The Suunto seven wants to be a absolutely featured GPS sports view and smartwatch in just one, but has it bitten off extra than it can chew?

With the Suunto seven, the Complete corporation has changed up its method to its view selection with mixed benefits. Suunto has cast its popularity on the back again of a being a resilient fitness concentrated wearable that fits all circumstances, sports and workouts. It experienced some smartwatch features, but was very best seen as a GPS sports view.

The Suunto seven flips this script. It uses Android’s Don working program – the initially time in Suunto’s background – as it strives to add just as considerably smartwatch practical experience to its GPS sports view power. In performing so, ticking numerous of the boxes you can see in any very good smartwatch buyer’s manual.

Does it obtain its objective of being equally a smartwatch and a GPS sports view in just one? Or does this lofty objective in the long run weigh equally ordeals down? Can it be just one of the very best smartwatches in the sector?


Style

  • Sexy and comfortable
  • Shock, dust and water-resistant to 50m
  • Vibrant, colourful monitor
  • Way too huge for smaller wrists
Suunto 7

The initially issue you will discover when you unbox your Suunto seven is that it can be a huge view. With a 50mm diameter, 15mm thickness and 70g pounds, your neighbours will see your view occur all around the corner just before they see you. I wore various smartwatches at after while I was tests the Suunto seven to compare how they tracked my routines, and the pounds and measurement of Suunto seven stood out.

Absolutely sure, like anything at all, you promptly get utilized to that added bulk. But it can be reasonable to say that the Suunto seven is going to be a battle for lesser human beings to put on. In particular human beings with slender wrists. (A wrist measurement a hundred thirty-220 mm is advised, but I would push that reduced mark up.)

Which is a disgrace, as normally the view appears to be like and feels excellent. The wristband is gentle, potent and comfortable. The metal body, encased as it is in gorilla glass, is tremendous strong, far too. Even though the 4 sturdy push only – non-rotatable – buttons make it uncomplicated to perform responsibilities while going or putting on gloves.

The touchscreen itself is colourful and lively – maybe, far too lively (see battery everyday living) – and reacts perfectly to inputs. In fact with one thousand nits of brightness, it can double as a flashlight. It truly is tricky not to be amazed by the one.39-inch AMOLED screen and its 454p resolution. The behemoth measurement of the view makes certain it can be uncomplicated to see and go through what is going on, even if some of the individual controls – pressing engage in on Spotify, for illustration – may possibly require a bit specific contact out of access of fat fingers.

Unique point out does need to have to go to the default track record monitor for the Suunto seven, which is a heatmap of your bordering place. That map reveals exactly where many others have absent about their workout. You can customise this amongst 15 distinctive workouts or sports and not only does it seem interesting, but it can be function. It offers handy data you can use to consider new routes and take a look at your place.

It truly is truly worth mentioning that the Suunto seven comes in five colors, far too.


Capabilities

  • GPS monitoring with route heatmaps
  • Wi-Fi and NFC enabled
  • Google Spend
  • Google Engage in apps
Suunto 7

As pointed out at the prime, the Suunto seven has a whole lot going on. It comes from a track record of being a fitness view and in this regard it can be perfectly equipped. It features a GPS tracker, more than 70 sport modes to decide on from – and it can be impressively diverse, far too – and a coronary heart level sensor. Map facts is downloaded to the cellphone immediately when in your neighborhood place on Wi-Fi, or manually if you want to pre-download another location. I was genuinely amazed by the map excellent, particularly how it reveals altitude contours.

The view is incredibly rugged as it demands to be presented its use circumstance and the truth its measurement will make it a prime focus on. The gorilla glass prime stops cracking, even though Sapphire (as seen on the Suunto 9) would have been desirable as it stops scratching, far too. It truly is dust and shockproof, and can go to 50m down in the water. It will continue to be operational amongst -20oC and 50oC.

The full record of monitoring selections and how it measures and offers facts on all the distinctive sports is far too huge to record in this article. It truly is remarkable! It truly is not very up to what we see in the Suunto 9 and even the Suunto five, with a handful of odd omissions, but over-all, its powerful and extensive for anyone who is fascinated in their possess general performance and facts in basic. Men and women like me! You can share it all, log it, compare it to earlier attempts and extra.

As a smartwatch, it brings to the table some features that would be the envy of the other Suunto styles. Wi-Fi, Google Spend (and NFC aid to go with it), Google Assistant, audio controls on the view and obtain to the Google Engage in store itself and a multitude of apps.

Technically, you can also solution calls and see any notifications that occur to your cellphone, this sort of as textual content, calendar and social, but I could not get that to get the job done. Which is component of the general performance difficulties I will get into in the up coming section. It truly is also telling that Suunto doesn’t supply data about the Milliamp Several hours (mAh) of the battery.


