T3 - UK (2020-04)

APRIL 2020 T3 81

Suunto 7

The watch uses a hybrid touch-
screen/four-button navigation, which
needs a little time to get used to.
You can swipe in either direction
from the main screen to access
different areas of the software.
To return, you swipe the opposite
direction, but if you went into any
sub-menus, you will have to swipe
right to return to the previous menu
and then the opposite direction to
return to the home screen. The
buttons on the right are also used for
accessing menus and to move up/
down in the menus as well.
If it sounds confusing, let us
assure you: it is.

Worse for wear
The new Suunto 7 is different from
previous Suunto watches because this
is the first model to feature Google’s
Wear OS, a move that brings along
a range of smart functionalities,
integrations and features, as well as
many of the frustrating aspects of
the operating system.
It is not standard vanilla Wear OS,
of course, and Suunto has included a
really potent feature as well: maps can
be downloaded into the watch and

used offline, making navigation

more convenient. Naturally, you get

the Google Fit/Assistant/Pay/Play

integrations as well as many other

handy apps.

The duality of the Suunto 7 is

probably best explained by how

you can change and access

information about the watch on the

phone: Wear OS features – the tiles,

watch faces, integrated apps etc –

can be changed in the Wear OS app

while sport activities are fed into

the Suunto App.

It’s not impossible to get used to all

this but it gives one the impression

that Suunto launched the watch

before they managed to fully flesh out

how to integrate Wear OS into the

Suunto ecosystem.

The watch has over 70 sport modes

and this is an area where it really

shines. Granted, we haven’t tried

every single one of the modes, but

during cycling and running, the

sensors gave us precise readings.

The GPS isn’t hyper-precise:

following our path on the map in the

Suunto app, it seems like we ran

through buildings here and there

without noticing.

When you add it all up, it has

plenty to offer: the sharp display,

lots of smart functionality, a good

heart-rate sensor and built-in GPS,

not to mention the offline maps.

Yet it occupies a strange space on

the fitness wearable market: it is too

expensive and overpowered to be a

fitness tracker and, to some degree,

too casual to be taken seriously as a

running watch. It is more expensive

than many of the latest Apple Watch

models and also its direct competitor,

the Garmin Venu.

We doubt many people would

choose a Suunto over an Apple Watch.

Once the price has dropped slightly,

we’ll recommend this strongly. But

right now, others are better.

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control on phone.

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doesn’t fully compensate for the

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the heart rate

sensor and maps

APPLE WATCH
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£399, apple.com/uk

GARMIN

FENIX 6 PRO

Another mammoth

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menu system.

£599, garmin.com

THE ALTERNATIVES

See more of the best running

watches at: bit.ly/t3runwatch