Suunto 7 Wear OS Review // Sports & Fitness Focused
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Full In-Depth Written Review: dcra.in/Suunto...
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Here's your complete Suunto 7 Sports & Fitness focused review. From the basics of Wear OS (including music), to daily activity tracking like steps (but no sleep, that's not there), to in-depth details of the sport modes in running, cycling, and plenty more. Plus heart rate accuracy analysis, GPS accuracy analysis, and plenty more. Dive in for all the details.
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Hey folks - thanks for watching! Don't forget to check out the full in-depth written review for tons of details and nuances that couldn't quite fit into this post: dcra.in/Suunto7-Review
Ray, did any updates make this watch any better? It's on sale around black friday....
Tell us how you really feel lol. That’s why I love and look forward to your reviews!!
That was a punch to the gut! I love Suunto I had my doubts already with battery and pricing but damn they got this badly wrong. If it was $150-$200 cheaper it might appeal to the casual user as it's a stunning piece. I knew DC would give me real facts.
Thanks, appreciate it!
Excellent review, as always. I was an early buyer of this watch after living in the bastard zone of wearing a strong GPS watch (Fenix 3) or a smartwatch (Galaxy Watch). Both of those had their strong points but they also have their drawbacks.. I wanted a device that bridges the two with more focus on GPS. I'm not by any means a strong runner, but the analytics are only somewhat important to me. I wouldn't recommend it for a serious runner, but for me, it checks a lot of boxes.
Thanks!
It's a WearOS device and a pretty good one. If it doesn't check your boxes keep it moving. I'm sure it will get better with time.
Great review btw
Suunto 7 "Designed for charging" ;-)
Lol!!
Hahaha.. the best one
@@patareias 47
Thank you. I was considering it but after watching this review I will keep using my Suunto9 ...
This is the best Suunto 7 review I’ve ever seen, thank you!
Very honest review. It's sad Suunto f** it up this bad, but it's great we have your honest review.
Man, I was about to buy it because in other reviews the heart rate seemed to worked well, after watching this video Im not going to take advantage of the black friday offer (350eur). Thanks for the honest review, lot of people this days make every review sound great to try to convice people and take that small commision for using their link to buy it.
i was on the fence, but as always, trusted advisor DC will give it straight. I will wait for next chipset for wearOS, and hopefully 2nd gen Suunto 7. keep at it Suunto! don't give up!
Me too. Suunto 7 version c or 7 version d
Can't wait!
I had high hopes but I pretty much expected this review. WearOS is the Achilles heel. It is just nowhere near the level of other operating systems. its good for the general 'smartwatch' stuff but not made for fitness. Yeah, it is nice to have all the ecosystem but at the price of battery life no thanks. For the price point they are asking for this a travesty. I'll stick with m Garmin Vivoactive 4 which has its own shortcomings but overall a really good fitness wearable.
I was really looking for this to give me a reason to upgrade from Ambit 3... oh well, maybe 10 more years with that watch then.
Was thinking about this watch at one point but clearly the Garmin will be the direction I'll be going. Thank you for an honest review.
It's time we challenge "the norm" for a smartwatch to die on the day of full charge. And who decided that it's acceptable in the first place? Sorry mate, I just had to vent here... Great video, and thanks for putting it together for us. Lots of useful info here. Best!
I love WearOS have seven watches but this a damning review. And a very fair review at that.
Shame cos it has so much potential and the price and platform stuffs everything up.
Thanks!
Great review. The details and multiple examples of the HR accuracy was spot on. Compared various exercises and against various devices. Thanks!!!!!!
My thoughts exactly. Felt the same way we in my review
Thanks man, you save me from making a big mistake here! I will waiting for more interesting reviews from you and then decide what smartwatch to buy.
can you do an update review? there have been quite a few updates even wearos jan 11 2021 update
Oh man, been waiting for this!
Haven't heard you be this... Critical in a while! Thanks for the honesty, it really helps put things in perspective. Great review, Ray.
I received the Suunto 7 two days ago and I therefore have not got a ton of experience with the new device. Anyway, I have a totally differnet experience concerning the optical herat rate sensor than the one described in this review: I experience an outstanding Performance!
In comparison to my Suunto Spartan Wrist HR the Suunto 7 performs exceptionally well. I was very disappointed with the Spartan Wrist because there was supposed to be the best optical heart rate sensor in a watch. My experience was totally different, the OHS was not usable and finally I purchased a Suunto Smart Belt.
