Suunto Race 3S leak points to mid-October launch and major battery upgrade

The Suunto Race 3S is shaping up to be quite a bit more than a tidy refresh. Leaked product material points to an October 15 target launch, a $499 price and a surprisingly long list of upgrades, especially around battery life.

We’ve been following the Race 3 family for months, first through regulatory filings, leaked info on Suunto’s website and then retailer listings. Now there is even more detailed info available, so thanks to RF for the tip. Some of the same material has since appeared on Reddit, including images said to show the Race 3S.

There is one important caveat. We have not been able to independently confirm that the material is genuine. We also tried several AI image-detection tools, which returned conflicting results and didn’t help us verify it either way. For now, this is best treated as an unverified leak rather than confirmed product information.

The Race 3S stays small

Suunto appears to be sticking closely to the dimensions of the current Race S. The new material lists the Race 3S at 45mm in diameter, 11.4mm thick and 53 grams, exactly the same weight and thickness shown for the titanium Race S.

That’s important because several of the upgrades are fairly substantial. The AMOLED display remains 1.32 inches with a 466 x 466 resolution, but maximum brightness jumps from 600 nits to 2,000 nits. Gorilla Glass also makes way for sapphire crystal.

Storage doubles from 32GB to 64GB, while 5 ATM water resistance and offline mapping remain part of the package. The material also mentions a titanium bezel.

There is one slightly messy detail in the presentation. Some feature slides call it a 46mm case, while the direct Race S versus Race 3S comparison lists both watches at 45mm. So that is not clear.

Battery life looks like the biggest upgrade

As far as battery life goes, the material lists up to 45 hours of dual-band GPS in Performance mode. This is up from 30 hours on the current Race S. The product material specifically mentions silicon-carbon anode battery technology, something we haven’t seen Suunto highlight on its existing sports watches.

Silicon-carbon batteries can provide higher energy density than conventional graphite-based lithium-ion designs, which potentially allows more capacity to fit into the same amount of space. That would help explain how Suunto could increase GPS endurance without making the watch thicker or heavier.

Another render shows 45 hours in Performance mode and 55 hours in Endurance mode. An Ultra mode is visible as well, although its full runtime is obscured, so there isn’t enough information yet to put a reliable figure on it.

Suunto is positioning it firmly as a trail watch

The leaked material describes the Race 3S as a premium trail-running watch that combines a compact and lightweight design with rugged durability. That’s a little more specific than the broader positioning of some previous Race models.

Navigation remains a major part of the pitch. Dual-band GNSS and free global topographic maps are highlighted, alongside what Suunto calls responsive navigation.

The training side includes Trail Race Planner with climb guidance, Training Zone, Energy Sense, AI Coach support and SuuntoPlus integrations with more than 120 sport partners. Some of those features may eventually reach other Suunto watches as well, so we wouldn’t assume they are all Race 3S exclusives.

October 15 is the target

The other big new detail is timing. The material lists October 15, 2026 as the target launch date and $499 as the US recommended retail price. “Target launch” means this date is not set in stone.

The new material also shows the same three colourways we had already seen elsewhere. Titanium Orchid appears to be the lead option, joined by Titanium Feather and Titanium Black.

The larger Race 3 is also coming at some stage. But for now, the picture around the smaller model is becoming pretty clear.