be attentive.
Greetings!
The fact that it doesn't support sensors today doesn't mean that it will stay that way forever. I don't think it will take long to see what's new in the application, both in that and other aspects. The advantage of Wear OS is that there are many more developers available and a lot of documentation; it's not working on your own OS where every time you want to implement a new function you have to do it from 0.
The battery is his great handicap. This does not equate to the Phoenix and their maps, it does with any Smartwatch on the market. If this is intended to go for the mountain user, Suunto will bite the dust, Garmin paints the nose.
On the other hand, what you said about the WiFi synchronization of the maps... There must be something missing, if not that the use cases make little sense for a brand like Suunto. Going on vacation somewhere you don't control, plugging into the hotel and going out with maps and not getting lost: OK. Taking the car and hitting a mile to go hiking in the mountains: BAD. In this case YES or YES you have to take it all done from home. And it turns out that Suunto sells mountains. I don't know.
You can download the maps you want at any time, that's the automatic download I was talking about, but at any time you can select an area of 70km2 to download, no need to wait to get to your destination to download it.
Good afternoon. Can you help me? I'm hesitating to buy the suunto 9g1 baro the pro trek f30 and the suunto 7.The sunnto 7 as I see it has almost everything but it only lasts 12 hours. It's not too little in case you're going to kick the mountain? I was also looking at the garmin 5x sapphire and I see very little light. The truth is I have no idea. THANK YOU
Between the Casio and the Suunto the difference will be in the platform behind it, which in the case of Suunto is there and in the case of Casio there is not so much experience in sport (yes in mountaineering). But I haven't tried the Casio.
Both the Phoenix and Suunto 9 are another story, it is a very different type of watch and oriented to a more specific use.
Amoled screen for a sports watch? mmmmmmm
Hi, I have the Garmin 5X (only available in the sapphire version), and I'm not changing it. Regarding the type of screen I think is right, I would recommend that you don't get blinded by the OLEDs; it's true that they have more vivid colors but the visibility outdoors is not the same. My daughter has an Apple Watch 4 and trains in athletics and complains that she lacks advanced training, and the screen. For now, until another technology arrives I don't plan to change.
For your daughter, recommend the application WorkOutdoors App.
Thank you very much for the recommendation!
I practice Cross Running, and over the years I've gone from Polar to Suunto Ambit, and from there to a Garmin Fenix 3HR and since a year ago to an Apple Watch 4 GPS+Cellular.
Why an Apple Watch? Because those of us who suffer from eyestrain (2 diopters) find it impossible to read some screens during training, and the resolution and brightness of the Apple Watch are great (sorry), at the expense of the battery, of course, and allows me to read the screen without any problem during training.
The problem is that the Apple Watch 4 has come out "chungo", the screen freezes daily and I have become fond of reboots, which is not cool. I have changed it (bravo to the customer service at Apple) but with the new unit I'm still the same, a horror!!!!
The solution is that now, looking at the new Suunto 7's screen, with the same resolution and 1000 nits brightness as the Apple Wach, I can already think about going back to Suunto. So for some, Suunto 7 can be a very serious possibility, not because of the nice colors or the colorful menus, but because we can read it ???? ????!
between venu and this suunto 7 which do you recommend?
I haven't received the Suunto yet, so I can't tell you...
Thank you very much and I look forward to it ???? ????
You still don't have any proof?? It's a watch that I love above all because I have an Apple Watch that has fallen short in the sports field, and I really think that this Suunto 7 is what I was looking for... I hope you do your analysis once tested to see if I decide to change... thank you very much
I've been with him since Thursday, drawing initial conclusions for the time being. I hope to have proof ready in 4 or 5 weeks.
Wowooooo well if you are trying it... Hahaha great... well but you can at least give us first impressions...
for daily watch, you see a lot of difference with a fenix 5, ? worth the change ? waiting to make the decision hehe
Thank you for your work.
If you are on Android the difference is substantial. If you use iPhone then you will find something very similar.
Thanks a lot, I'm with Android so you've given me the necessary push hehe.
I repeat, thank you for your work.
However, don't forget to take into account the differences in training possibilities
Yes, let's say the garmin will go for training and the suunto 7 in addition to training for the day