Today I did a long run (2 Hours) with slow and fast passages and wore the Suunto 7 and the Spartan Wrist with the smart belt. The heart rate results were :
Sunnto Spartan Wrist with smart belt: 123 (max. 171)
Suunto 7: 123 (max. 166)
Cheers,
Andreas
Sooner or later Fitness watches will have be smartwatch also. The earlier companies realize it better it is. Would love to see a LTE version of suunto in 2021.
I really like the look of this watch. I'm not a, stickler for 100% accuracy and not worried if the watch shows 5km ran instead of 5.1km. I just wish it had three things, Tizen, (Wear OS is rubbish), ability to take phone calls, and the 3 days minimum I'm getting on my settings on my Watch Active 2 44mm. People with the Galaxy Watch 46mm get 5 days. I really wish that Samsung would open Tizen and the Galaxy Store to other brands. Excellent and honest review!!
Well let's start the Make Suunto Great Again movement... Back to basics. You really showed pissed off...cheers.
I'm pissed off because this should have been a relatively easy win for Suunto. The 'blame' on this watch, if any, should have been on core Wear OS limitations (battery primarily), but Suunto rushed this to market and it shows. It's simply half-baked. Sure, it was never going to be a watch for every user (especially every Suunto user), but it should have easily been able to steal sales away from Garmin, Apple, and Samsung. But it won't in this state.
I hope they won't stop manufacturing batteries and straps for my good old Suunto Ambit3 Peak, because that's the best watch ever (for my use anyway). I did even recently return Garmin Instinct, which was supposed to be similar to my Suunto in its simplicity. And it is. But the Garmin's logic of controls is completely different from Suunto's and you don't teach old dog new tricks.
I had high hopes for this watch. Thanks for the honest review.
Yet another great review! Thanks!
Thanks!!!
Thanks for the review. Am sticking to my Fenix range in moving forward...
Just tested battery.
One full day (24h) with notifications and short 2km run with GPS on run -> 60% left.
Two days will last without problem, (airplane mode at night)
Compared HR sensor with Garmin vivoactive 3.
Average about the same. There is now lag picking up as in your graph.
Please do software update and give this suunto another chance.
Great review! But enough about that - are you testing the Whoop? Is that what’s on your arm? ETA for its review - please. You’re the best
I am testing the Whoop. I started wearing it at the end of January, but realistically I think you need about 1-2 months worth of data to have it start making some logical sense. Thus, I expect a review at the end of March. Right now I'm mixed in numerous places. As you can see, the accuracy of the underlying HR data is often question - especially (exclusively actually) in high intensity workouts. It's at this point that the accuracy actually matters the most, since it's what contributes to the strain/load metrics that are the foundation (entirety) of Whoop does. If that data is off/missing, then the house of cards falls apart. Still, there's lots of things I like. More to come!
DC Rainmaker 150,000% agree. I had the same struggle, and absolutely if the HR metrics are off so are some primary things. Can’t wait to get your full take on it! You’re almost required to use a bicep strap or arm sleeve for better accuracy, but the strap conversion can be slightly finicky. Sleep data is interesting though, and reportedly relatively accurate - I’ll keep my eyes peeled for the review! Thanks!
Thanks for the great review! You just saved me some $$$. Suunto has been aggressively showing up on all my social media Ads. The smartwatch sport tracker was very appealing for me so i can have a true all-in-one watch. I was going to blindly buy it based on Suunto's sports tracking reputation, but the data you presented on accuracy will definitely make me look at other options. I also would not have liked having to open google fit to see some metrics then suunto for others. That would have driven me crazy over time.
Thank you for this wonderful truthful review! I'll keep my fenix 5x for now 😎
Very thorough reviews, that's why I follow DC Rainmaker. Despite the drawbacks, still seems to be one of the better Wear OS watches. A comparison within that ecosystem would also be interesting. Within that ecosystem there are services that no other smartwatch/general fitness watch can offer. I guess that's partly covered here.
Thanks for this review, great value!
In 2021 I'm going to move from my vivoactive 3 to something with maps, long battery but at the same time something I can use indoors.
Suunto 7 seemed like a good choice until... I watched this video. I really hope that Suunto guys will fix things like: sensors connectivity, 15 min. resting heart measurements (1s is kind of reasonable expectation) and data transfer between ecosystems; If they will, I'm going to buy this watch. If not, I'll climb the garmin ladder to Fenix6 pro (that'll keep me with garmin for another four years.)
