Suunto just announced its latest smartwatch during CES 2020, called the Suunto 7, and it’s targeting both health conscious smartwatch consumers and adventure seekers alike.
The company wants to offer a watch that both groups of people can appreciate. And it thinks the 7 is just that.
It might just be, too. The Suunto 7 is packed with smartwatch features you’d expect in a wearable of this type these days. It comes running on Wear OS, it’s powered by the same wearable platform as other competing products, and it comes in multiple colorsways.
But it also comes with specific fitness and sport features to help it stand out from the pack.
The Suunto 7 smartwatch offers more than 70 sport modes
Wear OS being onboard is great and all, but it’s not the earth shattering feature to keep an eye on. There are numerous Wear OS watches out there to choose from now.
Fossil offers many different options like the Gen 5, as well as watches from companies like Emporio Armani, PUMA, DIESEL and more. Suunto set out to do something different with its latest device.
It starts with things like more than 70 different sport modes. Suunto doesn’t go into the whole collection of modes, but it does note that users can expect familiar ones like running, cycling, and skiing, and some that are more or less unheard of like surfing.
It also promises the Suunto 7 will have accurate sport tracking, as well as a 12-hour battery life while using the continuous GPS tracking mode. It’s that last part that should grab people’s attention. Since GPS tracking is a heavy battery drainer.
Many smartwatches with GPS tracking would struggle to last that long if the tracking was being used continuously.
Offline outdoor maps for those who like to take the road less traveled
The biggest feature of this watch is the offline outdoor maps. Not many smartwatches offer this sort of thing. Especially not many smartwatches running on the Wear OS operating system.
You will find this on things like Garmin’s new Fenix 6 series. Those however start at around $600 for the most basic model. Meanwhile the Suunto 7 will retail for $479.
That saves consumers about $120. Even more if they’re comparing this to some of the more expensive Fenix 6 models. The maps on the Suunto 7 will support GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo maps too, and maps will be displayed in full color.
In addition to the outdoor mapping system, the Suunto 7 was designed to be shock proof, water proof, and dirt proof. It’s not clear how well those protections work, but Suunto says those parts of the design were thoroughly tested in Finland.
Pre-orders for the watch will begin tomorrow, January 6, but consumers can also wait till the watch goes fully on sale which will be January 31.