Overall performance

  • GPS and maps precise
  • Complicated program to set-up and discover
  • Numerous apps generate confusion
  • Several smartwatch features unreliable
Suunto 7

The Superior

If you opt into the Suunto seven with GPS monitoring in intellect, then it performs admirably. I did discover that it overcounted measures and length marginally more than the Withings Steel HR Sport, which I’ve observed to be the most precise move counter out there. But the GPS monitoring is awesome. When I went for a surf, I couldn’t help but marvel at how precisely it tracked exactly where I paddled, out, when I got trapped in rips and just about every wave I caught.

In fact, setting routes to observe and or seeking at current facts for insights into general performance and the terrain is addictive. There is a lot on supply, whether or not you keep it to by yourself, share with mates or keep track of through products and services like Strava, Endomondo or Teaching Peaks.

The only problem is that the other Suunto watches do the exact same issue, only greater. Perfectly, at the very least they supply extra monitoring selections and get the job done fortunately with third-bash peripherals like coronary heart level belts. Which indicates you happen to be having a strike in that regard to get the smartphone abilities.

Some, not all, of the smartwatch features get the job done perfectly, at the very least. Google Spend, for illustration, is seamless. And indeed, when the Don OS decides it wants to be content and engage in, it can be a speedy and responsive view to work. But it doesn’t normally want to be content.

The Bad

I observed setting up the Suunto seven, monitoring its facts and keeping it connecting a authentic chore. There is a whole lot going on with this view and the original setup is a strike and miss out on affair. It saved struggling to discover my household Wi-Fi, took numerous tries to pair with my cellphone and saved disconnecting my Google account at initially. Even when I got it all working, it would sometimes get rid of conversation with these things and require a nudge, which was bothersome. It also took me a lengthy time to recall what all the swipes and buttons do, leading to a lot of original irritation.

Some apps just failed to get the job done perfectly for me possibly, together with Spotify, which you’d be expecting would be just one of the extra utilized apps. I could hardly get it to engage in or pause throughout my tests time period. And I really should stage out I did have the most up-to-date updates put in. Whilst I was paired to an Apple iphone – this isn’t really intended to be a worry, but it’s possible it is anyway?

I couldn’t get notifications or cellphone calls to occur by means of at all, even immediately after subsequent all the recommendations in Suunto’s troubleshooting. Anything was related properly it just failed to get the job done.

In the same way, it can be a bit hard to get all the excellent facts the view offers collectively. Some appears in Google Match some appears in the Suunto application and you will find some on the view itself. There is some great facts to be loved, but you can be swiping in this article there and almost everywhere to get it all.

There is just a lot of very little information like this that make you go “argh!” For illustration, you will find voice assistant, but you ought to swipe to a menu initially, then tap the tiny icon to get it completely ready to acquire your voice. And then it only labored for me fifty percent the time. It truly is not like just stating, “Hey Google, connect with mum” is effective, generating its performance a bit “meh.”

We are also viewing a lot less versatility on the monitoring aspect, far too. You are unable to pair the machine with other third-bash trackers, this sort of as a coronary heart level chest strap. It also doesn’t keep track of and analyse your sleep or VO2, not like the Suunto five and 9.

It just feels like the addition of Don OS to the Suunto ecosystem has not turned a excellent GPS sports view into an superb smartwatch. As an alternative it feels like two bucks trapped in a smaller paddock, and inevitably they have just beginning butting heads.

And at last, you will find the battery. To its credit rating, Suunto has attempted to minimise the melt away, with an constantly-off point out on the monitor except if you raise your wrist to see the time or are actively working it. But it can be nevertheless a punish. The initially working day I utilized the view, performing a couple of routines and participating in with the menu a very little, it was flat in a lot less than 24-several hours. The up coming working day I got about 36-several hours out of it by being extra considered with its use. But nevertheless, the Suunto seven will need to have to go on the charger each night just before mattress.


Should you buy the Suunto seven?

  • Obtain it if you want excellent GPS sport monitoring facts with a smattering of smartwatch features.
  • Really don’t buy it if you want primarily a GPS sports tracker, or a smartwatch, as it doesn’t excel at possibly.

The Suunto seven smartwatch in the long run collapses on itself. There is a great, sturdy, precise and sexy GPS sports view in this article, but it can be missing some crucial features of its counterparts in the Suunto selection that are concentrated on this function. In their location, even so, is smartwatch features. Owning Google Spend right there on your wrist is handy, and the obtain to apps, notifications and all the riches presented by Wi-Fi is very good on paper, far too. But acquiring it to really get the job done in a harmonised, constantly consumer-friendly way is far too considerably of a chore.

It truly is neither just one or the other, and as a consequence, is hard to endorse. But Suunto has a basis to iterate on in this article, and I will be keeping a close eye on its development. A handful of crucial updates could deliver in the brains to match its brawn.


Pricing and availability

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Specs




Photographs: Chris Stead

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