Nice video! I am using Suunto 7, they have fixed with updates many of the issues mentioned here. But I have issues with altimeter precision. Even when I SUP'ing on flat lake it counts 20 meters/km climb. Is such low precision to be expected from barometric altimeter?
How much have software updates helped?
@@davidnolewajka5740 Well daily activity like steps and calories now displayed on native suunto app. Also local maps updates flawlessly, with no issues. Some other issues I guess - I have to watch video again to remember what was mentioned here. External HR sensor still not available though
Another update release rolled out yesterday. I am beginning to actually like this watch: • Route navigation: Create your own route, use tracks from other services or select a popular trail in the Suunto app. Sync the route to your watch and start navigating.
• Low power always-on sport display: Your display stays awake all the time while you exercise, using only a minimal amount of battery. See all your training data without having to raise your wrist to activate the display.
• Battery-saving GPS mode: By selecting "Good" location accuracy, your Suunto 7 consumes less power by acquiring location only every 10 seconds. When running or cycling, FusedTrack™ is used to improve tracking quality. FusedTrack™ is a technology that combines movement data with GPS data to deliver more accurate tracking in lower GPS recording intervals.
• Popular starting points: Check out popular starting points in the Suunto app to find new starting points for your exercises. When synced from Suunto app to your watch, the popular starting points are visible on the heatmap on your watch as small dots.
D K Thank you much for the updates. I appreciate it.
I will go ahead and say, graet review, as always, Thank You Sir!
Man Suunto have dropped the ball with this BIG TIME
Here was me thinking WearOS might make it into the fitness realm.......I was wrong! I will stick to Garmin or Polar for a real sports watch for sure!!
Wow great review!! Love the honesty, keep up the good work 👍 😀
I do agree with your arguments. But..... With a company like Google, the next generation of this watch will be exiting to see. Turn-by-turn navigation, improved training functionality, better battery.... Like you say, the potential is there, and although I love the Garmin and Polar watches for their battery life, metrics and precision - for a true "smart" watch, I would much rather invest in the future of Wear OS as a platform.
yeah.... I'm gonna stick to garmin for now... Tnx for the detailed honest review.
The battery gauge always has what looks like a tiny gap in the circle at 100% and if I recharge, turn off at night and turn on in the morning the battery starts off at 97% or so.I do like the watch as a gym rat ,a lot of potential choices and it is well made.The ability to use it with WearOS makes it quite nice but I can see how a serious person would not want this.
Thanks for the review, very informative and entertaining. Helped me make the decision if I should buy this watch or NOT. :-)
Great review! Appreciate the honesty about it all! Went ahead and made the purchase despite the downsides. Just needed Wear OS and I love the look of this watch...I have never had a smart watch before, so having any kind of heart rate data to me is a benefit. Also, do you know how well NRC will work with this?
Wonderful review! Thanks so much for your time, expertise and experience. It's much appreciated! I'm so so bummed out this S7 came out this way. Initially when I learned it doesn't have VO2MAX, doesn't pair with HR bands, can't customize pages and doesn't show in the Suunto app the whole thing, my tears came out. Do you think possibly Suunto will realize how bad they did and decide to bring all these missing features with a future software update? I believe the Suunto 9 (non Baro) missed also things in the beginning and then incorporated them later on (but 1y later). Ugh, I'm so frustrated, I wanted to buy it so bad.... :(
Best watch ever
I want to love this watch. Maybe the V2 I guess...
jSado i have it and love it. Haven’t have those issues Ray is talking about.
i like my 9 baro . i dont connect to my phone . i use as a watch only. sometimes work out. sometimes tracking with bike. i charge every 10 days )) im happy with it. i also have samsung active 2 . i go between 2 watch. 9 baro my camping watch. active 2 city watch . i think i dont need 7. thanks for review
would be reviewing the recently announced Casio GBD-H1000? looks like an alternative to Garmin's Fenix line, and with solar charging too
Would be good to get an update as these wear OS devices can receive significant software updates over their life. The watch has more functionality now than it did at the time of this review eg sleep tracking, HR tracking, and offline Spotify.
This review is spot-on. Terrible performance on a beautiful looking watch... But.... the real question i’d be asking, what happened to those famous red Powerbeats! 😃
I know - I loved those red PowerBeats...but then I started using the PowerBeats Pro and frankly it's just the charging that's better. Though, really just the charging case. Actually, really just the plug. The actual PowerBeats Pro charging case is a @#$@# POS. The number of times you think the right pod is charging but isn't is mind-boggling (a common issue). But, assuming they are charged, it's great. :)
Does it have bread crumbing in any of the gps modes?
