Suunto Race watch unwrapped: Where function meets endurance
Unveiled today, the Suunto Race watch is more than just a timekeeper. It’s a personal coach, navigator, and health monitor all rolled into one sleek design. Offering a 1.43” AMOLED touch screen and an impressive GPS battery life, the timepiece aims to elevate your athletic performance and simplify your life.
The Suunto Vertical: A brief prelude
Before we delve into the Suunto Race, let’s take a moment to acknowledge its predecessor, the Suunto Vertical. Launched a few months ago, the device is a high-performance outdoor watch, built to military-grade standards and water-resistant up to 100 meters. It features a 1.4-inch color display and comes in two weight configurations, one in steel and another in titanium. The watch stands out for its advanced navigation capabilities. It offers Dual Band GNSS for more reliable satellite connections and the ability to download offline maps.
The Vertical also introduced innovative power solutions, including the ability to charge via solar power, available in the titanium model. This is coupled with various battery-saving modes to suit different activities. With these features, the Suunto Vertical set a strong foundation for what we now see in the newly launched Suunto Race.
The Suunto Race: A comprehensive tool for athletes
The Suunto Race is a comprehensive tool designed to assist athletes in various aspects of their training and daily life. The watch offers a large 1.43” AMOLED touch screen. It packs a resolution of 466 x 466px at 1,000 nits, making it easy to interact with the device in various lighting conditions.
One of the most impressive features is the GPS battery life. It comes in at 40 hours in multiband/dual-frequency mode and can extend up to 120 hours in ‘Tour’ mode. This is particularly useful for athletes involved in long-duration sports like ultramarathons or multi-day cycling events. In daily mode, the battery can keep going for up to 26 days, reducing the frequency of charges and making it more convenient for everyday use.
Navigating through the watch’s features is made easier with the introduction of a digital crown. It allows for quick and easy access to various functions without having to go through multiple menus. This is a feature we’ve seen other companies implement with success.
The watch also introduces new nightly HRV (Heart Rate Variability) tracking, which provides insights into your recovery state. This is complemented by the Suunto Coach integration, which offers personalized training advice based on your HRV data.
The Suunto Race also offers more than 95 sport modes, providing a wide range of options for athletes involved in different sports. It even introduces a new sport mode for rope skipping. This shows the brand’s commitment to catering to a diverse range of athletic activities.
It is worth mentioning that. this is the first Suunto watch using fully in-house algorithms. Which means the company is transitioning away from FirstBeat algorithms.
Like its predecessor, the watch also has offline storage for maps. This ensures you can venture off the beaten path with the confidence that you’ll find your way back.
Beyond that, the Suunto Race has some smart functionality. It offers multiple alarms, a ‘Find My Phone’ feature, improved smartphone music control and a ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode for those moments when you need to focus. What’s more, the watch introduces new daily widgets and mini widgets. These provide quick access to essential information right on your wrist.
Price, availability, final thoughts
The gadget is available in two model options: titanium and stainless steel, both featuring a sapphire crystal display. These models are built to last, meeting military durability specifications and offering water resistance up to 100 meters. This makes the Suunto Race a reliable companion, whether you’re running a marathon or going for a swim.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
At a competitive price point of $449 for the steel model and $100 more for the titanium model, the Suunto Race provides very good value for money. The timepiece undercuts other products such as the Polar Vantage V3 and the Garmin Forerunner 965, both of which can be seen as direct competitors. This pricing strategy could be an advantage for Suunto in capturing market share.
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