Nope. No breadcrumb trail routing at this point.
@@Dcrainmaker I take there is a 3rd party app for that?
@Alex, most probably. But why do we need an expensive Suunto device if we need 3rd party apps which run on cheaper watches as well?
I was so happy with my Blue Crush Core (as a mountain climber)until it broke. Now with the 7, I am still trying to figure out if there is a watch face that will show my current ALTITUDE and TEMPERATURE. Is this possible? Thanks in advance
Dc confirmed that you are the best and now the question to buy garmin 5, 6 or suunto 9 i need it for fitness thanks
Well then, I will stay with my fitbit charge 3. Thank you for your honest review.
Great review. I went from the Suunto Ambit 3 Peak (which was awesome) to Suunto Baro 9 and was disappointed at the reduced feature set in Navigation particularly but also the fact that they lost some functionality transitioning from the Movescount platform to the Suunto mobile app. I was therefore hoping that the WearOS Suunto 7 would be the answer; sadly not so! It looks like they've done the same thing again in transitioning platforms. Time to go back to old-faithful and pull the Ambit 3 Peak out of the closet.. It looks great though and heatmaps certainly are a useful feature, if only they can join up the dots and include all the best bits from previous generations then I'd be happy..
do you know of a smartwacht that is not round, but of rectangular shape? Doesnt make sence to keep to the circular shape now with the introduction of smartphone functions.
so happy with my 9 baro.
Great job DC.
Suunto 7 is a new product so I really hope they can fix evident shortcomings releasing some kind of update as soon as possible!
Otherwise, watch will be really downfall of years, of great working.
I was ready to go to REI and buy this watch until I watched your review! Thanks for helping me save my money. I’ll stick to my Garmin 935
Great review! I'll stick to my vivoactive 4.
Suunto & Garmin are like the MS-DOS of the 2020's. Even the cheapest smart watches are providing a better graphics experience. (And I own a Suunto)
Why Garmin I consider them the leaders. I have an instinct and in my opinion it's better than my last Suunto 9.
Superb review friend. Thx
How does this watch compare to other Wear OS sports watches made by other brands like Polar and New Balance?
The New Balance lasted a mere couple months before being discontinued. The Polar is 4 years old and has vastly more fitness features.
Thanks for this review and saving me some money.
Honest advise, we like it... Suunto missed the kerb on this one... 🤔
Would have probably picked this us if it had better app connectivity and heart rate monitoring capabilities
I think that is terms of fitness tracking and all day stat I rather use the polar m600
I currently own a suunto spartan? Where should I be going after? I walk, swim, run, weight train, wakeboard, rock climb cycle and do general fitness activities. Id like a watch that is long lasting whilst being a good smart watch. Monitoring
My body and monitoring the weather would be good. Advice please?
After the all updates suunto 7 has got after the release, this review is 60-80% false now. Battery still doesn't last more than 24-30hrs but if you have to charge your phone every day, you charge your watch at the same time. The battery doesn't die in the middle of training if it's fully charged, that's for sure lol
@DC Rainmaker Thx for this very honest review! Would you tell that Garmin venu ist the best option for a Smartwatch + Fitnesswatch at the moment?
I would say the Venu is in the same ballpark as this. My GF had one and it's now living in the drawer.
That’s a shame, I’d like some strong competition from companies other than Garmin and Apple. One small ray of hope is that as far as I know, there’s nothing stopping Suunto adding the missing features if they come to their senses. I honestly can’t see how they released the watch in its current state - at least get the data from wear OS into the Suunto app from from the get go!
I hope the HRM issues are a software, rather than a hardware issue.
The biggest problem here is the battery life. I don't think they can solve this with software updates. Yes, it has nice maps but if it dies in the middle of your hike or run it's useless. And it doesn't even has sleep tracking. Add this and you'll have to charge it twice a day 😂
So then what is the best fitness watch with good trail running tracking but also provides with music and messaging options?
I'd say if you want music, you're somewhat limited down to Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, or Samsung (or I suppose the older Polar M600 - but realistically no). Within those first four, I get the best accuracy from Apple and Garmin, and the least accuracy from Samsung. Fitbit is in the middle. For trail running, you'll find the most functionality from Garmin.
@Clarke Brogger Garmin 245 music, Vivoactive etc
DC Rainmaker thanks man. You are really helpful. Is the apple series 5 reliable as a tracker in the mtns and on trails? Also whats the best Garmin watch that offers those features as well? 945?
Could really use help in knowing whether i can trust the apple 5 in the mtns and on trail as much as i can with the garmin/suunto.
Thanks helped a lot
Any Idea for how to set my intervals distance and recovery ?
Have there been software updates that help the watch? If so what has it helped? What still needs work?
The biggest disappointment is the OHR accuracy. You wonder why they didn't use the OHR that's on the 3, 5, or 9. Also, why didn't Suunto use one of their own transflective screens? Everyone knows how awful Wear OS is with battery life. Another strike for Wear OS. Thanks for the review, Ray!
My guess is they didn’t use them because they didn’t develop and make the watch. It’s just some generic and beefed up Google design.
Does the watch have GPS? Or do I need to connect my phone to the watch to get GPS?
My Suunto was a nightmare. Would be hard for me to shell out again. Ymmv.
Weird graph of the Suunto 7 HR as the domain time does not appear to be a monotone on this plot (it looks to be so for the others) so the trace does not move inexorably to the right but has weird back tracks and loops. Of course not enough to explain the gross errors in HR but interesting nonetheless. There is something bad going on in firmware.
With the ability to use Google Fit, why not just use GFit app and maps on the phone instead of struggling with map downloads and missing data on the Suunto app?
Looks a little disappointing! I was looking at replacing my Ambit3 Peak, mainly use it for Running, Cycling, but also winter sports and trekking. What would you suggest, look at the Sunnto 9 or hang on to the Ambit a bit longer? I'd rather stay in the Sunnto ecosystem than switch I think.
Is it possible to track the training from another app? i.e. strava, polar beat?
Strava yes since they're a standard 3rd party app, but Polar Beat no as they're more of a 1st party app.
My pro discount makes this watch cost only $350. But I still don't think I'll get it. I'll stick to my Spartan Trainer Wrist HR and Galaxy Fit Watch Active 2.
If anyone is watching this later now, nowadays from the phone app you can customize the stats that are shown on sports mode. (12:05)
And heart rate monitoring seems to be fine aswell
Crikey, $499 for a random number HR generator that you can't pair a HR strap too plus lots of other failings. Embarassing. You might have expected better out of an alpha product 6 months before release.
I have to admit until this video, I thought only Garmin offered the awesome feature of offline, on-watch GPS navigation!!! Awesome! It's good to have competition there. Like you said before, I have too have a feeling Apple, as they release one new feature per year, or focus on one thing a year, next iteration of Apple watches will focus on offline maps too, albeit, the battery may just last over 30 minutes lol. Awful! The reason Google Wear OS and Apple Watch OS devices don't offer any decent battery life is because both companies record a whole lot of data from the user that user will never see, such as various 1st and 3rd party data sale and research, market evaluations, AI data, etc, so they kill the battery so fast. I only trust watches that have their batteries last at least 5 days, to not do that.
I'm not a professional athlete but I got the same conclusions. Beautiful watch, Awesome screen, Heart Rate Sucks, GPS: OK, Wear OS: Terrible, Battery Life: Terrible. Better buy a Fossil with a gift card!
Great review @DC Rainmaker. Thank for the info; this made my buying decision fairly easy! (Definitely NOT buying it)
Hi, any idea if the Suunto 7 has a Vo2 max tracking? Thanks
I tested a few WearOS devices for running (Fossil Gen4, Ticwatch Pro and LG Watch R) and each one of them had the problem that pulse took about 10 minutes to be accurate. No matter if I used Runtastic, Nike Run Club or any other app. Just as you say about the Suunto 7. Could this be an issue with Wear OS? Do you have any explanation for this?
Would have bought this but the battery time doesn't cut it for long several-day sport activites while camping or staying away from chargers.
So I went with Coros Pace 2 and I have 20 days of battery, for daily sports.
and I can't view maps live on it, but this saves battery - instead I can view where I ran after the workout ends, which is fine by my standards as I already know my map from Google Maps app on my smartphone.
Good review, but the only thing i miss if there are other watchfaces
I returned it the same day I got it - not worth the pricetag.
Is that watch face also on the Moto 360 (3rd gen)?
Nice shirt!
:)
Which one? :-)
You can download music to the phone itself
Any prediction of garmin HRM tri Bluetooth and any+?